Baba vs Destroyer, JWA 3/5/69, 2/3 Falls. Absolute must-see classic. The technical work, Destroyer's great heel stuff, plenty of setups and payoffs, some nasty as hell finger bending, I mean man alive is this ever great. Not *technically* an All Japan match, but a prelude to it.

Baba vs Destroyer, 12/11/72. Just a couple months into the promotion. I have never believed that someone was going to submit to a headlock more than I did in the middle of this match.

Destroyer vs Mil Mascaras, 10/9/73. Not on par with their classic a year later, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't drop what you're doing to watch it. These two have plenty of technical trickery for you to enjoy. 238 MB.

The Funks vs Baba & Tomomi Tsuruta, International Tag Titles, 2/3 falls, 10/9/73, some clipping. I believe this is the earliest Jumbo footage; at this point he was going by his first name. He was just 6 months in and already he's clearly a good talent. The Funks help quite a bit in selling for him, but when he does a spectacular belly-to-belly suplex in the first fall you know he's got the stuff. GREAT crowd, responding to the action and being patient through the matwork. They add to the sense of accomplishment whenever Tsuruta manages to hang with the Funks, and love Terry's selling as any good wrestling fans should.

Jack Brisco vs Dory Funk Jr, 1/29/74, NWA Title. Not quite on par with the Destroyer classics, but still fine old-school grappling. A pity that Jack's brother is the one more people remember, because Jack could really go. Note that the date is given on the screen as "1 29", not 1/27 as it's listed elsewhere.

Jack Brisco vs Jumbo, NWA title, 1/30/74. Baby Jumbo gets a title shot mere months after his debut and (in-between comical amounts of OHs) handles himself quite well. Of course Jack is more the one who makes the match but few rookies ever are as good as Jumbo manages to be here.

Baba vs Pedro Morales, 6/13/74. There isn't a lot of Morales footage around that I know of. I have a feeling he didn't usually work as the small man in a match, but he does admirably in that role here.

Baba & Jumbo vs Backlund & Roop, 7/25/74. Backlund and Jumbo both have just a year under their belts, and both clearly have a bright future. Backlund for some reason attempts to cave in Jumbo's skull towards the end. 166 MB.

The Destroyer vs Mil Mascaras, 7/25/74. Behold the majesty of truly great old-school wrestling. Witness as they milk holds, tease spots and pay them off, and bust out some work that's more advanced than OVW trainees can hope to handle thirty plus years later. Destroyer ruled, Mil is timeless, this is SO great as long as you can handle watching a slower match. Worth every byte.

Baba & Destroyer vs Killer Karl Kox & Dick Slater, 8/29/74. Quality wrestling, big personalities with a ton of charisma, this one is just plain fun!

Jumbo vs Dory Funk Jr, 8/29/74. Dory trained Jumbo, giving the match a dimension beyond 'native vs gaijin'. Also, note the youngster tending to Jumbo after the first fall.

Brisco vs Baba, NWA title, 12/2/74. Hugely important match, and once again All Japan Classics offers us great video quality of the bout. There's a real nice close-up on the belt during one of the brief lulls in the action so don't fast-forward.

The Funks vs Baba & Jumbo 2/3 falls, 3/13/75. As if this combination isn't going to rock every time out. Keep watching after the third fall for Terry's reaction.

Baba vs Race, 12/9/75.

Destroyer vs Don Leo Jonathan, World League '75. DLJ is a great 'big' wrestler, and they play up the size difference quite effectively.

Destroyer vs Hiro Matsuda, Open League, 12/15/75. Unfortunately this match is only available in its current form because it never aired on an episode of AJ Classics. Matsuda is a wrestler who it seems has largely been lost as a result of a lack of footage despite being quite consequential. He was skilled enough to have been considered for NWA Champion while he was in Florida, and he went on to train several big stars like Hogan, Luger, Orndorff and more. He spent most of his career in the US and thus he wasn't a big star in Japan, but he was treated with respect. At the end of the tournament he was tied with Destroyer, Jumbo and Rusher Kimura. These two match up nicely, as they're about the same size and are skilled technicians. Not a barn-burner, but a rock-solid old-school chess match.

O'Connor vs Murdoch, 12/15/75. O'Connor is a former world champ, and even in his early 50s one can see the kind of talent he had. These two are great technical wrestlers with a ton of personality, give it a watch.

Dory Funk Jr vs Horst Hoffman, 12/15/75, part 1. Technical wrestling! The Dory elbow versus the European uppercut!

Dory Funk Jr vs Horst Hoffman, 12/15/75, part 2.

Baba vs Jumbo, 12/15/75. I believe this is their first meeting. And it is good, let me tell you; Jumbo is athletic and full of fire, while Baba is great on the mat.

Destroyer vs Horst Hoffman, 12/17/75. Gotta love the '75 Open League.

Jumbo vs Dory Funk Jr, 12/18/75. Sadly it's JIP, but you take what you can get.

Baba vs Hoffman, 12/18/75. Also JIP. You can watch a lot of old Baba stuff and still be surprised by some of what he busts out. If Baba wins, he clinches the World League!

Rusher Kimura vs Jumbo, 2/3 falls, 3/28/76. Famous match, as IWE's top star invades and delivers a career performance. The matwork won't make you forget other '70s bouts, but what sets this apart is the closing stretch.

Baba vs Jumbo, Champions Carnival '76. Building from their first meeting. Jumbo does an absolutely amazing dropkick in this. Consider Jumbo's size and Baba's height and the precision on it, that's talent. I'm so glad VLC player has slo-mo capability. Semi-ironic finish to boot.

Terry Funk vs Jumbo Tsuruta, 6/11/76, NWA Title. Jumbo at this point was a young phenom, while Terry was a technician. And he was a great technician. You wouldn't even think Jumbo is a 'young boy' from how incredibly well he wrestles here. This is premium-quality old-school as good as any. 300+ MB.

Baba vs Billy Robinson, 7/24/76. I came in expecting a ton of hold-for-hold mat wrestling, but instead they go for striking and impact moves. It manages to work out just fine. 168 MB.

Jack Brisco vs Jumbo, UN title, 8/28/76. This belt, which was vacated when JWA closed, would go on to become part of the Triple Crown. Over the years it was "Jumbo's belt", the way the PWF title was "Baba's". The question is whether he can get it as early as 1976. At this point Jumbo had yet to beat any of the 'name' gaijin, let alone a top star like Jack. It would be one thing if Jack was an over-the-hill former NWA champ, but he's 34 and a remains a hard man to keep down. Even three years later he was able to beat budding New Japan star Fujinami in somewhat routine fashion. The match itself is quite a contrast with their '74 bout, where Jack was spoon-feeding young Jumbo. Here Jumbo is a legit threat, a point driven home when you see his gorgeous belly-to-belly suplex. The initial falls take a while to get going but the falls do tell a clear story and set up the third fall very nicely. Clean finish!

Dick Murdock vs Karl Kox, No DQ, 12/9/76. Kox, a big influence on Murdock, fights dirty. Dick fights clean most of the way but eventually snaps. Most of the match is them punching each other in the mouth, and these two have world-class punches.

Jumbo vs Billy Robinson, 3/5/77. One of my favorite old-school matches. Both of them are so great at so many things, and this has both fundamentally sound mat wrestling and state-of-the-art heavyweight action by 1987 standards let alone 1977. 257 MB.

Jumbo vs Billy Robinson, 3/11/77. Equally great rematch. Considering that it's only 6 days later they do a GREAT job of changing things up. 378 MB.

Harley Race vs Jumbo, NWA title, 6/11/77. One year to the day of his NWA match with Terry Funk, Jumbo takes on yet another legend. There isn't even a fraction as much prime Race floating around as there should be... hopefully this helps.

Jumbo vs Mil Mascaras, UN title, 8/25/77. Mil goes nuts with the lucha submissions. 189 MB.

Robinson & Hoffman vs Mighty Inoue & Takachiho, RWTL '77. The first-ever Tag League match is a good one. Takachiho is better known as Great Kabuki, and he uses his gnarly uppercut with abandon. Billy vs Mighty is just wonderful and it's a shame they never had a singles match.

Dory Jr & Terry Funk vs Billy Robinson & Horst Hoffman, 12/6/77. Oh man this match. All these guys on the mat rule. All these guys getting surly rules. Robinson's moveset rules. Combining the old-school way of doing things with the tag match dynamic rules. I could watch these four for 90 minutes but sadly the match is only half that long. Big file. If you still have a dial-up modem at this point I have no sympathy left for you.

Dory Jr & Terry Funk vs Jumbo & Baba, 12/14/77. Next to last day of the first ever RWTL. Jumbo & Baba lost on the first day of the tournament and need a win here to have a chance of winning the tournament. The Funks can't afford to lose. 350+ MB.

Funks vs Abdullah & Shiek, RWTL '77. Abdullah/Shiek matches tend to be, how do you say, awful. This one works because it stays in the ring, the crowd is molten, and Terry delivers THE performance that got him over as a mega-babyface in Japan. Plus: big nearfalls?!

Race vs Jumbo, NWA title 2/3 falls, 1/20/78. From the original TV broadcast, so the VQ isn't perfect but it's plenty watchable. First two falls are JIP, last is complete. How Jumbo manages multiple deadlift suplexes on Race is beyond me.

The Funks vs Bockwinkle & Lanza, RWTL '78. Hell of a match. Throw four guys who can go in there, give 'em time, and you've got a real winner. Hard to go wrong with the Funks as it is, but when you add in Bockwinkel's talent and heel charisma, and the true grit of Lanza, well... you wind up with something dandy. FEAR THE CLAW!

Jumbo vs Bockwinkle, 12/12/78. Crappy crowd, superb wrestling.

Baba & Jumbo vs The Funks, RWTL '78. De facto final. Funks need a win, Baba and Jumbo can get by with a draw. A boatload of quality wrestling, of course. 238 MB.

Bockwinkle vs Jumbo, AWA title, 2/14/79. This takes place in Hawaii, and features Jumbo as a flat-out babyface who gets tons of crowd support. Weak finish but great wrestling, which should be assumed in any old-school title match.

Jumbo vs Dos Caras, Champions Carnival '79. Somewhat rough video quality because this didn't air on Classics. Lots of good technical wrestling, and a finish that doesn't seem very 1979 (in a good way).

Race vs Baba, NWA title, 10/31/79. Full match. The start was clipped from the re-airing a few years later I initially posted. To the untrained eye the first portion of the match might be dull, but after coming to understand the style I can appreciate the intelligence of these two. Baba controls with a hold and keeps returning to it. Race goes for too much when he does escape and ends up being cut off as a result. When Race finally tries an easier move it connects and he's able to mount some offense. I can understand why it was clipped but I disagree with the decision. For instance, the move Race used to come back is what's being fought over when the new footage kicks in (and I made it nice and obvious where that is). The second half is straightforward and gets bloody. Plus it has a real finish!

Baba & Jumbo vs Mascaras & Caras, RWTL '79. Whenever Jumbo is in it's GREAT, and they don't go long so the pace is darn good for a '70s match.

The Funks vs Baba & Jumbo, RWTL '79. Having gone through their previous '70s bouts over a weekend, this one is markedly different. Because it's a 30 minute time limit rather than 45 or 60, they cut the drawn-out matwork almost entirely. Also they make sure to put the spotlight on Terry and get huge heat at what I believe is Korakuen Hall. Back when the government didn't give a crap about fire codes and promotions crammed 2300 people in there instead of 1800.

Murdoch vs Jumbo, UN Title 2/3 falls, 3/5/80, some clipping. Dick beat Jumbo for the title two weeks earlier with a tricky spinning toehold pinning combination. The first fall has lots of solid technical wrestling, and the quick second fall sets up a hot third.

Jumbo vs Dick Slater, Champion Carnival '80 Finals. Slight clipping. Slater comes in with a big ol' bandage over an eye and is a huge underdog despite round-robin wins over Baba and Jumbo. He earns his keep and I'd go so far as to say that he's better than Jumbo in this. The way he works holds, sells, and sets up the finishing stretch all give this a big-match feel. Contains perhaps the most intense battling over a spinning toehold that the world has ever seen!

Jumbo vs Dick Slater, Champion Carnival '80 Finals. Full match from the original, grittier-looking Samurai airing.

Baba vs Race, NWA title, 9/9/80. Baba beat Race five days earlier with the trusty neckbreaker drop. Race starts off with a bang and within the first two minutes is going for the kill. Granted we know it wouldn't end THAT early, but the match does end up on the short side so don't expect either of them to kick out just because they haven't spent a while working each other over. They do a good job of keeping the action going and when it does end you don't feel like it's too soon.

Funks vs Bockwinkel & Brunzell, RWTL '80. Bock as the ring general, Brunzell as the lackey, and the Funks as super-faces: a recipe for enjoyable professional wrestling.

Bockwinkel vs Robinson, 12/11/80. The company's best match for a couple years in either direction. This is an absolute CLINIC, and it's technical wrestling at its absolute best. Well-paced, well-structured, tons of details to reward those who pay attention, and executed by two masters of the game. Literally the only qualm I have is that I wish they had more time to work with. Considering that I complain about the length of modern matches that aren't even this long, that's saying something.

Baba & Jumbo vs The Funks, RWTL '80. Crowd is just LOSING IT for Terry. I have no idea why but it really makes the match, especially when they do a dramatic angle in the last 10 minutes. ~500 MB.

Dory Funk Jr vs Terry Funk, NWA International Title tournament final, 4/30/81. This was supposed to be Dory vs Brody but Brody didn't make it, so they inserted Terry. This was their only match and it lacked heat because there was no feud and the crowd didn't want to be partial. Terry said it was like wrestling himself because of their similar style. Baba booked the finish as a draw but the brothers decided to have a real ending. To me this marks the end of the long 70s-style technical match in All Japan.

Mascaras vs Steamboat, 2/3 falls, 8/81. For as disappointing as the match is at times (especially the finish), these two are too good for this to not be worth watching. Plenty of nifty matwork with unique holds and counters.

Flair vs Jumbo, NWA title 2/3 falls, 10/9/81. The announcers reference Flair's (very missable) title defense vs Terry Funk from two days earlier where they traded submissions before the inevitable DCO finish. First fall here is mostly dry but the finish to it is great. Second fall generally keeps up the momentum, and the crowd is white-hot any time it looks like Jumbo has a chance. Jumbo's comeback in the final fall, and the fact that there's an actual finish, cap off a solid title match. Both of them would improve, and thankfully we got rematches.

The Funks vs Brody & Snuka, RWTL '81. Memorable leapfrogs, big jumps, and lots of intensity in this. That's BEFORE one of the most historic angles ever in a Japanese match. An angle, I might add, which is only the start of the drama. Neither team has taken a pin or submission in the tournament. One of them does here!

Flair vs Jumbo, NWA title 2/3 falls, 6/8/82, JIP. I clipped the meandering early part of the match so that you can get right to the meaty portion. When they finally turn it on you can tell that these two are as good as they come.

Jumbo vs Mascaras, UN title, 7/30/82. A rare instance where not much happening early on actually helps a match. That's because it isn't a result of laziness, but rather because both are really on the ball from a defensive standpoint. They get frustrated, leading to an unexpectedly violent second half.

Jumbo vs Race, UN title, 8/1/82. This is superb, and in a way that's quite distinct from their matches in the '70s. They keep the pace up and start with what in lesser hands would be a fun heavyweight spotfest. However, Race brings strategy to the table as he targets Jumbo based on Jumbo's match two days before. The intensity ramps up in the second half, and amazingly enough they have a clean finish to top it off! Keep an eye out for the all-time best neckbreaker drop.

Terry Funk vs Stan Hansen, 9/11/82. Two tough Texans punch each other a lot. And yeah there's no finish, what you expected otherwise? They make up for it with one of the great post-match Hansen brawls, including a DIRTY AS HELL low-blow. So dirty.

Terry Funk, Jumbo & Tenryu vs Destroyer, Jerry Blackwell & Ron Bass, 9/14/82. If the prospect of Terry Funk vs Destroyer is not enough to get you to download this then shame on you. Shame! Also: Jerry Blackwell is so much better than you expect from first looking at him.

Race vs Steamboat, 12/7/82. Harley coming out to the NWA title theme (despite not being champ) is so swank. With Lou Thesz as the ref you've got quite the NWA trio in there. This was before Steamboat was a huge star, but he was big enough that the match is dubbed a "special dream match" by the announcer. I love random English words being used because of pro wrestling. Race, per his norm, is sure to make Ricky look good right from the start. The match itself is clearly 'small-ball' compared to what they'd do if it were a main event. Technically sound, well-executed, but only exciting in the last few minutes. Clean finish!

Baba & Jumbo vs Race & Slater, 12/13/82. From the final day of the RWTL. Race's afro and use of the NWA title theme exudes a level of pimpage that's impossible to create nowadays. Four great wrestlers go at it in front of one of the hottest early '80s All Japan crowds. Lou Thesz as the ref definitely changes things at times, since he isn't someone you ignore if he gets in your way to say 'don't do that'. Race's skull proves to be the driving force throughout. With that hair, how could it NOT be?

Terry Funk vs Hansen, 4/14/83. They had quite the slugfest the year before, and this is even better. Bigger crowd with a festive atmosphere; longer; a simple, cohesive story; more drama towards the end. Plus all the Texas punch-throwing you could ever want and lots of Stan Hansen being the most brutal bastard alive. This one's for anyone who loves pro wrestling.

The Funks vs Hansen & Brody, 4/20/83. The parts with Dory are fine. The parts with Terry, including the post-match, are PHENOMINAL. Terry Funk does 'face in peril' and 'hot tag' as good as anyone who ever donned the tights.

Koshinaka vs Misawa, 4/22/83. Pre-mask Misawa gets his arm worked over something fierce. Awwwww, baby Misawa.

Flair vs Jumbo, NWA title 2/3 falls, 6/8/83. I watched their '78, '81, '82 and '85 matches and thought, "they have a better match in them". This is that match. Long and very much worth it. 442 MB.

Terry & Dory Funk vs Hansen & Gordy, 8/31/83. Terry's first retirement. Molten heat, great intensity, emotional post-match. This matchup is a no-lose proposition on paper and even better in execution.

Baba & Dory Funk vs Jumbo & Tenryu, RWTL '83. Every previous tournament had Baba & Jumbo and the Funks. Now Terry is retired (but still on hand) while Tenryu is moving into a degree of prominence. Baba and Jumbo are still tag champs at this time but they're great as adversaries. 400+ MB.

Jumbo & Tenryu vs Hansen & Brody, RWTL '83. Springboards! 450s! Tope con hilos! Are not in this match! There is a clean finish though, and enough superheavyweight action to make your day. This isn't a 'final' but whoever wins the match wins the tournament. 134 MB.

Race vs Flair, 5/22/84. Battle of the two most recent ex-champions. There's a bit of a slugfest feel at the start. Then they get into the smart, detailed technical wrestling YOU want from them. A clean finish tops it off!

Jumbo vs Kerry Von Erich, 2/3 Falls, NWA Title 2/3 falls, 5/22/84. This is a textbook two-out-of-three-falls match. First fall sets up the second, second sets up the third, and both finishes are used in the finish of the third. They also do a great job of setting up tension between babyfaces. My pick for the top All Japan match from the first five years of the '80s, because it's got so much drama and intelligence.

Hansen vs Baba, PWF title, 7/31/84. A somewhat historic match that benefits from not going long. I love the atmosphere.

Tiger Mask II vs La Fiera, 8/28/84. Misawa's Japan debut under the hood, as he takes on the man who taught him so much in Mexico. Fiera is better here, but Tiger Misawa is no slouch. He executes difficult spots and sequences very well, especially considering his youth (just 22 here). Still, Fiera's huge bumping and quick thinking are what holds this together. An absolutely spectacular/insane dive is the highlight. There's a couple flubs, but the pace and overall execution (plus the historical aspect) makes this a must-see

Jumbo & Tenryu vs Hansen & Brody, RWTL '84. Big dudes slamming into each other! Good pacing and energy! Blood! Godawful finish!

Choshu & Hamaguchi vs Tenryu & Okuma, 1/3/85, JIP. Choshu's All Japan debut, and it's at Korakuen! He and Tenryu mix it up, and we get a good look at the Tenryu we know and love. There's even the 1/2 vs 1/2 tag setup that has become standard for small show matchups. It took a while to get going, thus the clip, and the second half brings the action and fire we can thank Choshu for introducing to the promotion. Everything that made the '90s great starts RIGHT HERE.

Jumbo, Tenryu & T. Ishikawa vs Choshu, Yatsu & Teranishi, 1/6/85. Jumbo vs Choshu, round 1. Note that 'invader' Choshu is the one getting face heat. 165 MB. - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Choshu, Hamaguchi & Teranishi vs Tenryu, Mighty Inoue & T. Ishikawa, 1/10/85. My initial predeliction was to think that Choshu and Tenryu were the ones leading the way to goodness. But, no, it's the ex-IWE crew who bring the energy and get Choshu and Tenryu to fit into the style they created in the late '70s. A bit choppy in the first half, but once it gets going they really raise the bar for action in All Japan.

Choshu, Masa Saito & Killer Khan vs Jumbo, Tenryu & T. Ishikawa, 1/24/85. Whole lot of beef in this one. Also a whole lot of... top rope moves?! 187 MB. - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Jumbo & Tenryu vs Choshu & Yatsu, 2/1/85. More of the same, which in the case of this feud is a very good thing. 226 MB. - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Choshu vs Tenryu, 'Japan Pro' 2/21/85. Handheld, but don't let that stop you from watching a heated battle in front of one of the best crowds I've ever seen. Finish is what I would call "80s Clean" because one guy loses as a result of a big move from the other.

Jumbo & Tenryu vs Choshu & Khan, 8/2/85. Khan looks like the best possible Oddjob. He might be the best wrestler in the match, mixing in selling, toughness, and plenty of ring smarts. This is somewhat of a hidden gem, and in my opinion it marks a turning point in quality for the Jumbo vs Choshu feud.

The Funks vs Choshu & Yatsu, 8/31/85. Terry Funk wants Choshu SO BAD that you don't care about how he worked the fans with his retirement two years earlier in the same building. All you want is to see Terry beat up that long-haired punk Riki. Terry Funk is pro wrestling.

Hansen & DiBiase vs Jumbo & Tenryu, PWF tag titles, 8/31/85. Starts slow but once it gets going, look out. Jumbo dishes out a monster of a lariat and it leads to a unique (for All Japan) and clean (for 1985) finish.

Hansen & DiBiase vs Choshu & Yatsu, RWTL '85. Last match in the most competitive tag league ever. Stan & Ted win the tournament with a win or time-limit draw, while their opponents must win. Lots of hard shots and a rather fast pace given the length of the match.

Choshu is attacked before a match. Sets up the January '86 tag title bout.

Jumbo & Tenryu vs Choshu & Yatsu, International tag titles, 1/28/86. Yatsu: highspot machine! Jumbo & Tenryu: home-grown heels! Choshu: sporting a bandage after a nefarious attack on a prior show! Held to be the definitive Choshu-in-All-Japan match, this is a careful balance between wild brawling (Choshu-ism) and high-end heavyweight wrestling (um... Jumbo-ism?). - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Choshu & Yatsu vs Jumbo & Tenryu, International tag titles, 2/5/86. Rematch from their famous match a week before. I actually like this a tad more, and it's certainly on the same tier. Tons of hate and a noisy crowd. 243 MB. - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Choshu & Yatsu vs Jumbo & Tenryu, 3/4/86. To sum up this match in 5 words: Hate, action, bad finish, '80s.

Ted Dibiase vs Tenryu, 4/26/86. The themes of the match are Ted's ground work and both men doing a good job of avoiding moves with the word 'drop' in them. Some impressive power stuff here, not what you associate with Dibiase.

Hansen vs Jumbo, International title, 9/3/86. The first 2/3rds are duelling arm work with some chip-shots because they're both stubborn. Then things get more heated as blood gets shed. The non-finish really makes you want to see what would come next, and thankfully the October rematch is a doozy.

Choshu vs Terry Funk, 10/21/86. I'll let the star power do the talking vis-a-vis match quality. Regarding the finish: it looks like it would be a DQ, but the finish that's looking to be prevented actually happens before the DQ would come in. In other words... a clean finish?!

Hansen vs Jumbo, International title, 10/21/86. This one takes it up a notch from their September battle. Great, great stuff. - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Choshu & Yatsu vs Jumbo & Tenryu, International tag titles, 10/27/86. My heart shall always strive for Jumbo and Choshu; yea, but the crowd has embraced Choshu, and I must turn against them. Jumbo smacks Choshu to start things off and Choshu replies with a takedown; Jumbo wants to throw hands and Choshu is more interested in doing his headscissors resthold. Jumbo was hesitant at the start of the feud but at this point he's more energetic than Choshu. Yatsu has REALLY bulked up since we last saw him, having completed the transition from nimble grappler to proper All Japan chunkiness. The match as a whole has the qualities of the rest of the feud: heat, hate, and plenty of their trademark moves. Hot final couple minutes before the usual '80s crap finish.

Jumbo & Tenryu vs Baba & Tiger Mask II, RWTL '86. Sooooo fun. Jumbo and Tenryu get chippy with Baba, who gets chippy right back. Oh and there's the Tiger Mask character doing big flips, but who cares about that masked loser when you have grumpy superheavies?

Jumbo & Tenryu vs Choshu & Yatsu, RWTL '86. These teams could do no wrong, it was only ever a matter of *how good* the match would be.

Jumbo & Tenryu vs Hansen & Dibiase, RWTL '86 final. A rare 'final' from before '95. This is a tiebreaker; the teams finished on top in points and had their round-robin match earlier on the show. Because it went to a double-countout, they have to go again. And because there was only one match to give them a rest, this one goes quickly!

Jumbo & Tenryu vs Yatsu & Shinichi Nakano, 1/17/87. The AUDACITY of a nobody like Shinichi Nakano to front on the Jumbo/Tenryu tandem. The punk. He gets what he deserves. 124 MB.

Jumbo & Tenryu vs Choshu & Yatsu, International tag titles, 1/24/87. A tale of hate and arrogance. Interesting to compare this with the matches two years before, as Jumbo and Tenryu are more comfortable with the style and accordingly more over. 210 MB.

Choshu & Yatsu vs Jumbo & Takashi Ishikawa, 1/31/87. Really good example of a smaller Jumbo vs Choshu tag, as they keep the pace up very nicely down the stretch. 118 MB.

Jumbo & Tenryu vs Choshu & Yatsu, International tag titles, 2/7/87. Unto all things, an ending. Choshu left just a few days after the match, never to return. Can Jumbo & Tenryu finish on top? 208 MB.

Jumbo & Tiger Mask II vs Tenryu & Hara, 6/11/87. With Choshu gone and the Jumbo/Tenryu team split up, Tiger Mask Misawa became much more important. Hara is the one who REALLY stepped up, though. - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Jumbo & Yatsu vs Tenryu & Hara, RWTL '87. The first meeting of an all-too-brief tag feud. They really ramp the stiffness up, plus there's plenty of cheap shots and hatred. It's not a masterpiece of structured tag wrestling but that doesn't keep it from being all kinds of fun.

Jumbo & Yatsu vs Tenryu & Hara, 1/2/88. Starting the year off with a big tag at Korakuen! You know it's old because Wada doesn't get a "Kohei!" call. You know it's these four by the smattering of chops, lariats, and spite. Tenryu's attempt to rip off Jumbo provides an ample demonstration of how much more athletic Jumbo is. The match is mostly aimless outside of the general "they hate each other and take cheap shots" theme of the feud, but they do unload some of the big guns despite being at a smaller venue. If you like these four, give it a shot; if not you may safely pass.

Hansen & Gordy vs Jumbo & Yatsu, 2/20/88. A long, winding road led to this match being upgraded. Not only was I given the wrong date for this, I was given the wrong YEAR. Add in the fact that this matchup happened a lot, and that it isn't on Lynch's listing for 1988 TV, and it took years to nail down. Then I finally got it by slogging through a 70GB torrent. The things I do for you people! As with a lot of '88 TV the video quality was cruddy, and you can tell I cropped the hell out of it to make it more watchable (and it IS watchable). Anyway, the match. They give away a lot at Korakuen: two big teams go at it hot-and-heavy, there's blood, and there's a clean finisher ending! A rough-looking finisher at that.

Hansen & Gordy vs Tenryu & Hara, 3/5/88. Hard-hitting throughout with one of the all-time classic Stan Hansen moments at the end. Watch the whole file. - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Jumbo vs Tiger Mask II, 3/9/88. Their first singles match, and it sets up a lot of what would go down in numerous Jumbo singles matches a few years later with Misawa & Friends.

Bruiser Brody vs Jumbo, 4/19/88. NWA Int'l title match, a belt that would go on to be part of the Triple Crown. Brody took the title from Jumbo a month earlier with his patented King Kong kneedrop. This too is a rare decisive Brody match, and both lay it in a bit.

Tenryu & Hara vs Tiger Mask & Takano, 8/20/88. Hara and Takano hate on each other! Tenryu/Hara is quite the fun team with their constant barrage of stiffness. 116 MB.

Tenryu & Hara vs Tiger Mask & Taue, 8/21/88. I heard that Taue was awful as a rookie but clearly this wasn't the case. Tenryu and Hara beat the crap out of him at every opportunity. Hara's lariats are world-class. 142 MB.

Jumbo & Yatsu vs Tenryu & Hara, tag titles, 8/29/88. There sure is a lot of hate in the Jumbo vs Tenryu feud. I wasn't sure if Hara would fit in here but he totally does. 287 MB.

Jumbo & Yatsu vs Tenryu & Hara, tag titles, 8/30/88. Another night, another batch of the doughy toughguys smacking each other around. 216 MB.

Jumbo & Yatsu vs Tenryu & Hara, 9/15/88. Fresh off headlining big shows back-to-back, Baba decides to give it away to the lucky fans at Korakuen. And we're lucky too!

Hansen vs Yatsu, 10/28/88. Most of what I host from Yatsu is tags, but here he does a fine job trying to take on the 'unsinkable battleship' from the heart of Texas.

Jumbo vs Tenryu, 10/28/88. Tenryu... does damage on the mat? Jumbo... dishes out a harsh powerbomb? A ref gets knocked around in a big '80s match and it isn't Joe Higuchi? Thankfully one thing doesn't go against the norm: Jumbo and Tenryu are worth your while.

Hansen & Gordy vs Tenryu & Kawada, 12/16/88. Absolute must-have match. By far the best bout of Kawada's earlier days, non-stop battling, and universal praise from what I've seen. 200+ MB. - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Fuchi vs Joe Malenko, junior title, 1/20/89. Fuchi has just passed 2 years as champ. However, he hasn't defended against a fresh opponent in over a year, and hasn't defended at all for about 180 days. Joe is exactly the type of opponent who can beat Fuchi at his own game, and this is just the match to kick off one of the two most active years in the history of the championship.

Jumbo, Yatsu & Fuchi vs Tenryu, Kawada & Fuyuki, 1/28/89, JIP. Curse you joined-in-progress! The first great 6-man in years, the first great 6-man with Fuchi, and we only get part of it. Oh well, some of "great" is better than none at all!

Jumbo & Yatsu vs Tenryu & Kawada, tag titles, 2/23/89. This was set up by a match between the teams in January going well over 30 minutes, which was by far the biggest heavyweight accomplishment in Kawada's career to that point. Said match dragged a lot. This one is shorter and much the better for it. It's also got piles of stiffness. Yes, a stiff match with Kawada and Tenryu in it, will wonders never cease?

Road Warriors & Tenryu vs Jumbo, Yatsu & Takano, NWA 6-man tag titles, 3/8/89. WOW are the Roadies over. Jumbo and Yatsu get booed against them! The pace, heat, big-match feel and uniqueness, plus everyone bringing it, is enough to make this worthy of your time.

Jumbo & Yatsu vs Kawada & Fuyuki, 3/28/89, JIP. Why oh why did this have to be clipped down? So much brutality! Jumbo/Yatsu is a hard-hitting tandem, but they usually don't come across as a violent/dangerous team. They sure do here, though.

Fuchi vs Momota, junior title, 3/29/89. Well hey, this match rules. K-Hall gets behind underdog Momota as he tries to upstage Fuchi, and this just might be the best junior title match from pre-split All Japan... or ever!

Jumbo vs Hansen, Triple Crown formation match, 4/18/89. Plenty of stiffness and clubbering and so forth.

Jumbo vs Tenryu, Triple Crown, 4/20/89. Their previous matches with fewer (or no) titles on the line went 20+ minutes, so it's interesting that their biggest match so far does not. Granted the finish is botched and they might have gone on for another five minutes, but I doubt it. They have a hot start before reeling it in for a somewhat dry middle. Tenryu segues to the last portion in grand fashion and the crowd heats right back up. Oh and as for the botched finish: it's botched because it's TOO BRUTAL. Thankfully the guy on the wrong end was okay. Also, thankfully this was quickly followed by a thrilling rematch.

Jumbo vs Tenryu, Triple Crown, 6/5/89. Well for starters it absolutely CREAMS their April match for quality. Much more than that, this match almost single-handedly serves as a bridge between the Choshu-inspired strikes-and-sprints oriented style of the '80s and the epic grandeur of Misawa et al in the '90s. Taking the '80s style, Jumbo and Tenryu wrestle almost 25 minutes with practically no slacking in pace and a much bigger finishing stretch. Longest Triple Crown match until the Misawa era began, and all the more impressive because Jumbo and Tenryu are chunky. 235 MB, must-see.

Kawada vs Kobashi, 7/1/89. Their first meeting! Actually good, not just "wow Kawada vs Kobashi!". Totally different from what they were doing a few years later. There's a really nifty rolling takedown that I'm amazed I haven't seen anywhere else. 111 MB.

Joe Malenko vs Dean Malenko, junior title, 7/11/89. Brother versus brother in a duel of technical wizards.

Tenryu & Hansen vs Jumbo & Kobashi, 7/15/89. First Kobashi main event in Korakuen. Every matchup brings a lot to the table, from the always-reliable Hansen vs Kobashi, to Jumbo against his Triple Crown sparring partners, to the rarely-seen early Kobashi vs Tenryu. Kobashi is a great young lion, Jumbo is a great hot tag, Tenryu/Hansen are freaking Tenryu/Hansen. Sheesh get it already.

Jumbo, Yatsu & Kabuki vs Tenryu, Hansen & Kawada, 7/28/89. Kabuki doesn't get in the way too much, so you're left with the other 5 guys visiting harm on one another. Good enough for me!

Jumbo & Kobashi vs Tenryu & Ogawa, 8/19/89. See the one problem with Ogawa in the Jumbo stable during the early '90s is that we didn't get to see Jumbo manhandling him. But thankfully this match exists. Oh yeah and there's more Jumbo vs Tenryu. Oh and that Kobashi guy. 136 MB.

Jumbo & Yatsu vs Tenryu & Kawada, tag titles, 8/29/89. Lots of shots to the face, lots of hard strikes, lots of ill-will.

Kobashi vs Ace, 9/2/89. Very slightly clipped. Kobashi's second Budokan singles match, Ace's first. Kobashi is absurdly over for a young lion. Match goes a bit long for where these two are at but it's still good. 121 MB.

Jumbo vs Yatsu, 9/2/89. A fun crowd and plenty of good action. Yatsu looks good against his partner and takes quite the brutal suplexings.

Tenryu vs Gordy, Triple Crown, 9/2/89. Gordy doesn't care that a guy his size is supposed to stay down after one powerbomb, since it's so hard to pull off. He just wants the belts.

Kobashi & Joe Malenko vs Kroffat & Ken Shamrock, 10/1/89. Just as fascinating as Taue vs Dreamer, only much better quality-wise.

Can-Am Express vs Joe Malenko & Kobashi, All Asia tag titles, 10/11/89. Kobashi's first title match as he and Joe go after the All Asia straps. Joe Malenko and Dan Kroffat are out-of-this-world good, combining cutting-edge with sound fundamentals. Kobashi pulls off everything he needs to and hangs with everyone, which considering the level of the guys he's in there with is amazing for a rookie. Lots and lots of good wrestling with nifty spots and an absolutely killer finish to top it all off. Watch and enjoy. - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Tenryu vs Jumbo, Triple Crown, 10/11/89. A step down from their super-classic, and it doesn't quite have the ass-beating of the '88 match, but there's enough smarts and smacks and such that this deserves notice. First third and last third make up for a forgettable middle. - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Can-Am Express vs Kawada & Fuyuki, All Asia tag titles, 10/22/89. Their match earlier in the year is more famous, but I prefer this. Boy oh boy the Can-Ams ruled. - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

British Bulldogs & Kobashi vs Can-Am Express & Fuchi, 11/19/89. For all the talent in the match I was still surprised by how good it is. They could get by on just athletic ability and running through movesets, but they work in some sub-plots to put some meat on the metaphorical bones of the match. - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Hansen & Tenryu vs Baba & Rusher Kimura, Tag League '89. Obviously, Baba and Rusher are too old and feeble to be a serious threat to Hansen and Tenryu. The key to this is that the old lions keep plugging away despite their very real physical limitations, while Tenryu and Hansen counter by being relentless. Very important and nasty finish to boot. Don't skip the intros either. 168 MB. - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Jumbo & Tiger Mask vs Tenryu & Fuyuki, 1/14/90. Tenryu hates Jumbo! Tenryu also hates Tiger Mask! Tenryu hating on things is money in the bank. Utterly brilliant finish.

Tenryu & Kawada vs Jumbo & Isao Takagi, 1/20/90. Isao: spunky young lion! Tenryu & Kawada: one last time (in the '90s)! Tenryu: perhaps overreaches in his hatred! Jumbo Tsuruta: says "oh!" at some point!

Tenryu vs Isao Takagi (Arashi), 1/28/90. Grumpy Tenryu is always good times. Takagi earned his ire in the above tag, and pays dearly for it.

Tiger Mask II vs Kobashi, 3/6/90. Misawa's last match under the hood at the Budokan, and their first singles bout. Even though Misawa was just two tours away from unmasking he's still Tiger Mask, so this is totally different from their later battles. I think the way Kobashi wins an early sequence rather than going to a rote standoff speaks volumes. Unfortunately, so does the botch not too long either; thankfully both of them tightened things up considerably in the next few months. At around the halfway mark it seems like they're about to act like the first half was filler, until Kobashi smartly returns to his focused attack. Tiger Misawa doesn't sell it the best, but his non-selling doesn't give him a sustained advantage. Kobashi is in control most of the way and it shows just how much faith they had in him. Both of them shine in the closing minutes. Having quality transitions rather than just mindless back-and-forth drives home that they would be capable of elite-level matches in the years to come.

Hansen & Spivey vs Jumbo & Kobashi, 4/16/90. Spivey replaces Tenryu as Hansen's partner, starting a quite successful run for them. The match is solid (how could it not be?), but what really makes it worth getting is the wildly entertaining Osaka crowd.

Jumbo vs Tenryu, Triple Crown, 4/19/90. A decisive end to their rivalry. Plus, a special guest.

Tiger Mask II & Kawada vs Yatsu & Fuyuki, 5/14/90. Yatsu and Fuyuki are complete pricks. Okay, who cares? Apparently they upset that Tiger Mask guy a lot, and the result would change All Japan forever. 82 MB.

Tiger Mask II & Kawada vs Yatsu & Fuyuki, 5/14/90. Slightly clipped upgrade.

Kawada & Nakano vs Fuyuki & Kikuchi, 5/26/90. Reading between the lines here, I'm pretty sure Kikuchi ran over Kawada's favorite dog with a riding mower. Just a guess.

Jumbo, Great Kabuki & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kobashi & Taue, 5/26/90. The young generation emerges. The Misawa vs Jumbo interaction in this match would set the table for Misawa's ENTIRE CAREER.

Hansen vs Williams, 6/5/90. One of those rare Hansen-plays-the-face matches that work so well when he's in there with a powerhouse like Williams, who heels like a mofo to boot.

Jumbo vs Gordy, Triple Crown, 6/5/90. To me the theme of this match is parity. Both guys make use of the lariat/powerbomb/backdrop moveset as the match wears on, they're about the same size and they're both very capable. The question becomes, who can figure out a way to trump the other long enough for the winning pin?

Williams vs Kobashi, 6/8/90. Doc makes Kobashi look like a million bucks. Really epic when you consider how low-ranked Kobashi was at this point, and a prelude to what they'd do in the future. 108 MB.

Gordy vs Hansen, Triple Crown, 6/8/90. Gordy hits at least one big DDT, and Hansen hits at least one lariat; which finisher will be the finish?

Jumbo Tsuruta vs Mitsuharu Misawa, 6/8/90. Famous match that really ignited their feud and cemented that Misawa had arrived. 300+ MB.

Kawada vs Kobashi, 6/30/90. Their first match was quality undercard wrestling. The rematch lets you know that they've arrived and are ready to fight for the right to lead the company. 178 MB.

Hansen vs Kobashi, 7/7/90. Hansen is absurdly generous, but that doesn't mean he lets Kobashi off easy.

Jumbo & Yatsu vs Misawa & Kawada, 7/7/90. What would have been a regular matchup wound up being Yatsu's last match of note in All Japan. 232 MB.

Hansen vs Gordy, Triple Crown, 7/17/90. Herein I will list the men I believe capable of knocking Terry Gordy off his feet with a slap: Stan Hansen. But Gordy gives back some lumps of his own, don't you worry. Plus some really neat psychology has Gordy in the Hansen role, so Gordy counters with a bit of Hansen-ism!

Puroresu News for 8/18/90.

Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kikuchi, 8/18/90. Taue replaces Yatsu on Jumbo's squad, and Kabuki is gone. Markedly better than the Jumbo vs Misawa tags up to this point as a result because Taue is 'fresh legs'.

Jumbo, Fuchi & Mighty Inoue vs Misawa, Kobashi & Kikuchi, 8/21/90. MIGHTY~!

Hansen, Scotty The Body & Embry vs Jumbo, Taue & Mighty Inoue, 8/29/90. Scotty The Body is Scott Levy, aka. Raven. Yes, I'm as confused as you are.

Misawa, Kawada & Kikuchi vs Taue, Fuchi & Mighty Inoue, 8/31/90. Jumbo vs Misawa II buildup part 1. Finish is especially worth noting.

Jumbo Tsuruta vs Kenta Kobashi, 8/31/90. Jumbo vs Misawa II buildup part 2. Jumbo takes on Misawa's left-hand man, an at the time unestablished Kobashi. Jumbo makes Kobashi look GREAT, giving him plenty of offense and giving the match as much of a competitive aura as possible. At the same time Kobashi doesn't stand a chance because Jumbo is The Man.

Joe Malenko & Kikuchi vs The Fantastics, 9/1/90. State-of-the-art sprint that gets the crowd rocking. 162 MB.

Hansen vs Williams, 9/1/90, Triple Crown, JIP. After Williams busted Stan open and cost him the title, there's more than a little bit to be settled between them. I'm especially fond of the finishing stretch.

Jumbo vs Misawa, 9/1/90. The rematch. Jumbo is indescribably great here as a man trying to hang onto his place in the world. The balance between confidence and worry and anger on his face tell the story just as well as the move-for-move action, and THAT is great too. Absolute, unequivocal must-see.

Jumbo & Taue vs Misawa & Kawada, 9/30/90. First meeting of these teams, first really great match for either team, first tag in the post-Choshu era to go 40+ minutes in style, first match where Taue really shows he belongs with the big boys, etc etc etc. In addition to all the 'macro'-level greatness there's also the wonderful details like Jumbo selling his own leg after delivering a hard kneelift. This sort of match is why I made this site, GRAB IT.

Jumbo & Fuchi vs Misawa & Kawada, 10/90. I feel no need to go into details.

Gordy & Williams vs Misawa & Kawada, 10/7/90. The MVCs beat Baba & Jumbo. They mowed over Jumbo & Taue. Can the fledgling team of Misawa & Kawada stop them? 145 MB.

Jumbo & Taue vs Kobashi & Ace 10/7/90. Kobashi and Ace won the All Asia titles on the last tour, and this tour are facing a string of top teams to really test their mettle. Are the midcard tag champs already prepared to take down the bigshots?

Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kobashi, 10/19/90. First time this matchup happened and it was awesome every time. This is also the first super-great 6-man in the Jumbo vs Misawa feud. So... go watch it. 215 MB.

Jumbo, Taue & Mighty Inoue vs Misawa, Kawada & Kobashi, 10/21/90. Think you know who the obvious fall guy is? You're wrong. - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Hansen & Spivey vs Jumbo & Taue, RWTL 11/21/90. Considering that both these teams (on paper) need great athletes as opponents, it's interesting that they end up getting so much out of each other. Not sure why I was surprised that a match with Hansen and Jumbo in it was good, but surprised I was.

Misawa & Kawada vs Kobashi & Ace, RWTL '90, JIP. The young All Asia champs are in for another huge test. Is "hot finish" even necessary to say?

Gordy & Williams vs Jumbo & Taue, RWTL '90. Solid heavyweight action with some big bumps. 131 MB.

Gordy & Williams vs Misawa & Kawada, RWTL '90. Deeper into the tournament, neither team can afford a loss and still control their own destiny. 190 MB.

Jumbo & Taue vs Misawa & Kawada, Tag League '90. Yeah, this one rules too. Hot crowd, plenty of hate, and a bit of Jumbo turning it up to 11 down the stretch.

Kawada vs Taue, 1/15/91. Oh hell yeah. The first great singles match for Taue, and unlike their future encounters this is an all-out brawl. Hot crowd, hot match, uber-stiff finish that would become a staple move in matches for the rest of the year. 114 MB.

Kawada vs Taue, 1/15/91. Video upgrade.

Hansen vs Jumbo, 1/19/91, Triple Crown.

Jumbo & Mighty Inoue vs Kawada & Kobashi, 1/26/91. Don't think of it as just another good match with Jumbo, Kawada and Kobashi (which it is). Think of it as an opportunity to enjoy MIGHTY. 87 MB.

Misawa vs Taue, 1/26/91. VERY famous finish, which debuts here and is named based on the date.

Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kikuchi, 1/27/91. Such a great 6-man, with all the hate and selling and action you expect. Plus it's an extension on Kawada vs Taue. PLUS, a bonus non-complete but still fun Kawada/Kikuchi vs Taue/Ogawa at the end! 267 MB.

Kawada & Kikuchi vs Taue & Ogawa, 2/23/91, JIP. This feud literally could do no wrong. Kawada bleeds, Kikuchi gets hucked around, Kawada and Taue hate each other SO MUCH in '91, and the crowd is so so hot. How did I miss this until deep into 2011?!

Gordy & Williams vs Misawa & Kobashi, 2/23/91. Um, it's these four in a match. 107 MB.

Jumbo & Fuchi vs Kobashi & Kikuchi, 2/26/91. JIP, sadly, but what we get is killer.

Fuchi vs Dean Malenko, 3/2/91. Clipped. This is like Bizarro Dean because he's making with the athletic feats and the crowd interaction and what-not.

Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kobashi & Kikuchi, 3/23/91. 117 MB.

Kawada vs Kroffat, Champions Carnival '91. Dan gives Toshiaki all he can handle.

Jumbo vs Cactus Jack, Champions Carnival '91. Short match, but Foley finds enough time to take some hard bumps.

Taue & Fuchi vs Kawada & Kikuchi, 3/26/91. Two great feuds that go great together.

Hansen & Spivey vs Misawa & Kobashi, 3/26/91. I keep seeing the Hansen/Spivey vs Gordy/Williams tags get pimped, but the Hansen/Spivey vs Misawa/Partner matches, to me, are a lot better. When it's four huge gaijin in there things can get a little sloppy; here things come off well and there's still plenty of heated action.

Jumbo vs Taue, Champions Carnival '91. Their only match! Hot finish!

Jumbo vs Taue, CC '91. Source upgrade.

Misawa vs Kobashi, Champions Carnival '91. The match is very good. You'll learn to live with the fact that it's from a handheld recording. 133 MB.

Jumbo vs Kawada, Champions Carnival '91, JIP. I clipped off the first half because it drags, but they kick it in gear for the second half the way you expect.

Hansen vs Misawa, CC '91, JIP. Some hard-hitting action and a RIDICULOUS, unique finish. Ow ow ow ow.

Kobashi vs Kroffat, 4/18/91. They could just run through spots and have a fun match based on their athletic ability. Thankfully they do more than that, bringing their personalities to bear, and putting together a proper match. They always work so well together. Now complete.

Kawada vs Taue, 4/18/91. Their third match in the year. Lots of good technical work, some brutality, and an unusual but effective finish.

Jumbo vs Misawa, 4/18/91, Triple Crown. On the one hand it isn't as good as their first matches. On the other hand, it's Jumbo vs Misawa in front of a red-hot crowd.

Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kobashi, 4/20/91. This is the best 6-man tag ever. It has everything you're looking for in a Jumbo vs Misawa tag, and it has that for an extended period of time with an amazing lack of dead spots. You're at this site for a reason and matches like this ARE that reason. 366 MB.

Jumbo & Fuchi vs Misawa & Kikuchi, 5/17/91. See, the thing about Jumbo vs Misawa is that there were 144 possible 2-on-2 tag iterations, and each one had its own dynamic because they all played their roles so well. For instance, in theory Jumbo's side has the edge, but not so much that it's out of the question for Misawa to get the fall on Fuchi if given 30 seconds alone, or for Misawa to help Kikuchi steal a fall, etc. And in the meantime we get to enjoy them doing their thing.

Jumbo vs Kobashi, 5/24/91. I can't really build the match up any more than it already is with those two names. 135 MB.

Can-Am Express vs Kobashi & Kikuchi, All Asia tag titles, 6/1/91. Just highlights aired on TV, so this is the only real version. First taped meeting of the teams, and despite a couple rough spots you know these teams were meant for each other.

Kawada vs Williams, 6/1/91. Kawada has yet to get a big win over a big gaijin. He's never the one who gets to kick out of finishers. Enough's enough and it's time for a change! Well, maybe... see Williams is gunning for a shot at the Triple Crown. Who has what it takes to put away his determined opponent?

Misawa vs Gordy, 6/1/91. I love this. Hard-hitting exchanges, steady build to an intense closing stretch, hot nearfalls, good work all-around. The best Gordy singles match on here by a lot. Keep an ear out for the announcers building up a couple moves that are key near the end. Finish would come up a lot in the years to come. 222 MB.

Hansen & Spivey vs Jumbo & Taue, tag titles, 6/1/91. Taue's first title match, and the first of several times a tag title match headlined a Budokan show in June. Even though it's a main event they don't go long, so the pace and energy are good throughout. Plenty of PERIL~ and drama in the second half.

Kawada vs Fuchi, 7/18/91. Match description: freaking Kawada vs Fuchi.

Kawada vs Taue, 7/20/91, JIP. Their fourth match of the year, and naturally it plays off their brief but heated history.

Jumbo vs Williams, 7/20/91, Triple Crown. Back when Jumbo was the one dumping people on the head with backdrops, big gaijin included. Not that he could take Dr. Death lightly.

Gordy & Williams vs Misawa & Kawada, tag titles, 7/24/91. Second title shot for Misawa & Kawada as a team, and neither has held the tag titles to this point. Goooood stuff. 255 MB.

Taue vs Kobashi, 7/26/91. JIP.

Taue vs Kobashi, 7/26/91. Full version in lowish quality.

Jumbo, Fuchi & Ogawa vs Misawa, Kawada & Kikuchi, 7/26/91. Yet another great 6-man. Jumbo is great in all three matchups, between his selling and his intensity and everything else. Kawada's great. Everyone's great. Great great great. So how come you aren't watching it right now? Also plays off a lot of the 1/91 6-man with Taue in Ogawa's place. 100 MB.

Misawa, Kawada & Kikuchi vs Jumbo, Fuchi & Ogawa, 7/26/91. Higher bitrate but JIP.

Jumbo & Ogawa vs Kobashi & Kikuchi, 8/17/91. Kobashi/Kikuchi are at a disadvantage; Kikuchi and Ogawa are at about the same level, but Jumbo and Kobashi certainly are not. Can the underdogs get their first big win as a team?

Misawa & Kawada vs Hansen & Ace, 8/17/91. Hansen is ten flavors of awesome in this, just tearing it up.

Jumbo & Taue vs Misawa & Kobashi, 8/18/91. 163 MB.

Abdullah the Butcher vs Ogawa, 8/25/91. BLEED OGAWA BLEED! 71 MB.

Jumbo & Taue vs Misawa & Kikuchi, 9/1/91.

Hansen vs Kobashi, 9/4/91. Hansen waylays Kobashi at the bell and it's nothing but a desperate struggle for survival from there.

Misawa & Kawada vs Jumbo & Taue, Double Tag Titles, 9/4/91. Great tag bout with a historic finish.

Kawada & Kobashi vs Taue & Fuchi, 9/7/91. NEWS FLASH: a match with these four is good. I swear that I don't post these matches automatically; they're just all good!

Jumbo & Ogawa vs Misawa & Kikuchi, 9/7/91, JIP. Continuing from the tag title match three days earlier: Misawa gets targeted, the facelock is death, and Jumbo and Misawa hate each other. On the low end of the feud, but it's still objectively good. The 'ranks' really come into play here due to the huge gap between the heavies and juniors on each team.

Jumbo & Taue vs Kawada & Kobashi, 9/27/91.

Jumbo & Ogawa vs Kawada & Kikuchi, 10/2/91. Jumbo vs Kawada buildup? Yes, please! 159 MB.

Gordy & Williams vs Misawa & Kobashi, 10/2/91, JIP. These teams always manage to put together a big finish. 116 MB.

Jumbo, Taue & Ogawa vs Misawa, Kawada & Kikuchi, 10/13/91. The road to Jumbo vs Kawada continues!

Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kikuchi, 10/15/91. People talk about how hard puro can be to get into. In some cases I understand, but not here. Very easy to follow, tons and tons of hatred and fire, an injury angle that doesn't get brushed off... what's not to love? A real gem right here.

Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Kawada, Kobashi & Kikuchi, 10/20/91. Having taken out Misawa, Jumbo's squad takes liberties and tries to repeat that busted nose success. Despite the odds Kawada tries to get one over on Jumbo heading into their match. 260 MB.

Jumbo vs Kawada, 10/24/91. The last stellar singles match of Jumbo's career, the first stellar singles match of Kawada's. Two minor things stand out about this. One, the crowd can be clearly seen doing THE WAVE~~ before the intros. Two, Kawada is rocking his old theme song, which is beyond any description. 197 MB.

Hansen & Spivey vs Misawa & Kawada, RWTL '91. Action kicks off in a big way before the bell. Hansen once again is larger than life and surly as can be.

Gordy & Williams vs Jumbo & Taue, RWTL '91. Wasn't a hot matchup the year before, but now both teams have a lot more experience.

Misawa & Kawada vs Kobashi & Kikuchi, RWTL '91. One and only time this happened. Go Kikuchi go!

Can-Am Express vs Dynamite Kid & Johnny Smith, and Gordy & Williams vs Kobashi & Kikuchi, 11/29/91. Two (heavily clipped) matches featuring eight skilled wrestlers for the price of one download. It's too good to pass up!

Jumbo & Taue vs Misawa & Kawada, Tag League '91. Last meeting of these teams and it's a beaut. FEEL THE HATE! 223 MB.

Jumbo & Taue vs Can-Am Express, RWTL 1991, JIP. The All Asia tag champs face some heavy obstacles. Can their superior speed and teamwork overcome the marked size differential?

Jumbo & Taue vs Hansen & Spivey, RWTL '91. Two top teams battle on the final night of the tournament. What we get is far beyond what you'd expect, aided by a molten Budokan crowd.

Misawa & Kawada vs Gordy & Williams, 12/6/91. NOT the final of the tag league because there was no final... it's just that the winner of the match would win the tournament. As for the match itself? Yeah. It's worth the download, and my pick for the best Gordy/Williams tag.

Misawa & Kobashi vs Jumbo & Fuchi, 1/2/92. I believe this match is the only time where the finish of the match is the finish. Wow that's some mighty awkward syntax. Match sucks of course. Sucks like a fox. 209 MB.

Misawa, Kawada & Kobashi vs Jumbo, Fuchi & Ogawa, 1/10/92. Not one among the top tier of Jumbo vs Misawa tags. But why should that stop you? Bit of an odd finish. 153 MB.

Kawada & Kikuchi vs Fuchi & Ogawa, 1/15/92. It's the little things that make me love this skirmishes in the Jumbo vs Misawa stable feud. Something like Kikuchi briefly stretching out Fuchi as revenge for all the times the opposite happened. Oh and there's also the big things like Kawada exploding on Fuchi after lots of, well, Fuchi. Hey that reminds me: FUCHI RULES.

Misawa vs Fuchi, 1/21/92. On paper Fuchi has no shot, but Fuchi could care less and he really brings it to another level from his various junior title defenses. If he didn't Misawa would end things in a hurry. 112 MB.

Jumbo vs Kawada, 1/21/92. This was part of a 'random draw' set of singles matches between the Misawa and Jumbo factions. Mere days before Jumbo was set to defend the Triple Crown against Stan Hansen, he has to take on the always-tough Kawada. Not super-great like the 10/91 match but just plain ol' great. I mean, Jumbo vs Kawada, c'mon.

Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kobashi, 1/24/92. By now you should know that it's impossible to go wrong with this combination.

Jumbo & Taue vs Kobashi & Kikuchi, 1/26/92. The underdogs tag it to the big men in a big way and an awesome match results. Jumbo vs Kikuchi interactions are really symbolic of how stellar Jumbo was, because he sells just enough to make Kikuchi look worth cheering for while dishing out offense in retaliation that's hard enough for Kikuchi to sell to death. Good stuff bell-to-bell and a great closing stretch. Finish deserves a couple reviews in slo-mo. 174 MB.

Jumbo vs Hansen, 1/28/92, Triple Crown. Jumbo's final title match before illness forced him to step back.

Can-Am Express vs Kawada & Kikuchi, 2/22/92. Not super-awesome. That said, the chances are that most of the wrestling you watch this week won't be nearly this good. 120 MB.

Jumbo vs Kobashi, 2/27/92. Their final singles match, complete and HQ! 192 MB.

Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kikuchi, 3/1/92. From a rare comm tape. It's good, which isn't rare when you're talking about these six.

Can-Am Express vs The Malenkos, 3/4/92.

Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kikuchi, 3/6/92. I'm not writing War & Peace to shill this, watch it or don't, but if you don't trust these guys to have a good match at this point I question your sanity. 128 MB.

Kawada vs Kobashi, Champions Carnival '92. 169 MB.

Hansen vs Kobashi, Champions Carnival '92. 125 MB.

Kawada vs Taue, Champions Carnival '92. Taue: rudo extraordinaire! Taue: master of the proto-chokeslam 'Arm Bomber'! Kawada: ... is still Kawada at this point in his career!

Jumbo vs Misawa, Champions Carnival '92. Drags quite a lot unfortunately, due to them needing to fill time without doing a Budokan-level epic, but it's not without its merits for what should be obvious reasons. 350 MB.

Jumbo vs Fuchi, Champions Carnival '92. Their only match, and it's all kinds of fun as you'd expect. 115 MB.

Hansen vs Kawada, Champions Carnival '92. Somehow they click better in this one than either of their Triple Crown bouts. Really, really stiff. 151 MB.

Misawa vs Gordy, Champions Carnival '92. Takes a little bit to get going, but once it does it gets real real good. 152 MB.

Kawada & Kobashi vs Jumbo & Ogawa, 4/17/92. Another 'average' tag for 1992. 93 MB.

Kobashi & Kikuchi vs Fuchi & Ogawa, 4/18/92. Fuchi absolutely TORTURES Kikuchi, stretching him all over the place. Fuchi > you. 122 MB.

Misawa, Kawada & Kobashi vs Jumbo, Fuchi & Ogawa, 4/19/92. Another solid tag bout. 277 MB.

Misawa, Kawada & Kobashi vs Gordy, Williams & Slinger, 5/16/92. Meet Richard Slinger, a gaijin who throws kicks and is a total unknown outside Japan. This is a nice introduction to him and an 'average' 6-man for '92, which means it's not really 'average' at all. 180 MB.

Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kobashi, 5/22/92. A matchup that never went wrong. This is another worthy outing from the 'golden' 6-man combination of all time, though sadly its last. The focus is Taue as he returns from a leg injury. Very slight clipping.

Can-Am Express vs Kobashi & Kikuchi, 5/25/92. New high-quality EXTENDED LENGTH cap. Tell me you have ever seen a hotter crowd and I'll call you a liar. 190 MB.

Jumbo, Taue & Ogawa vs Gordy, Williams & Slinger, 5/25/92. This match gets largely ignored because of the All Asia classic on the same show, but this is pretty nifty. Slinger and Ogawa make great whipping boys, and the finish is special. 123 MB.

Jumbo & Taue vs Misawa & Kikuchi, 5/30/92. Taue debuts one of his staple moves here. 119 MB.

Hansen vs Kawada, 6/5/92, Triple Crown. Not the main event, nor the match of the night. But the finish, dear friend... the finish is something else.

Jumbo & Taue vs Misawa & Kobashi, tag titles, 6/5/92. Two months prior, Misawa & Kobashi scored an upset victory over the tag champs (non-title) when Misawa made Taue tap to the facelock. This is Jumbo's last Budokan main event and Kobashi's first. Taue has recently debuted the 'proper' chokeslam. Hell of a match as you would tend to expect.

Kobashi & Kikuchi vs Fuchi & Ogawa, All Asia tag titles, 7/5/92. Fuchi & Ogawa won this matchup prior to Kobashi/Kikuchi getting the belts, so it only made sense to book this. And it was good.

Taue & Fuchi vs Kawada & Kikuchi, 7/8/92. 140 MB.

Hansen vs Kobashi, 7/8/92. Ever watch a Hansen/Kobashi match and think afterwards "man, that was a waste of time"? Me neither. 199 MB.

Misawa, Kobashi & Kikuchi vs Taue, Fuchi & Ogawa, 7/21/92. Jumbo is out hurt. Misawa lands wrong early and never gets back on track. And yet this match COMPLETELY RULES IT. I won't spoil why it's so great, but man, it's really great. The first high-end 6-man without Jumbo. Heck I enjoyed this more than all the Misawa vs Kawada 6-mans. 225 MB.

Misawa & Kikuchi vs Taue & Ogawa, 7/27/92, some clipping. Some real quality, like how Misawa gets isolated early and how much booing Taue gets, but I did clip out a slow patch in the middle. Overall, an effective follow-up to the memorable 6-man from six days earlier. Misawa is still plenty vulnerable and it's up to Kikuchi to try and 'shoulder' the load. Get it? Because Misawa's shoulder... nevermind.

Misawa, Kawada & Kobashi vs Taue, Fuchi & Ogawa, 7/28/92. Follow-up to the match a week earlier where Misawa was injured. He's still hurt, and this time doesn't have the luxury of bowing out halfway through. This exact matchup happened three days earlier and Taue's team won, becoming the first team to beat Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi in some time, so don't just look at the names and expect to know the result! 245 MB.

Misawa & Kikuchi vs Fuchi & Ogawa, 7/31/92. A mismatch on paper, but Misawa comes in with a bad shoulder and takes most of the punishment as a result. Fuchi is such an amazing ring general. 145 MB.

Hansen vs Taue, Triple Crown, 7/31/92. I didn't like it the first couple times I watched it, but I didn't DISLIKE it either. Now I'm able to pick up on things like how Taue looks credible in exchanges with Hansen and how Taue makes sure to get payback when Hansen uses a weapon. Simple moves are impressive at the scale of these two, and both dish out some hard strikes. Stan is on the defensive most of the way but he's able to come back at will because Taue can only do so much damage to the 'Unsinkable Battleship'. This isn't a good 'Triple Crown' match, but it's a solid heavyweight match.

Jumbo, Taue & Ogawa vs Misawa, Kawada & Kikuchi, 8/20/92. Jumbo returns after a 'leg injury'. Another one of those really solid Jumbo vs Misawa 6-mans, there's just so much to love here. 222 MB.

Kobashi & Kikuchi vs The Fantastics, 8/22/92. Oh it's shocking that this is good.

Kobashi & Kikuchi vs The Fantastics, 8/22/92. Higher bitrate but JIP.

Jumbo & Taue vs Gordy & Williams, 8/22/92. Here it is, yet another semi-forgotten tag that would absolutely be a top-of-the-year contender were it to occur today. Jumbo has been wrestling only a couple days after his 'leg injury' and has to deal with the Miracle Violence Connection. Taue does what he can to pick up the slack. MVCs are their usual selves, which is a good thing. Considering the combined size of the teams this is remarkably well-paced and well-executed stuff. 211 MB.

Hansen vs Misawa, Triple Crown, 8/22/92. Let me tell you about this match. When I was first getting tapes in 2001, I thought this was awful. A couple years later I still thought it was bad. But now that I understand things with a bit more context and backstory, there's a lot of good stuff in here. Misawa's facelock was just a year removed from submitting Jumbo, and if it doesn't do the job on its own then it still can set up a knockout elbow like his '91 match with Gordy. Meanwhile, Misawa is one month removed from a shoulder injury and Hansen does a really good job of working it over. Plus they even reference the finish of their '91 match. So yes, this is a fairly methodical match, and they use their ring smarts to make up for not doing three dozen finishers.

DDevil's music video covering the rise of the New Generation Army, along with what came before it. Incredibly well done.

Gordy & Williams vs Misawa & Kobashi, 8/27/92. Has some slow parts in the middle but gets real, real good by the end.

Jumbo, Taue & Ogawa vs Misawa, Kawada & Kikuchi, 9/5/92. Rematch from two weeks prior.

Kawada vs Taue, Triple Crown contendership match, 9/9/92. Another good one. Shocking! 169 MB.

Kobashi vs Akiyama 9/17/92. Akiyama's debut. Not many wrestlers can say that they looked this good after a full year let alone right from the start. 130 MB.

Jumbo, Baba & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kikuchi, 9/17/92. It's pretty rare when the most brutal move in an All Japan '90s match is the piledriver, but man, Kikuchi eats some nasty ones here.

Kawada & Kikuchi vs Akiyama & Ogawa, 10/6/92. Hold milking! Face kicking! Boston crabbing!

Kobashi & Kikuchi vs Can-Am Express, 10/7/92, All Asia tag titles. Last few minutes of what looks like a superb match.

Jumbo & Taue vs Gordy & Williams, 10/7/92, tag titles. Miracle Violence Connection has all the momentum in the world. Jumbo is ailing, and in fact this would turn out to be his final title match. It's up to Taue to make sure that they don't lose the titles before the annual vacating of the belts before the tag league. 206 MB.

Kawada & Kobashi vs Hansen & Ace, 10/11/92. Partially clipped. Very unpredictable and at times desperate, which really keeps you on your toes while watching it. I doubt Ace was in a better match than this before '94. 85 MB.

Taue & Ogawa vs Kikuchi & Akiyama, 10/21/92. See, there were good matches besides ones with Jumbo, Hansen, Misawa, Kawada and/or Kobashi.

Misawa vs Kawada, Triple Crown, 10/21/92. The first in their series. A great match. And try to keep in mind that at this point they're still tag partners. They went at it this hard early on so it's no wonder what happened after the split a few months later.

Misawa & Kawada vs Baba & Kobashi, RWTL '92. Baba had tagged with Andre in the last two leagues, but this time he gives the rub to Kobashi. It's awesome whenever Kobashi is in there, and Baba is Baba.

Baba & Kobashi vs Taue & Akiyama, RWTL '92. JIP to the hot finish. 80 MB.

Misawa & Kawada vs Taue & Akiyama, Tag League '92 'final match'. Not the 'final' because Taue/Akiyama had no chance. This was supposed to be Jumbo & Taue, which is why it gets the main event of the Budokan final night, but Jumbo suffered the injury that ended his 'serious' wrestling career. Akiyama can't fill those shoes with only a few months under his belt, but he does a superb job just the same.

Misawa, Kobashi & Kikuchi vs Taue, Fuchi & Akiyama, 1/8/93. Jumbo is out of the picture. Taue is in charge now, and Akiyama has emerged as an incredibly capable young lion. This is Akiyama's first big 6-man main event and he doesn't disappoint. 238 MB.

Misawa & Kobashi vs Taue & Fuchi, 1/15/93. Besides the obvious reason to download this, it also builds to the Taue vs Kobashi match later in the month. 225 MB.

Taue & Akiyama vs Kawada & Kikuchi, 1/21/93.

Gordy & Williams vs Misawa & Kobashi, 1/21/93. Quite epic for a build-up tag. 190 MB.

Taue vs Kobashi, 1/23/93. Taue's first big post-Jumbo singles match. Kobashi's first big singles match in a series of them that year. Taue really improved in singles from '92, which was clutch. 181 MB.

Kobashi & Kikuchi vs Akiyama & Ogawa, All Asia tag titles, 1/24/93. The Kobashi/Kikuchi team could do no wrong, but young phenom Akiyama demonstrated in the 6-man on the 8th of the month that he's a threat. Akiyama's first really great performance and a heck of a contest. 134 MB.

Kikuchi vs Ogawa, junior title contenders match, 1/31/93. I clipped out the slow-ish first half so you can enjoy the hot finish. Some role reversal in here.

Kawada & Kobashi vs Taue & Fuchi, 1/31/93. Drags at points but there's enough hate to make up for it.

Kawada vs Akiyama 2/9/93. Akiyama was one of the best rookies ever, Kawada in '93 was one of the best wrestlers ever, there you go.

Taue, Akiyama & Ogawa vs Misawa, Kikuchi & Asako, 2/19/93. Another "average" 6-man. Heh, average.

Stan Hansen & RVD vs Kawada & Kobashi, 2/19/93. Poor RVD. Poor, poor RVD.

HANSEN SMASH PUNY MASKED JOBBERS.

Kobashi & Kikuchi vs Patriot & Eagle, 2/25/93.

Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa & Kawada, 2/25/93. This match is to 'hate' what Baskin Robins is to ice cream.

Fuchi vs Kikuchi, junior title, 2/28/93. I think at some point Fuchi gets so wrapped up in dropping Kikuchi directly on his head that he forgets his goal is to win the match. But then again Fuchi isn't one to turn down giving a second helping of death when the opportunity presents itself. Or in this case an eighth helping. 82 MB.

Spivey vs Kobashi, 2/28/93. First in a series of Kobashi vs Big Gaijin singles bouts. Spivey won their match in the '92 Carnival with his 'Spivey Spike' DDT, and Kobashi has never beaten him. This is solid throughout, with blood a darn good finish. Odds are this is Spivey's best singles match.

Stan Hansen vs Toshiaki Kawada, 2/28/93. Two tough guys beat the ever-lovin' crap out of each other. And you get to watch.

Hansen vs Kawada, 2/28/93. Upgrade from Classics airing.

Misawa vs Taue, Triple Crown, 2/28/93. It really says something when a match this good is second-best on the night. And it's good all right; Taue looks so much more polished here than he did a year earlier, and though he isn't able to fully replace pre-injury Jumbo, he brings the goods.

Williams vs Kawada, CC '93. Doc hurts his leg. Kawada doesn't pass up the opportunity and does his best to get his first win over a big name gaijin. Not only does their 6/1/91 finish come into play, but there's also a tremendous build to the Oklahoma Stampede. Last but not least is a tremendous use of the time limit.

Misawa vs Kawada, Champions Carnival '93. They've lost the tag titles. Their relationship is strained. Will either one push the envelope here? Finish seems a bit odd but the extended selling makes it work. 178 MB.

Gordy vs Williams, Champions Carnival '93. Miracle Violence Connection EXPLODES.

Misawa vs Kobashi, Champions Carnival '93, JIP. Meltzer almost gave this 5 stars. It's not THAT good, but it's a heck of a lot better than a heck of a lot of matches the same can be said for.

Kawada vs Taue, Champions Carnival '93. Respect is earned; a union is formed. 156 MB.

Hansen vs Taue, CC '93, JIP. Once more, for emphasis: these are two great wrestlers. They know their limitations and go for exactly as much as they're capable of. Rather than trying to match what Kawada and Kobashi did on the same show, or the kind of match Hansen and Kawada had in February, they do a 'clash of the titans' big-man battle. Simple moves become highspots when done by men of this size. No, it isn't a MOTYC, but it's still very enjoyable. They know what they're going for and accomplish it.

Kawada vs Kobashi, Champions Carnival '93, JIP.

Misawa vs Gordy, Champions Carnival '93. Gordy hasn't done much in recent years as a singles wrestler, but a win here can change all that.

Hansen vs Kobashi, Champions Carnival '93. At this point I've probably seen over one thousand wrestling matches which took place at Korakuen Hall, and I can't recall any that equal this match for heat. Hansen vs Kobashi was always good before, but this is on another level entirely and it's probably Kobashi's career match to this point.

Kawada, Kobashi & Kikuchi vs Taue, Fuchi & Ogawa, 4/21/93. Kawada's final match before leaving Misawa's stable and joining up with Taue.

5/2/93: Japanese rookie sensation Hideki Matsui is a big Hansen fan. At least that's what All Japan wants you to think.

Kawada vs Kikuchi, 5/13/93. Kikuchi knows he's in for the fight of his life, so he takes it right to the black-and-yellow destroyer. And where would you want this match to happen? Korakuen Hall. Love ya, Baba.

Kawada & Taue vs Kobashi & Kikuchi, 5/14/93. The debut (at least on TV) of the Kawada/Taue team. Not just "oh, this is really good you guys, maybe you should watch it". Uh-uh. Kawada goes on a tear against his former stable-mates, Kobashi brings his A-game now that he's Misawa's number-two, and the finishing stretch is utter decimation. 126 MB.

Gordy & Williams vs Kawada & Taue, tag titles, 5/20/93. The first of the only two meetings between these teams, as Gordy left a few months after this. Kawada and Taue have only just joined forces; can they handle the powerful and experienced gaijin champs? 245 MB.

Gordy vs Kobashi, 5/21/93. Kobashi is looking for his first win over a big-name gaijin, while Gordy needs a win to get into title contention.

Misawa vs Hansen, Triple Crown, 5/21/93. Hansen beat Misawa in the carnival final with a powerbomb, thus giving him more than just the lariat as a finisher for what I believe is the first time. The best Misawa vs Hansen match in the eyes of many. 250 MB.

Kawada & Taue vs Misawa & Kobashi, tag titles, 6/1/93. The first time this combination ever took place. One of the lesser matches in the series for quality (which doesn't say much since they pretty much all ruled) but huge for importance, since it's the new generation leaders headlining the Budokan. 250+ MB. - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Misawa, Kobashi & Kikuchi vs Kawada, Taue & Ogawa, 6/3/93. The first Misawa vs Kawada 6-man, and another one of those can't-go-wrong-with tags. 229 MB.

Gordy & Williams vs Hansen & Deaton, 6/27/93. Completely unique match. The MVCs double-team Hansen into oblivion, and Deaton is placed in the odd position of the guy making saves instead of the guy being saved. Hansen becomes a sympathetic babyface and the crowd gets nice and hot. Short but awesome.

Misawa, Kobashi & Akiyama vs Kawada, Taue & Ogawa, 7/2/93. Yet more great pro wrestling; if those names can't convince you to watch then I sure as heck can't. 219 MB.

Kawada vs Akiyama, 7/9/93. Akiyama hasn't even been wrestling a year at this point, which makes this match that much more special. 177 MB.

Misawa & Kobashi vs Hansen & Bossman, 7/9/93. Bossman in All Japan: can't go wrong.

Misawa & Akiyama vs Kawada & Fuchi, 7/19/93. I figured that by January 2008, I'd seen all the great '93 matches. I was wrong. Quality start, quality in the middle, AWESOME for the last third. Some of the best Misawa vs Kawada action they ever had. 213 MB.

Kawada & Taue vs Gordy & Williams, 7/26/93. Gordy's last title shot, and by my estimation a much more satisfying match than the one two months earlier. 255 MB.

Gordy, Williams & Slinger vs Hansen, Bossman & Ace, 7/28/93. Quite the sprint, considering these aren't exactly the sort of wrestlers you'd associate with the word 'sprint'.

Team Misawa vs Team Kawada, 'survivor tag', 7/28/93. Four man teams done two at a time until three on a team are eliminated. The day before Misawa vs Kawada for the title and a few weeks following the first meeting of the teams that finish this up. The last matchup is, as you'd expect, the best.

Hansen vs Kobashi, 7/29/93. Total must-see. Probably Hansen's best match, and probably in Kobashi's top 5 for singles. 189 MB.

Misawa vs Kawada, Triple Crown, 7/29/93. Their first singles match as all-out adversaries. 242 MB.

Can-Am Express vs Kobashi & Asako, 8/20/93. Asako gets busted open hardway, which adds to an already good matchup. Once more take note of how good these random little matches were, in addition to the great main events. '90s All Japan was something else. 81 MB.

Kawada, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Akiyama & Kikuchi, 8/20/93. Fine 6-man that includes an interesting bit of revenge from the prior month's title match. 179 MB.

Misawa, Kobashi & Kikuchi vs Williams, Smothers & Deaton, 8/23/93. Build-up to Williams vs Kobashi a week later, featuring the debut of one of AJ's most famous head drops. 168 MB.

Kobashi vs Williams, 8/31/93, #1 contenders match. Famous for its finish, which is one of the trademark 'oh my god' All Japan moments. Good the whole way through because of who's in it.

Misawa vs Williams, Triple Crown, 9/3/93. Misawa bumps huge and dishes out hellish elbows in reply. Doc Death lives up to his name. 248 MB.

Kobashi vs Akiyama, 9/24/93. Rematch from Akiyama's debut a year before, this shows Akiyama's growth and builds from their last matchup. Kobashi debuts a new move, and it's probably the best I've seen him execute it.

Misawa, Kobashi & Kikuchi vs Kawada, Taue & Fuchi, 10/3/93.

Kobashi vs Bossman, 10/14/93. Kobashi helps Traylor to one of the best matches of his career.

Can-Am Express vs Kobashi & Asako, 10/17/93.

Misawa, Akiyama & Kikuchi vs Kawada, Taue & Ogawa, 10/17/93, JIP.

Kawada vs Kobashi, 10/23/93. A match that mostly fell between the cracks due to the sheer volume of greatness All Japan had that year. That's a shame, because this is great. The finish is also worth keeping in mind for the Misawa vs Kawada 6/94 title match (and others). 242 MB.

Misawa, Kobashi & Akiyama vs Williams, Bossman & Slinger, 11/17/93. Akiyama gets initiated into the wide world of head drops. 105 MB.

Kawada & Taue vs Can-Am Express, RWTL '93. Having seen several other iterations of this match I kept wondering where the "good one" was. I mean you can't possibly NOT have at least one really good match between these teams, right? Well here it is. 128 MB.

Misawa, Kobashi & Akiyama vs Kawada, Taue & Ogawa, 11/25/93. Handheld. Interesting to see it from the crowd's perspective. Solid like you'd expect, and one of the best-looking handhelds I've seen.

Misawa & Kobashi vs Williams & Bossman, RWTL '93. Bossman has some downright nasty strikes, Williams is Williams, and they manage to build off the climax to Misawa/Kobashi vs Hansen/Bossman. 122 MB.

Misawa & Kobashi vs Baba & Hansen, Tag League '93. Today, in March of 2007, Misawa is considered old and broken down and over-the-hill. He's 45. Baba in this match is 55. He wasn't supposed to be in high-profile matches anymore, but now he's got to fill in as Hansen's partner and he has to see if he can hang with the new young stars. Crowd is 100% pro-Baba. 187 MB.

Kawada & Taue vs Williams & Bossman, 12/1/93. Bossman's brief time in All Japan was the best run of his career. Throw in that this ties in nicely with the tournament finalie and you've got a winner. 143 MB.

Kawada & Taue vs Misawa & Kobashi, Tag League '93. The de facto final of the tournament. Possibly the best tag match All Japan had seen up to this point, and certainly one of the must-see matches in the storied history of the company. Kawada turns in yet another career performance.

Misawa & Kobashi vs Kawada & Fuchi, 1/7/94. So yeah, a total mismatch on paper. The thing is, Kawada and Fuchi work better as a team than Kawada and Taue. By the time we get deep into the match they're actually doing better than Kawada/Taue were in the RWTL final a month earlier! Masa Fuchi: Ring General.

Misawa, Kobashi & Akiyama vs Kawada, Taue & Omori, 1/20/94. Omori is just starting to get involved with the big guns. Will he let his team down, or will his hand be raised after a main event for the first time? Some slow parts but a hot finish. 246 MB.

Puroresu Newwwwwwws, Feb '94.

Misawa, Kobashi & Baba vs Kawada, Taue & Fuchi, 1/29/94. This is probably my favorite old-man-Baba match.

Kawada, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Baba & Kobashi, 1/29/94. Better VQ but incomplete.

Kawada & Omori vs Kobashi & Asako, 2/19/94. The Kawada/Kobashi exchanges are great, the interaction between the big names and the young lions is great. So good.

Misawa & Akiyama vs Williams & Eagle, 2/19/94. Odd that this match happened five months before the Misawa vs Williams title match, because Doc is FIRED UP and wants to take the champ down.

Misawa & Kobashi vs Baba & Hansen, 3/5/94. Baba's first Budokan main event in a couple years and his next to last. He and Hansen teamed up in the '93 tag league when Hansen's two partners of the year left him high and dry. Now they face the league winners and tag champs in a non-title match. Can the old powerhouses hang with the young guns? A hot crowd is dying to find out. And don't you dare disregard Baba.

Kawada vs Akiyama, CC '94. It's 2010. I've written what feels like nine thousand of these match description thingys. If at this point you're still not interested in the prospect of Kawada vs Akiyama, nothing I say is going to change that. But if you ARE interested, know that I have vetted this match and deemed it worth your while. Thank you, and God Bless America.

Taue vs Kobashi, Champions Carnival '94. Another one of those matches that isn't important or extra-great but is still very much worth your while.

Kawada vs Williams, Champions Carnival '94. This is their round-robin match, and is a good primer for the finals.

Williams vs Akiyama, CC '94. On paper this is a six or seven minute match because Doc has it all over Akiyama. In execution Akiyama handles himself quite well.

Hansen vs Kobashi, Champions Carnival '94. Can Kobashi finally get a pin on the surly Texan? Can Hansen fend off the younger, fitter Kobashi?

Kawada, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Baba & Kikuchi, 4/10/94. I especially enjoy Kikuchi getting riled up.

Kobashi vs Akiyama, CC '94.

Hansen vs Taue, CC '94. Taue wrestles a very smart, focused match. It ain't pretty, but I enjoyed it.

Misawa vs Kawada, 4/11/94. I can't explain WHY this didn't count towards the Champions Carnival tournament, but it didn't. It does however count towards their ongoing war.

Misawa, Akiyama & Kikuchi vs Can-Am Express & Johnny Smith, 4/15/94, JIP. We start off with Akiyama getting worked over very effectively by the gaijin side. They keep the pace up through the end and Korakuen is plenty hot as a result. Interesting that Misawa's side gets booed when they enter without tags. The finish is a move that was invented earlier in the tour and is now a staple.

Williams vs Kobashi, CC '94. Last round-robin match. They come in tied, and the winner goes to the finals!

Kawada vs Williams, Champions Carnival '94 final, slight JIP. Great match, Kawada especially is incredible here. 173 MB.

Williams vs Kawada, CC '94 final. Full match.

Misawa, Kobashi & Kikuchi vs Hansen, Williams & Ace, 5/18/94. You can't go wrong with a match like this in 1994. You just can't.

Misawa & Kobashi vs Kawada & Taue, 5/21/94. This is a must-see match; I have it at #3 for AJ in the '90s. Big ol' file.

Kobashi & Akiyama vs Taue & Honda, 6/3/94. Honda is fired up! Taue and Kobashi are not fond of one another! Budokan Hall is packed and energetic!

Misawa vs Kawada, Triple Crown, 6/3/94. The definitive Misawa vs Kawada match. The match that raised the bar just like the match between their predecessors five years earlier. You've seen the lead-ins, from the 10/92 title match through Kawada's Champions Carnival win. Now see the climax.

Kawada, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Akiyama & Kikuchi, 6/30/94. Better believe this rocks.

Misawa & Kobashi vs Williams & Ace, tag titles, 7/22/94. This only aired on an obscure TV block. Doc & Ace won a non-title match in May via. Ace's version of the doctor bomb. Hot crowd, solid match that provides a good lead-in to their other two encounters.

Can-Am Express vs Akiyama & Omori, 7/28/94. Omori is kinda crappy, and the Can-Ams get really frustrated and smack him around for it. At least that's how I interpret things. Fun match!

Kawada, Taue & Fuchi vs Kobashi, Baba & Kikuchi, 7/28/94. A match so good, you should watch it. 204 MB.

Misawa vs Williams, Triple Crown, 7/28/94, full match in high-quality. And the match itself is high-quality too!

Williams, Ace & Santana vs Kobashi, Akiyama & Honda, 8/20/94, JIP. This is almost a Doc vs Kobashi singles match with four guys randomly asserting themselves. Not that one is upset by the fact that the top two decide to do most of the work. Great lead-in to their title bout.

Hansen vs Akiyama, 9/3/94. Compact and good. 'Normal' audio is on the left channel if you want to turn off the effects.

Williams vs Kobashi, 9/3/94, Triple Crown. Kobashi's first title shot, and his best try yet to finally beat Dr. Death after many failed attempts. Dr. Death has other ideas. This is the full commercial tape version, meaning you wait until it's done to watch the gorgeous slo-mo highlights. Soooooo worth it. Darn good match, but that goes without saying. 400+ MB.

Misawa, Kobashi & Akiyama vs Kawada, Taue & Ogawa, 10/7/94. Not outstanding, but solid.

Kroffat vs Kikuchi, 10/22/94, junior title, JIP. There's a couple botches but other than that it's good. Bruuuutal last two moves.

Misawa & Hansen vs Taue & Kobashi, 10/22/94. Not top-of-the-year caliber, but c'mon, you know the quality floor for this is high. Misawa and Kobashi going at it was a rare treat, as they hadn't been on opposite sides of a match in over 18 months.

Williams vs Kawada, Triple Crown, 10/22/94.

Misawa & Kobashi vs Can-Am Express, Tag League '94. Can-Ams come in as the All Asia tag champs, but Misawa & Kobashi have been thoroughly dominant since winning the '93 league. So Furnas and Kroffat decide to even the odds by heeling it up in addition to using their skill. All kinds of fun.

Misawa & Kobashi vs Kawada & Taue, RWTL '94. JIP a couple minutes in, unfortunately.

Baba & Hansen vs Kawada & Taue, RWTL '94. I'm always skeptical of '90s Baba, but he brings it as much as he possibly can, including some darn good sequences. The other three I don't need to pimp.

Misawa & Kobashi vs Williams & Ace, 12/10/94. Misawa/Kobashi come in as the tag champs, and defended the titles against the gaijin duo. However, since that match Williams beat both of them in Triple Crown matches. Starts out with a lot of intensity and builds to a dramatic closing stretch.

Misawa, Akiyama & Asako vs Kawada, Taue & Ogawa, 1/2/95. Hot start, hot finish, enough nasty shots to keep the middle interesting. 174 MB.

Taue vs Tommy Dreamer, 1/19/95. Not so much 'good' as 'interesting'.

Kawada vs Kobashi, Triple Crown, 1/19/95. Big and very memorable match.

Misawa & Kobashi vs Kawada & Taue, tag titles, 1/24/95. This match aired 8 times. There is a quality divide between the top four and bottom four matches; sadly this is in the lower half. Now consider that this is still an amazing match; I have it in the top 15 for All Japan in the '90s. THAT is how great this matchup was. 485 MB.

Misawa, Kobashi & Akiyama vs Williams, Ace & RVD, 2/17/95. Doc and Ace are fired up and want a piece of the tag champs! RVD gets face heat! Akiyama dishes out the best jumping knee of his career!

Baba, Jumbo & Akiyama vs Taue, Fuchi & Inoue, 3/4/95. Not great or anything but an interesting look at late-career Jumbo as he faces his former stablemates. 156 MB.

Misawa & Kobashi vs Williams & Ace, 3/4/95. A little background: this is the third of three big matches between the teams. Misawa & Kobashi won both, including the '94 tag league. Misawa & Kobashi haven't dropped a fall as a team in quite some time. And Johnny Ace? At this stage in his career he's a bridesmaid who marks almost the exact middle of the All Japan roster. But Williams beat Misawa and Kobashi back-to-back, and is in the prime of his career. Williams & Ace beat Misawa & Kobashi in an unaired non-title match on 5/28/94. How does it all play out? Only one way to know, and that's by snagging this 450 MB monster.

Kawada vs Akiayama, Champions Carnival '95. Both are in the roles they do best, ass-kicker and underdog respectively. Accordingly this match is, as the French say, 'bon'.

Taue vs Kobashi, Champions Carnival '95. Taue faces an unusually grumpy Kobashi and has to keep plugging away to make real progress. In the process he debuts two moves that would become staples throughout his career. The start of Taue Miracle Run '95.

Misawa vs Kobashi, Champions Carnival '95. I'm pretty much out of ways to say 'this match rules' and 'look at who's in the match' so just download it. 179 MB.

Kobashi vs Akiyama, Champions Carnival '95. Sadly it's only the last 5 minutes, but you take what you can get.

Misawa vs Kawada, Champions Carnival '95. So thirty seconds in, Kawada kicks Misawa in the face. Been there, done that, right? Except this time Kawada BREAKS MISAWA'S FACE, and Misawa proceeds to finish the match. Oh and he takes no time off after the match. Misawa: not a wuss.

Can-Am Express vs Kobashi & Kikuchi, 4/8/95. Can't go wrong with this matchup. Also, this is the last time Kobashi & Kikuchi teamed up as a 2-man unit in All Japan.

Misawa vs Akiyama, Champions Carnival '95. The '95 tournament is really loaded so this tends to get overlooked. It's worth your while.

Kawada vs Taue, Champions Carnival '95. Throughout their history, Kawada has been the dominant one. Taue Miracle Run '95 has something to say about that this time around. 188 MB.

Misawa vs Taue, Champions Carnival '95 league match. Taue is 0-for-forever against Misawa at this point. However, not only does he have two big bombs to go for, he also has Misawa's freshly broken face to target. The end result is quite different from their previous encounters. 245 MB.

Kawada vs Kobashi, Champions Carnival '95. Kawada won with a powerbomb a year earlier, but Kobashi took him to a 60 minute draw in their title match. Another important part of the backstory is that they both completely rule. One of the top few CC league matches ever right here.

Hansen, Kobashi & Akiyama vs Kawada, Ace & Omori, 4/15/95. Yet another 'hidden gem' tag. Hansen is fired up, Kawada is great, and this match even manages to tie into the tag title match on the next tour. 199 MB.

Misawa vs Taue, Champions Carnival '95 Final. Taue fights hard, but he normally doesn't fight dirty. Does 'working over Misawa's broken face' count as dirty? Anyway, this is commonly held as the best singles match of Taue's career and both of them are gunning for their first CC win. 238 MB.

Kobashi vs Ace, 5/26/95. As good a singles bout as I've seen from Ace. Plus there would be ramifications from this at the end of the tour.

Kroffat vs RVD, junior title, 6/9/95. A must-see for RVD fans. A 'you should see this' for everyone. Kroffat brings the structure, while RVD hits his stuff really well. Result is a juniors match that really has everything you want from a juniors match. 147 MB.

Misawa & Kobashi vs Kawada & Taue, tag titles, 6/9/95. I don't even know where to start; I'm not even sure this match needs more hype. What I do know is that for as awesome as this is on its own, seeing the lead-ins is immensely helpful. 358 MB.

Kawada, Taue & Honda vs Misawa, Kobashi & Asako, 6/30/95. The main event of the first show after the 6/9 tag title epic. When I saw that Meltzer gave a match with '95 Honda in it five stars, I didn't quite know what to make of it. Then I actually saw it, and while five stars seems a bit much this is a hell of a match. Honda really feels it, Asako mixes it up with the big guys, and I think the other four in the match need no explanation. Hot Korakuen crowd to boot. The last really great All Japan 6-man like this. 109 MB.

Misawa, Kobashi & Akiyama vs Kawada, Kikuchi & Ogawa, 7/8/95. Bizarro Kikuchi! Kawada leaves a big impression on Misawa!

Kawada & Taue vs Can-Am Express, tag titles, 7/20/95. The only 'big' tag titles shot the Can-Ams ever got, and the first title defense for Kawada/Taue. Can-Ams have a nice balance between credibility and being the underdogs to make the match work.

Taue vs Kobashi, 7/24/95. This is part of a 4-man round-robin contenders tournament, and is the last match. Taue comes in 2-0, Kobashi is 1-1. Taue gets the shot with a win or a draw, while Kobashi must win.

Misawa vs Kawada, Triple Crown, 7/24/95. Follow-up to the big tag. And what a follow-up it is! 227 MB.

Kroffat vs Ogawa, junior title, 9/10/95, JIP. Ogawa's third shot at Kroffat in the last 53 weeks. In theory that would make Ogawa a favorite, but consider that Kikuchi went five title bouts in the same reign without defeating Fuchi. Darn good closing stretch.

Misawa vs Taue, Triple Crown, 9/10/95. A lot of people have a hard time getting into Taue. I watch a match like this where Taue lays it all out there, dishes out plenty of hurt, hangs with Misawa in a flat-out high-quality contest, and I can't do anything but love on the lanky bastard. Oh yeah Misawa isn't too shabby in this.

Kawada & Taue vs Misawa & Kobashi, tag titles, 10/15/95. These guys know how to work a long match better than anyone. I especially enjoy the build to a very small number of nearfalls. 490+ MB.

Kawada vs Albright, 10/25/95. I didn't like this for a long time, in part because I kept looking for "All Japan guy versus UWFi guy". This is more like if Kawada wrestled a match in UWFi, and the crowd reacts accordingly. Kawada adapts very well to shoot-style, and I like this quite a bit more than the Takada vs Albright bouts.

Misawa vs Kobashi, Triple Crown, 10/25/95. Starts off hot and sadly gets real slow down the stretch. Does somewhat set the tone for how much they'd go all-out in future title bouts.

Albright vs Honda, 12/9/95. Two guys with strong amateur backgrounds collide. They keep it simple, and with a hot crowd at Nippon Budokan they're able to deliver.

Kawada & Taue vs Misawa & Kobashi, RWTL '95 final. The conclusion of their series, and the last big tag for Misawa/Kobashi in All Japan. During the round-robin, in the only non-taped match of their series, Kawada pinned Kobashi with a powerbomb.

Kawada & Taue vs Kobashi & Akiyama, 3/2/96. This is the first time Akiyama has been given this much spotlight in a Budokan match on purpose, and he makes the most of it. This match sets the tone for the many battles Kawada and Akiyama had over the coming year. Great, great stuff.

Kawada vs Taue, Champions Carnival '96. Tag partners put everything aside to kick each other in the face.

Misawa vs Kobashi, Champions Carnival '96.

Misawa vs Kawada, Champions Carnival '96. The last few minutes, proving that it was taped. Hey, they eventually showed the Can-Ams vs Kobashi/Kikuchi 5/25/92 almost in full, there's still hope!

Kawada, Ace & Albright vs Misawa, Kobashi & Akiyama, 4/20/96. Loads of fun as Kawada leads a patchwork team against his archrivals. The Kawada vs Akiyama segments are awesome. 179 MB.

Taue vs Williams, Champions Carnival '96 final. Not a match about 'grace' or 'nuance' or 'beauty', though Doc gets in some really amazing power moves on Taue. 161 MB.

Kawada & Taue vs Misawa & Akiyama, tag titles, 5/23/96. Hell of a match. Akiyama's biggest match in his career to that point. Gotta love the beating he takes. He recently debuted the exploder; can it bring him up to the level of the Holy Demon Army?

Kawada vs Kobashi, Triple Crown contendership, 5/24/96. Winner gets a shot at the Budokan just two weeks later. Not their best match, not their worst; it's freaking Kawada vs Kobashi.

Misawa vs Taue, Triple Crown, 5/24/96. Taue had just won the Champions Carnival. Finish plays off of Misawa's matches with Taue and Kobashi during the tournament.

Misawa & Akiyama vs Williams & Ace, tag titles, 6/7/96. Won MOTY honors. I don't think it's quite that good but it's still a heck of a ride as Akiyama tries not to let down Misawa two weeks after their title win, while Williams & Ace try for the third time to win the belts. 181 MB.

Taue vs Kawada, Triple Crown, 6/7/96.

Misawa & Akiyama vs Taue & Kawada, tag titles, 7/9/96. Was last time a fluke or does young Akiyama really have what it takes? 224 MB.

Fuchi vs Kikuchi, junior title, 7/24/96. Their 6th and final title match. How much does Fuchi have in the tank? How much can Kikuchi survive? Not a perfect match, but there's some good drama and it definitely feels like the climax of their rivalry.

Taue vs Kobashi, Triple Crown, 7/24/96. Of the nine title bouts Taue was in during his All Japan run, this went the longest. It certainly feels like the most epic. 309 MB.

Misawa & Akiyama vs Williams & Ace, tag titles, 9/5/96. Heck of a match. With, you guessed it, an epic finishing stretch.

Kawada, Taue & Ogawa vs Misawa, Akiyama & Asako, 9/28/96. Asako is hilarious at times in trying to hang with the big boys. Opening is okay but the finishing stretch is REALLY epic for a 6-man.

Kikuchi vs RVD, junior title, 10/12/96. Interesting matchup during Kikuchi's only singles title reign. RVD continues to be better in All Japan than ECW!

Williams & Ace vs Kobashi & Patriot, tag titles, 10/12/96. I love how the crowd collectively pronounces 'Patriot' as 'patori'.

Taue, Baba & Dory vs Misawa, Jumbo & Akiyama, 10/18/96. Baba and Dory add way more to this than you'd expect. And in case star power doesn't sell you: Akiyama doesn't drop the fall!

Kobashi vs Kawada, Triple Crown, 10/18/96. Very, very lightly clipped. 357 MB.

Williams & Ace vs Misawa & Akiyama, Tag League '96, 11/16/96. The other iterations of this matchup were good. And, shock of shocks, this one is good too. Some downtime but the finish is hot. Which is yet another shock.

Kawada & Taue vs Williams & Ace, Tag League '96. Full match. 140 MB.

Misawa & Akiyama vs Kobashi & Patriot, Tag League '96. Full match. Finish is white-hot.

Kobashi & Patriot vs Albright & Sabu, Tag League '96. Well that's about as random a combination of wrestlers as you could ask for, and they manage to mesh very well.

Kawada & Taue vs Misawa & Akiyama, Tag League '96 league match. Escalates early, putting Misawa and Akiyama on their heels. Kawada and Taue dominate in grand fashion but can they stave off yet another Misawa-led comeback, something they failed to do earlier in the year? 171 MB.

Misawa & Akiyama vs Williams & Ace, RWTL '96, 11/30/96. You'll open the file and say "darn, they clipped it". You'll be WRONG. They effectively lop off the first 2/3rds of a big match and skip to the juicy part.

Kawada & Taue vs Misawa & Akiyama, Tag League '96 final. This is the final part of the coveted '90s trinity of great matches. No small number of experts consider this to be the best tag match ever. I think it's 'only' #2.

Hase vs Shiga, 1/2/97. Good little rookie discipline match, and Hase's All Japan debut.

Taue vs Akiyama, 1/20/97. I waited too long to post this. A very unique match in that they start fast and end 'early' by All Japan standards. Akiyama looks like a world-beater.

Misawa vs Kobashi, Triple Crown, 1/20/97. The definitive Misawa vs Kobashi match. Featuring a classic Kings Road structure, layered strategy from Kobashi and an epic but not absurd closing stretch. Great quality.

Kawada & Fuchi vs Fujiwara & Kikuchi, 1/26/97. It's not mindblowing; Fujiwara was past his peak and Kikuchi was in his late '90s funk. But you still have Fujiwara vs Fuchi ON THE MAT and Fujiwara and Kawada bringing the SPITE. Korakuen was mostly dead on this comm tape (?!) but brought it here.

Misawa & Akiyama vs Kobashi & Omori, 1/26/97. The last matchup of a Misawa vs Kobashi tag gauntlet. Kobashi/Omori is somewhat random, so they don't have much of a chance, but there is plenty of intrigue in seeing Misawa vs Kobashi a few days after their singles epic.

Williams, Ace & Kea vs Misawa, Akiyama & Asako, 2/16/97, JIP. A lead-in match to a Misawa vs Williams title match, only in this case the prelude is better than the climax. Doc really brings his A-game at Korakuen.

Taue vs Akiyama, CC '97, JIP. Second half of a very watchable handheld. Will Taue get his revenge after the big upset in January, or will Akiyama stun the big man yet again? Quite the finish for a house show.

Kobashi vs Akiyama, Champions Carnival '97. While Taue vs Akiyama was big for Akiyama as a singles wrestler, this did even more to announce his arrival.

Misawa vs Kawada, Champions Carnival '97, league match. Once more to war they go. I like this a fair amount more than their title match from two months later. Great intensity and lots of top-notch exchanges.

Misawa vs Kobashi, Champions Carnival '97 final, match 1. Misawa, Kawada and Kobashi tied one another and thus had singles matches with one another to determine the winner. Kobashi beat Misawa with a lariat in an untaped match during the tournament, his first win over Misawa, so he has the momentum going in. 252 MB.

Misawa vs Kawada, Champions Carnival '97 final, match 2. Due to the luck of the draw, Misawa has to fight Kawada immediately after the harsh match with Kobashi. That's not a good thing when Kawada is still looking for his first singles win over Misawa. 90 MB.

Kawada vs Kobashi, Champions Carnival '97 final, match 3. Kobashi had the rest but Kawada's match didn't go as long. Who has the most left to win an incredibly stiff finalie? 186 MB.

Misawa & Akiyama vs Williams & The Lacrosse, 5/18/97. Lacrosse is one of the many Jim Steele gimmicks. Not the most appealing matchup on paper, but Dr. Death makes things interesting as only he can.

Kawada, Taue & Omori vs Kobashi, Ace & Patriot 5/18/97. Holy Demons (plus one) versus Global Energy Team!

Misawa vs Akiyama, 5/27/97, JIP. The last time we saw this matchup was in 1995, and Misawa was able to beat Akiyama with minimal effort. Much has changed, and Akiyama can now hang with the reigning Triple Crown champ. This would lead to a series of bigger matches between the two over the following year.

Kawada & Taue vs Kobashi & Ace, tag titles, 5/27/97, JIP. High-quality version that recently aired on NTV.

Kawada & Taue vs Kobashi & Ace, tag titles, 5/27/97, JIP. The original (grainier) TV version, which is JIP'ed one minute sooner (ie. there's more).

Misawa vs Kawada, 6/6/97, Triple Crown. Kawada comes off his second carnival win, with pins on Kobashi and Misawa in the 'triangle' final. Kawada employs the 'explode Misawa's head with backdrop drivers' strategy here.

Misawa vs Taue, 7/25/97, Triple Crown. Taue really takes it to Misawa at the start and throughout. Plays off their '96 match (naturally) and sadly, like the Kawada match, it breaks down just a bit right at the end. Still well worth seeing as you'd expect. 172 MB.

Kobashi vs Hase, 8/26/97. Hase, only able to wrestle part-time, comes in and hangs with Kobashi with ease.

Williams & Albright vs Misawa & Akiyama, tag titles, 8/26/97. The last title shot Misawa & Akiyama wound up getting. Really compact as they dispense with the usual long title match format.

Kobashi & Shiga vs Hayabusa & Shinzaki, 9/6/97. The Kobashi/Hayabusa matchup is really interesting.

Misawa vs Akiyama, 9/6/97, Triple Crown. This match speaks volumes about both men. In the case of Misawa, he has a chance to really put over young but enthusiastic Akiyama by means of selling, match length and general effort. He mostly doesn't. In the case of Akiyama, who is really good in his first title shot, he doesn't get the same gentle touch that Jumbo gave to Misawa et al, and partially as a result of this he never becomes quite the star he was supposed to. It's still a good match.

Misawa, Kawada & Hase vs Kobashi, Taue & Akiyama, 9/15/97. Not mind-blowing but it's these six guys so you know there's plenty of goodness.

Kobashi & Ace vs Kawada & Taue, 10/11/97. Really unique situation in All Japan as newly crowned tag champs face top contenders in a non-title match. This is also a lead-in to Taue vs Ace, and having a lead-in to a secondary singles match also kinda stands out.

Taue vs Ace, 10/21/97. They do a pretty good job of making it feel important. Can Ace actually get a big singles win at Budokan Hall?

Misawa vs Kobashi, 10/21/97, Triple Crown. Now in high quality! 289 MB.

Misawa & Akiyama vs Johnny Smith & Wolf Hawkfield, RWTL '97, JIP. Smith, formerly the #2 man in the 'new British Bulldogs'. Hawkfield, playing a character from a video game. What chance do they have against Misawa and Akiyama? You'd think none, but they never say die and Korakuen backs them all the way. Awesome closing stretch.

Kawada & Taue vs Hayabusa & Shinzaki, Tag League '97. Crowd is solidly behind Team FMW, match is all kinds o' fun. Complete!

Misawa & Akiyama vs Kobashi & Ace, tag league '97. Missing a few minutes, but that's incidental. Great stuff, of course. 219 MB.

Kawada & Taue vs Kobashi & Ace, RWTL '97. Sadly it's clipped way down, but some of a good match is better than none at all. Can Kawada & Taue finally get a win on Kobashi & Ace?

Misawa & Akiyama vs Hayabusa & Shinzaki, RWTL '97. Team FMW pulls out all the stops, and I mean ALL the stops!

Kawada & Taue vs Misawa & Akiyama, Tag League '97 league match. These teams haven't faced off since their classic in the '96 finals. Akiyama takes some serious punishment but keeps on coming, refusing to give up.

Kawada & Taue vs Misawa & Akiyama, Tag League '97 final. Not on the same level as their match a year earlier. During the round-robin portion Kawada pinned Akiyama after sapping his strength with a stretch plum; can Akiyama make good? 256 MB.

Kobashi & Ace vs Kawada & Taue, tag titles, 1/25/98. Kawada & Taue won the tag league. Kobashi & Ace won the last decisive meeting between the teams, and with Ace pinning Taue no less. 266 MB.

Misawa vs Akiyama, 1/26/98, Triple Crown. Here both guys bust out new moves (in particular Misawa at the end) in an effort to put each other away.

Kobashi, Ace & Smith vs Misawa, Akiyama & Kea, 2/14/98, JIP. Ace is two weeks away from his first (and only) title shot. He's out to send a message.

Kobashi & Akiyama vs Takayama & Kakihara, 2/28/98. Lots of talent and a short(ish) match time equals compact goodness.

Kawada vs Akiyama, Champions Carnival '98. Their final singles match, and only the 4th to be taped. Crowd is quite but the match is good, and Akiyama certainly shows how far he's come since 1995.

Misawa vs Kawada, Champions Carnival '98. At last, the saga is complete!

Kobashi vs Akiyama, Champions Carnival '98. Akiyama has done progressively better against Kobashi over the years, and finally in January got a pinfall over him in a tag. Now Akiyama comes in with more points, and with just a week left in the tournament neither man can afford a loss.

Misawa vs Akiyama, 4/18/98, Champions Carnival final. Akiyama took Misawa, Williams and Kobashi to a draw and pinned Hansen among others in the tournament, demonstrating his growth. But was it enough for him to finally put down Misawa one-on-one?

Akiyama vs Hase, 5/1/98. Part-time Hase brings his A-game for the Tokyo Dome. Akiyama has struggled in big matches over the last year, losing three Budokan main events against Misawa. He backed his way into Champions Carnival final as well. That means he's going to have to not only hang with Hase throughout, but also step up his game in the clutch. 221 MB.

Misawa vs Kawada, 5/1/98, Triple Crown. Misawa vs Kawada headlines the Tokyo Dome for the first time. Some nice exchanges and a great, determined 'dammit you are NOT making the big comeback this time' attitude from Kawada. Oh and head drops. Coming in, Misawa had his legs worked over during the carnival and Kawada beat Taue with a figure-four.

Kawada & Taue vs Kobashi & Ace, tag titles, 6/5/98. Lead-in to Kawada vs Kobashi, and the last time Johnny Ace would be in a match of this caliber. Fun fact: Kobashi and Taue met in a match for the tag titles on 6 of 7 'super power series' tours between '92 and '98. This match and the '92 match have a little symmetry going on.

Kawada vs Kobashi, Triple Crown, 6/12/98. So this is pretty much considered to be their best match. And many consider it the last truly great Triple Crown match, myself included. Kobashi blasted through Kawada during the Champions Carnival in an untaped match for his first singles win over Dangerous K; can Kawada fend him off now?

Kobashi vs Kakihara, 7/15/98.

Kawada & Taue vs Takayama & Kakihara, 7/19/98. Lots of hard hitting, and the short-ish time means the match flies by. 102 MB.

Akiyama & Hase vs Kobashi & Kea, 7/19/98. Akiyama is headed for his 5th big main event in the last year, having lost the others. As such he's not interested in playing nice with Kobashi. I'm amazed they could join up a month after this.

Albright & Takayama vs Taue & Izumida, 7/24/98, JIP. The NTV airing of this clips to exactly the right part. Izu takes the UWFi veterans head-on and Budokan is right there with him!

Kawada & Omori vs Hase & Kea, 7/24/98. Clipped, and that's a good thing because it drags in full.

Kobashi vs Akiyama, Triple Crown, 7/24/98. They weren't tagging at this point. Akiyama has recently created the Exploder '98, the sort of move he needs to finally start winning big matches. He also has come up with a zillion ways to work the legs. Kobashi... I think we all know what Kobashi likes to do.

Kobashi & Ace vs Taue & Honda, 8/23/98, clipped. Lead-in to Kobashi vs Taue that winds up being anything but predictable.

Misawa, Akiyama & Asako vs Kawada, Ogawa & Omori, 8/23/98, JIP. Unique matchup with a hot finishing run.

Kawada & Taue vs Kobashi & Kea, 8/29/98, some clipping. More Kobashi vs Taue buildup, though the match is a good stand-alone piece as well.

Kawada vs Kakihara, 9/11/98. A short match that I'm guessing Kakihara wishes was shorter.

Akiyama vs Ogawa, 9/11/98. Ogawa, having just won the junior title, looks to prove what he's capable off. They do the contrasting styles perfectly, and this is my favorite Ogawa singles match by a fair amount.

Kobashi vs Taue, Triple Crown, 9/11/98. Taue has pinned Kobashi several times over the course of the year, and is still looking for revenge from their July '96 match. Unlike Akiyama, who tried to out-wit Kobashi, Taue has a different strategy: brute force.

Kawada & Taue vs Kobashi & Akiyama, tag titles, 10/11/98. First big match for Burning, and naturally it's a good one. 300 MB.

Kobashi & Shinzaki vs Misawa & Omori, 10/24/98, clipped. To this point Kobashi has never pinned Misawa on a televised match. It took something real special to finally pull it off.

Kobashi vs Misawa, Triple Crown, 10/31/98.

Hansen & Vader vs Misawa & Ogawa, RWTL '98. Neither Hansen nor Vader was happy with teaming up, because they figured they were too much for any opponents to handle realistically. I think they had a point.

Part two of the Tag League '98 commercial tape. Teams include Vader/Hansen, Kobashi/Akiyama, Kawada/Taue, Misawa/Ogawa and Ace/Barton. Quite the lineup. Not the all-time greatest video quality but certainly enough to be watchable. 164 MB.

Kawada & Taue vs Kobashi & Akiyama, tag titles, 1/7/99, some clipping. Burning won the tag league, and beat Kawada/Taue during the round-robin. However, Kawada/Taue is still Kawada/Taue.

Kawada & Taue vs Misawa & Shinzaki, 1/15/99. Shinzaki didn't do so well as far as wins and losses in All Japan, yet he hangs with the big names pretty well. The key is Misawa vs Kawada as they're a week away from a title bout.

Kobashi vs Vader, 1/15/99. Vader's first big singles match in All Japan, after looking impressive during the Tag League. Kobashi's first big singles match since losing the Triple Crown three months earlier. Can Vader jump from jobbing to a young Edge on Heat to toppling Kobashi in the space of a year? Find out!

Honda & Izumida vs Hayabusa & Shinzaki, All Asia tag titles, 1/16/99. Team FMW goes for big-league gold. Honda & IZU have other idea. Namely, ridiculously hard headbutts and suplexes.

Misawa vs Kawada, Triple Crown, 1/22/99. Similar to the 5/98 match in that Kawada seems keenly aware of how urgent it is that he prevent a final Misawa comeback. This match does have a couple of advantages, like not having the over-long legwork, and one especially memorable spot. Kawada no-sells breaking his arm legit on the back of Misawa's head about 1/3 of the way through.

Misawa vs Kawada Music Video by DDevil.

Honda & Izumida vs Hayabusa & Shinzaki, All Asia tag titles, 2/13/99. Follow-up to the first match.

Jumbo Tsuruta retirement ceremony, 3/6/99.

Kobashi & Akiyama vs Misawa & Ogawa, tag titles, 3/6/99. Wait, wait, Misawa replaced Akiyama with... Yoshinari Ogawa? Misawa finished in the bottom half of the '98 tag league, something that didn't happen since '88? Pfft, match will be over in five minutes. Unless that Ogawa guy is more than meets the eye, but what are the chances of that. 280 MB.

Vader vs Taue, Triple Crown decision match, 3/6/99. Granted it isn't the match these two would have had three years earlier, but it's still enjoyable.

Vader vs Misawa, CC '99. Their first battle. Not quite as 'epic' as the ones they have later in the year, but you still get that big match feel and plenty of action.

Kobashi vs Akiyama, Champions Carnival '99. Their final meeting in All Japan, and only meeting as partners in Burning. Akiyama has been eliminated from contention, but he fights to the last like always.

Vader vs Kobashi, Champions Carnival '99 final. They went to a 30 minute draw during the tournament. Does that mean Kobashi has what it takes to down the reigning champ? 158 MB.

Kawada vs Hase, 5/2/99. Kawada's return after his first injury in '99. Hase brings his usual big match effort, Kawada brings a willingness to take the most ungodly uranage bumps ever.

Vader vs Misawa, Triple Crown, 5/2/99. Heck of a match, as Vader really brings his A game and Misawa has the Tokyo Dome crowd in the palm of his hand. 189 MB.

Hayabusa & Shinzaki vs No Fear, All Asia titles, 6/4/99. Omori held the belts quite a while (with Akiyama), but they weren't usually facing opposition on the level of Team FMW. Will size or skill win the day? 225 MB.

Misawa & Taue vs Kawada & Kobashi, 6/4/99. This is the only time these four met in a configuration other than Misawa/Kobashi vs Kawada/Taue. It's the last time they fought in any form. It's a special farewell match for the Nakajima Sports Center, which was the venue for events like the double-header on Super Power Series '96. It's yet another big Kobashi vs Taue tag on a Super Power Series. It's the main lead-in to the Misawa vs Kobashi title match a week later. And, oddly enough, this is the first Taue match I ever saw.

Kobashi & Akiyama vs Johnny Ace & Mike Barton, tag titles, 6/9/99. Wait, wait, Ace replaced Kobashi with... Bart Gunn? Wait, Bart Gunn is actually decent?! What's the world coming to? 187 MB.

Misawa vs Kobashi, triple crown, 6/11/99. Complete, high-quality. 358 MB.

No Fear vs Kobashi & Shiga, 7/4/99. Kobashi is not at 100% and NOOOO FEYAH doesn't hestitate to target him. 121 MB.

Kobashi vs Kakihara, 7/16/99. Kaki does better than the first time, showing that skill can manage brute force.

Kawada vs Takayama, 7/17/99. Takayama is fresh off pinning Taue at the last Budokan show. Kawada is gearing up for a title shot. Short with a ton of hard hits and an odd finish.

Kobashi & Akiyama vs Vader & Albright, 7/23/98. Burning lost the tag titles a month before and can't afford another loss. Meanwhile, Vader/Albright is a team that could easily dominate the division if they get momentum going. A similar situation to the '98 tag league final, only Albright isn't nearly as limited as Hansen.

Misawa vs Kawada, Triple Crown, 7/23/99. The last and least of their title bouts.

Kobashi, Akiyama & Shiga vs Ace, Barton & Kea, 8/29/99. A fine tag. Shiga being so skinny makes him a natural underdog.

Misawa vs Takayama, 9/4/99. After years of mediocre matches in All Japan, Takayama cuts loose and delivers in a high-profile slugfest against the champ.

Kobashi vs Gladiator (Mike Awesome), 9/4/99. Not exactly rocket science right here, but I think Awesome does try to work the back a little bit for a vague sembalance of psychology.

Kobashi, Akiyama & Shiga vs Takayama, Omori & Fuchi, 10/9/99. Fuchi was great in one 6-man after another in the early '90s. Then the appearances we saw tended to be in dreadful 'old men' comedy bouts. So it was a bit of a shift to get a chance to see Fuchi with good opponents, and it's no surprise that the results are quite good.

Misawa & Ogawa vs Kobashi & Akiyama, tag titles, 10/23/99. Follow-up to their March tag only with the roles reversed. Misawa & Ogawa recently had all the gold in the company before vacating the All Asia tag belts to "give other teams a chance".

Kobashi & Akiyama vs Takayama & Omori, tag titles, 10/30/99. Kobashi is pissed due to No Fear's dishonorable tactics during the tour. He's so very pissed. Keep in mind that No Fear just recently had both the All Asia and world tag titles, AND that a week earlier Omori beat Jinsei Shinzaki and Takayama beat Gary Albright in singles matches, so they should normally be able to fend for themselves. But Kobashi is really, really pissed...

Misawa vs Vader, Triple Crown, 10/30/99. A heavyweight bomb-fest in line with their bout at Tokyo Dome.

Vader & Smith vs Misawa & Ogawa, RWTL '99, some clipping. This was certainly not what I (or the fans) expected. The main event of the first night of the tournament kicks things off with a bang! Vader and Smith were somewhat of an after-thought coming in, but they deliver a big-match performance. Ogawa takes easily the biggest bump of his life. The first night of the '98 tournament saw Vader & Hansen beat Misawa & Ogawa, and while Vader & Smith aren't as dangerous they do match up well with the Untouchables. Late '90s All Japan has somewhat of a bum rap, I think, as the company was still able to deliver matches like this.

Kobashi & Akiyama vs Misawa & Ogawa, RWTL '99. Now complete. The fourth and final meeting of these teams.

Kobashi, Akiyama & Shiga vs Vader, Smith & Kea, 11/27/99. Some clipping. Shiga in his skinny days is well below even young Kea, and that disadvantage makes the match work.

Kobashi & Akiyama vs Taue & Hansen, Tag League '99 final. Hansen's last chance! Taue is over the hill but still a force to be reckoned with! Hot crowd! Hansen and Taue dominated the league, beating everyone including Burning. Can the team so similar to the popular Baba/Hansen combo pull it off?

Kobashi vs Omori, 1/9/00. Omori's biggest singles test since No Fear took off in mid-99. Kobashi is aiming for a title shot and a loss here would take him out of contention.

Kawada vs Kobashi, 1/12/00. Kawada's return after his second injury in '99. Their final meeting. 178 MB.

Misawa & Akiyama vs Vader & Taue, 1/17/00. Not mind-blowing or anything but it's these four in a match, c'mon.

Vader vs Akiyama, 1/23/00. Clearly Vader can beat Akiyama; he can do so any number of ways. The issue at stake is whether Akiyama has it in him to take down the big man before Vader gets a chance to throw the big bombs. 138 MB.

Vader vs Akiyama, Triple Crown, 1/23/00. New cap.

Vader vs Kawada, 2/17/00. Their only singles match. Not "if it had happened in 1993" good, but still "Vader and Kawada beating each other up" good.

Misawa vs Akiyama, 2/27/00. Darn, darn good match with Akiyama looking especially good and Misawa having one of his top performances of the decade.

Vader vs Kobashi, Triple Crown, 2/27/00. Clearly Kobashi can beat Vader, right? I mean he's beaten Mike Awesome, Kawada and Steve Williams since his last title shot. That said, Kobashi is 0-2-1 against Vader to date, so it seems Vader has his number. 192 MB.

Akiyama vs Shiga, 3/11/00. Short, heated, and a precursor to what would make Shiga (briefly) a great babyface in NOAH.

Misawa, Kobashi & Kikuchi vs Kawada, Taue & Fuchi, 3/11/00. I won't lie, this disappointed me. Even though this is the last Misawa & Kobashi 6-man, and the last time Kobashi or Kikuchi faced Kawada on film, it's FUCHI who makes it worthwhile. Ten years earlier he was busting up Kobashi's nose; now it's all he can do to not get destroyed. Korakuen Hall backs his will to survive, and we get a taste of what Battlin' Old Man Fuchi would bring after the split.

Misawa vs Kawada, CC '00. A compact conclusion to their series in All Japan. 164 MB.

Kobashi vs Johnny Smith, Champions Carnival 2000. Smith does a very smart match and eventually the crowd realizes that he's not going to be an easy win for Kobashi. Unique finish.

Kobashi vs Misawa, Champions Carnival 2000. Their last All Japan match. Misawa comes in having beaten Kobashi in their five Triple Crown matches, including the previous June. He beat Vader and Kawada earlier in the tournament. Kobashi comes in as champion, and he pinned Misawa in an unaired match at last year's tournament.

Kobashi vs Omori, Champions Carnival 2000 Final. Omori has knocked off some big names, including Akiyama and Steve Williams, with his cheesy axe bomber. Kobashi isn't in the mood for cheese. The result is good clean fun for everyone for Omori. 207 MB.

Kobashi vs Takayama, Triple Crown, 5/26/00. There's a lot to see here. First off, Takayama emerges from mediocrity and brings plenty to the table, with the crowd buying it despite his years of jobbing in All Japan; it's the emergence of the awesome Takayama. Second, this feels a LOT like their GHC match four years later. Finally, this is the last pre-split title match.

Hashi vs Kenta Kobayashi, 5/31/00. Look at that skinny loser, who let him in?

All Japan June 9th 2000, part 1. The final pre-split Budokan show was dominated by a four team tournament to crown new tag champs after Vader got hurt and vacated the belts. This block features Misawa & Ogawa vs Takayama & Omori, and Kawada & Taue vs Ace & Barton. As it turned out that would be Ace's final scheduled wrestling match, though he did have the ability to earn one more with a trip to the finals.

All Japan splits.

All Japan June 9th 2000, part 2. The tag tournament final, and a very heated Akiyama & Kea vs Kobashi & Shiga battle.