Okay so obviously going in this is going to be great, it's 3 of the Pillars and Jun so it's almost a lock that this match is going to deliver and oh yes it does that and more.
The opening is Jun firing up and just throwing offence at Kawada and slowly chipping away before getting shut down with a hard kick. This cycle keeps repeating until finally Jun gets Kawada down to the ground and brings in Misawa. I like that this initial exchange basically sets up the dynamic for the whole match. Jun is a fiery upstart with Misawa behind him and Kawada is the heel that's too cool to care.
Once Misawwa tags in he manages to hit an insanely smooth dive through the ropes and I always love Misawa hitting these high spots, they manage to surprise me every time and always look great despite Misawa never coming off as the most athletic man in the ring.
We then fall into a Misawa/Kawada exchange and I know I'm not breaking any new ground here but I wish I could express how fantastic a pairing these two are. It manages to walk that perfect pro wrestling line where it feels just sloppy enough that I believe it's a real struggle without going too far and looking like it's falling apart. And they keep this dynamic up constantly, for years, it's insane.
Anyway so eventually Taue gets the tag and I know there's a lot of discourse around how he compares to the other three Pillars (I think he's fairly clearly the worse of the four but also that's maybe the highest bar possible in wrestling) but in watching him clear house I just couldn't stop thinking that he might be the best big man in wrestling and somehow despite his fame he never seems to get his due for that. Whenever people make lists of this kind of thing the top few are usually some combination of Andre, Undertaker, Big Show, Bam Bam, Vader, and a few others. And I get that Taue isn't actually as big as some of them (Wikipedia has him listed at 6'4" and 265lb) he has the aura and style of a big man and more talent than any of those men.
Anyway so yeah, Taue just stomps around the ring clearing house and when Jun finally starts to mount a comeback Kawada just jumps in the ring, hits a cheeky punt to the head and ducks back out. And it's the little character moments like this that make me love Kawada, there was no need for him to do this, Taue would have probably been okay, but no he just could not let Jun get anything started.
At one point Jun Akiyama hits a series of suplexes and Kawada pops up at the end after a German, and I'm a sucker for the no-sell spot so I was *hyped* then immediately he stumbles and collapses through the ropes which isn't especially important but it was a very fun moment.
The ending sequence is also just lovely, Kawada hits the powerbomb on Misawa and stacks him up for the cover before a kickout. Then Taue just holds Akiyama up so Kawada can run over and get one last kick in to knock Jun out for good before hitting another powerbomb on Misawa and putting every single ounce of his weight into the cover to get the 3.
It might not come across in the writing here but this match is spectacularly good, it's 4 guys with super clear characters sharing the ring and nailing everything. I absolutely loved this match, it's going right onto my rewatch list from now on.
*****
(I wanted a gif of confetti or something here but I can't be bothered to go Google it so just imagine that)
The opening is Jun firing up and just throwing offence at Kawada and slowly chipping away before getting shut down with a hard kick. This cycle keeps repeating until finally Jun gets Kawada down to the ground and brings in Misawa. I like that this initial exchange basically sets up the dynamic for the whole match. Jun is a fiery upstart with Misawa behind him and Kawada is the heel that's too cool to care.
Once Misawwa tags in he manages to hit an insanely smooth dive through the ropes and I always love Misawa hitting these high spots, they manage to surprise me every time and always look great despite Misawa never coming off as the most athletic man in the ring.
We then fall into a Misawa/Kawada exchange and I know I'm not breaking any new ground here but I wish I could express how fantastic a pairing these two are. It manages to walk that perfect pro wrestling line where it feels just sloppy enough that I believe it's a real struggle without going too far and looking like it's falling apart. And they keep this dynamic up constantly, for years, it's insane.
Anyway so eventually Taue gets the tag and I know there's a lot of discourse around how he compares to the other three Pillars (I think he's fairly clearly the worse of the four but also that's maybe the highest bar possible in wrestling) but in watching him clear house I just couldn't stop thinking that he might be the best big man in wrestling and somehow despite his fame he never seems to get his due for that. Whenever people make lists of this kind of thing the top few are usually some combination of Andre, Undertaker, Big Show, Bam Bam, Vader, and a few others. And I get that Taue isn't actually as big as some of them (Wikipedia has him listed at 6'4" and 265lb) he has the aura and style of a big man and more talent than any of those men.
Anyway so yeah, Taue just stomps around the ring clearing house and when Jun finally starts to mount a comeback Kawada just jumps in the ring, hits a cheeky punt to the head and ducks back out. And it's the little character moments like this that make me love Kawada, there was no need for him to do this, Taue would have probably been okay, but no he just could not let Jun get anything started.
At one point Jun Akiyama hits a series of suplexes and Kawada pops up at the end after a German, and I'm a sucker for the no-sell spot so I was *hyped* then immediately he stumbles and collapses through the ropes which isn't especially important but it was a very fun moment.
The ending sequence is also just lovely, Kawada hits the powerbomb on Misawa and stacks him up for the cover before a kickout. Then Taue just holds Akiyama up so Kawada can run over and get one last kick in to knock Jun out for good before hitting another powerbomb on Misawa and putting every single ounce of his weight into the cover to get the 3.
It might not come across in the writing here but this match is spectacularly good, it's 4 guys with super clear characters sharing the ring and nailing everything. I absolutely loved this match, it's going right onto my rewatch list from now on.
*****
(I wanted a gif of confetti or something here but I can't be bothered to go Google it so just imagine that)