LogFAQs > #945288975

AJPW 6 Man

Okay as I turn this on instant problem - I don't know my four pillars nearly well enough to know what the fuck is going on for the first like 20 minutes of this match. Well okay, mainly I had a hard time remembering which one was Misawa and which one was Kobashi and on the heel side kinda the same with Jumbo/Fuchi at first. And I'll admit the hour runtime really had me hedging at the prospect of watching the whole thing.

Fortunately this crowd is hot enough for the babyfaces that I eventually figure this out.

Something I got reminded of partway through this match was the old adage from Scott Hall that went something like "When you do pro wrestling right youll get a bigger pop for a headlock than for whatever it is Rey just did" and boy did this match epitomize that. Its an old enough match that you get that old style like 5 minute armbar spot that just doesn't FEEL like a resthold. And I love that shit.

The biggest spots of this match were like...an armbar by Kawada and some strikes from the man who I came to believe was Jumbo came and stomped on Kawada's head like it was a fucking grape during the headlock spot. And I am sure this more of a "I don't watch a ton of Four Pillars" thing than something specific to this match but I love that Kawada refused to give up the sleeper even as he was getting his head stepped on. Just brilliant shit there. Shit after a while the crowd starts biting on forearm strikes as being all its gonna take to put away Taue. The crowd dies about around minute forty - and given that it was minute 40 who can blame them - but they came back to life in a BIG way for the finish from the hot tag to Kawada (and then to Misawa) on to the finish.

I also noticed the tag psychology was NOT american rock n roll express hot tag psychology which again took me aback as a delightful surprise. Or at least not for the entire match. In the middle segment, the babyfaces were doing the control spots on poor hapless Taue and because of the way they built the hierarchy you were building like....the dread tag instead. Because once Jumbo or Fuchi gets in the ring the faces are gonna get their asses kicked and you want them to win the match before that happens. Just great stuff. And again every time Kawada starts to get the better of Taue and put Jumbo's team in legitimate Danger Jumbo swats Kawada like the fly he is to him.

And once Jumbo gets in he just disassembles Kobashi and hobbles the babyface team as a result this one truly begins to kick into high gear with like...twenty minutes left. Ridiculous. Once that damage is done even the formerly feeble Taue is able to just punish Kobashi and is clearly going to eventually beat him.

And yet doesn't overstay its welcome. the pot simmers. Violence stacks on itself. The feelings get hurt. Kawada eventually getting to return the receipts to Jumbo being a moment that popped me hard AND ended up being the key story bit of the match. Kawada stepping to Jumbo's level and that pissing him off is the main 'reason' things go the way they go at the end. The threads being woven at the beginning take form like a Bob Ross painting with the Moonsault and Kawada finally, FINALLY, getting legtimately under Jumbo's skin and forcing that key error at the end as the finishing little touch that ties it all together.

This is the sort of thing properly booked tiers can get you. Beautiful. Five Snowflakes.

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Board 8's Voice of Reason
https://imgur.com/AWY4xHy