Akira Taue vs Mitsuharu Misawa
taped 10/11/1992, aired 10/18/1992
Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium, Yokohama, Japan
(reviewed 04/19/2024) You know why I love Akira Taue? That motherfucker knows not to waste my time. Not one minute into this match he’s chucking Mitsuharu Misawa (reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, you may have heard of him) out of the ring to hit one of the wackiest torpedo topes of his entire career. The dude tosses aside basically every convention of the King’s Road style that I hate and says “no, we’re gonna do good shit instead.” He’s the best. Taue haters kick rocks. Not sure how much he knew about Jumbo Tsuruta’s condition at this point but he’s certainly been wrestling like he knows his mentor isn’t long for this wrestling world, proving to be a crucial figure in the largely unappealing period between Jumbo stepping back in summer ‘92 and the formation of the Holy Demon Army the following spring. Mostly Taue accomplishes that by being an unrepentant heel, even more so than Toshiaki Kawada will prove to be in the coming years. He’s more than happy to yank Misawa down by his hair and fire a few dozen punches at his collarbone just to remind him who’s boss, following it up with clotheslines that knock the wind out of me watching them back 30+ years later. Generally think he brings the best out of Misawa too; this is the first time in a while we’ve seen the ace hit his elbow suicida and he’s certainly not flipping out of superplexes in every other match, something that might honestly be the most impressive athletic feat of the man’s career thus far. Unfortunately Taue is not immune to the miasma of pointless armwork that Misawa exudes from his pores at this point, though thankfully he’s built up enough of a tolerance that it doesn’t last long here. Fun finishing stretch, more intense and nearfall-heavy than any we’ve yet seen in a singles match between the soon-to-be Four Pillars, concludes with Misawa hitting a second Tiger Driver for the win. Not sure that’s gonna be enough to keep Kawada down here in a few days.
Brock Hates Wrestling 