Tamon Honda vs Mitsuharu Misawa
01/17/1997
Matsumoto City Gymnasium, Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan
(reviewed 05/18/2024) Sort of strange to see this third from the top on the last televised show before Mitsuharu Misawa’s title match with Kenta Kobashi, given that Tamon Honda was still years away from any meaningful association with Kobashi. We’ve seen him tag with Super Generation Army before as well as against them, which is more an indication of how thin the AJPW roster is than his relationship to the stable. Either way it’s nice to see him have a big match, even if Misawa gives him absolutely nothing. Honda was a fairly successful Olympian, nearly medaling in ‘84, but you wouldn’t know it the way Misawa effortlessly contains him with a headlock and elbows his way free of all but one suplex attempt. The one he doesn’t avoid is another of those head drop Germans but it’s hard to get too excited by that anymore with how little they’ve mattered in main event matches, let alone an undercard attraction like this. As with so many of the wrestlers who’ve followed in his footsteps (not least the buck-toothed Brit basically wearing his gear these days) it’s so frustrating to watch Misawa be better at everything than everyone, either outdoing them on the mat or otherwise brushing off their biggest moves. There is nothing endearing about a wrestler with no weaknesses or holes in their game, not simply because it’s the egotistical behavior of someone who’s never been told no in their life but because it makes for matches with zero stakes. Why bother hoping for a Honda upset when Misawa won’t indulge such an idea for even a moment? Hell, why bother tuning in? Looking at their TV ratings over the years, seems like I wouldn’t be the only one thinking that.
Brock Hates Wrestling 