This commercial tape features the top 2 matches from the January 1997 tour of All Japan Pro Wrestling. Both matches air in thei entirety and the tape's format is rather simple. RF Video added onto this tape a match from a JWP card on 4/8/97 featuring Dynamite Kansai defending her JWP title against Hikari Fukuoka.
Match 1 (All Japan Double Tag Team Championship): Steve Williams &
Johnny Ace (champions) vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (challengers)(taped
1/17 in Matsumoto)
This was an excellent match, but seemed to be hurt slightly by two
factors: all except Kawada were past their physical primes and the match
lasted for 27 minutes. Much of the first half of the match saw little in
the way of spectacular action. The final segment was great as usual with
both teams trading near falls with their signature moves. Kawada and
Taue won the match at the 27 minute mark to win the titles for the fourth
time. ****
Match 2 (All Japan Triple Crown World Championship): Kenta Kobashi
(champion) vs Mitsuharu Misawa (challenger)(taped 1/20 in Osaka)
This was a definitive ***** classic and the best men's match I have ever
seen. The heat was also amazing even for these guys since either they
would see a title change, or they would see Kobashi pin Misawa in a
singles match for the first time ever (even today, such a result would
garner a HUGE pop). Although the first half was generally less
spectacular than the second half of the match, the pace was never slowed
and the fans were almost never quiet. Misawa's elbows vs Kobashi's
lariats was the focus of the first half, with great psychology as both
Misawa's elbow and Kobashi's arm were damaged by their opponent. For the
last 20 minutes, there was one great move and near fall after another.
The amazing moves and counters are too many to list completely, but one
of the highlights was when Kobashi was on the apron ready to powerbomb
Misawa, but Misawa countered with a huracanrana and Kobashi hit the floor
with a thud. Both men also gave each other brutal suplexes in which their
foe landed on his head and neck. The match went on until Misawa knocked
out Kobashi with a running elbow and pinned him at 42:20 to win the match
and the Triple Crown. easily *****
Match 3 (JWP Championship): Dynamite Kansai (champion) vs Hikari
Fukuoka (challenger)
This was an excellent match that built well from start to finish.
Fukuoka really looked good, including performing her amazing and
dangerous moonsault off the top rope into a foot stomp on Kansai's
stomach. She did that move twice and pinned Kansai to win the match and
title. The crowd reacted big since it was only the title's third change
in the past four years. ****1/2
