ALL JAPAN PRO WRESTLING TV
June 21, 2000 (Final Nippon TV episode after a 27+ year run)
1. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs Johnny Ace & Mike Barton
Kawada and Taue attacked their opponents before the bell and gave Ace a double high kick in opposite corners. Taue and Kawada then gave Barton a nodowa/back suplex combo on the floor. Ace countered a powerbomb and backdropped Kawada and then countered a nodowa from Taue. Ace kicked Kawada and elbowed Taue but Taue fired back with a high kick. Taue gave Ace a nodowa off the apron after Kawada softened him up with a high kick. Kawada gained a near fall on Ace. Kawada applied a stretch plum on Ace but Barton intervened. Kawada gave Barton a bunch of kicks to the leg and a savate kick. Ace blocked a double high kick from his opponents and gave both a second rope clothesline. Barton clotheslined both opponents. Barton and Ace gave Kawada a back suplex/neckbreaker combo. Ace gave Taue an enzu-lariat in the corner as did Barton. Ace then gave Taue a great double impact/doomsday device off the top rope. Barton gained a near fall on Kawada and vertical suplexed him for another near fall. Ace gave Kawada some elbows and running clotheslines in opposite corners for a near fall. Barton gave Kawada a side slam as Ace added a legdrop and Barton gained a near fall. Barton gave Kawada a second rope powerslam for a near fall as Ace booted Taue off the apron. Ace jumped off the top rope but Kawada gave him a jumping kick in mid-air. Taue gave both opponents a high kick and Barton a short clothesline. Taue gave Barton a savate kick for a near fall. Barton blocked a nodowa attempt but Taue clotheslined him in the corner and DDTd him for a near fall. Barton blocked a nodowa and gave Taue a body punch. Ace gave Taue several short clotheslines but Taue fought back and gave him a nodowa. Taue booted Barton out of the ring and gave Ace a nodowa for a near fall. Taue gave Ace a dynamic bomb for a near fall. Barton came in but Kawada powerbombed him. Taue gave Ace a kick off the top rope for a near fall. Ace blocked a kick from Kawada but Kawada countered a German suplex with a kick. Ace recovered and caught Kawada off the ropes with van Ace crusher for a near fall as Barton held Taue at bay. Ace slammed Kawada and did a moonsault but overshot Kawada. Kawada kicked Ace, who at least sold the missed moonsault. Barton gave Kawada an enzu-lariat in the corner and went for a double impact but Kawada kicked him. Ace booted Kawada but Kawada gave him an Ace crusher in response for a near fall. Barton gave Kawada another body punch. Barton whipped Taue into the barricade. Kawada countered a cobra clutch suplex from Ace and gave him a jumping kick for a heated near fall. Kawada powerbombed Ace for a near fall and booted Barton out of the ring. Kawada ran into a boot and Ace gave him an Ace crusher for a near fall. Ace countered a nodowa but Taue booted him and Kawada followed with an enzu-lariat. Kawada gave Ace a jumping kick and pinned him at 14:35 (11:40 aired). This was a better match than one would expect in 2000 for two reasons. One, it was all action and two, Ace was the focal point most of the time and looked closer to his mid-90s form than he usually did by this point. Ace and especially Taue had gained reputations for sluggish looking offense within the previous year, but generally didn’t look sluggish in this match. Kawada was fired up and carried the match quality-wise, but not to a great extent. The faster than usual pace helped to hide the dull aspects of Taue, Ace and most of all Barton. ***1/2
2. Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs Takao Omori & Yoshihiro Takayama
After some back and forth counters, Misawa elbowed Omori but ran into a boot. Omori spin kicked Misawa and Takayama booted him. Takayama gave Misawa a jumping knee in the corner and a double arm suplex. Takayama applied a cross armbreaker but Ogawa intervened. Takayama snapmared and kicked Misawa for a near fall. Takayama gave Misawa a stiff kneelift for a near fall but Misawa fought back with an elbow and a spinning kick. Ogawa gave Takayama a jawbreaker and some punches. He DDTd Takayama for a near fall and Takayama ran into a boot. Ogawa gave Takayama a jawbreaker but Takayama fought back with a high kick. Omori and Takayama tackled Ogawa and gave him a double elbowsmash. Omori elbowed Misawa off the apron. Ogawa ran into an elbow from Omori and in a strange move Takayama clotheslined Omori into Ogawa. Misawa gave Takayama a bunch of elbows and Omori an elbow in the corner. Misawa dropkicked Omori and elbowsmashed him. Misawa gave Omori a second rope dropkick into an Ogawa back suplex. Misawa gave Omori a tiger driver for a near fall. Misawa lifted Omori but Takayama intervened with a high kick. Misawa blocked a dragon suplex and gave Omori a roaring elbow. Ogawa back suplexed Omori, gave him an enzuguiri and back suplexed him again for a near fall. Ogawa went to give Omori a tiger driver but Takayama intervened. Takayama and Omori gave Ogawa lariats from opposite sides and Omori gained a near fall. Misawa elbowed Omori but Takayama gave him a high kick and a second one in the corner. Omori missed an ax bomber and Misawa elbowed Takayama. Omori gave Misawa an ax bomber. Omori and Takayama gave Ogawa a back suplex/clothesline combo for an Omori near fall. Omori slammed Ogawa but missed a top rope kneedrop. Ogawa gave Omori a jackknife cradle for a near fall. Takayama elbowed Ogawa from behind and Omori gave him an ax bomber for the pin at 16:05 (6:39 aired). A good match, but not in the same league as the previous match in terms of heat and consistent quality. This got really heated down the stretch, but fans were quiet as footage began and the build appeared to be lackluster. Still, this was fine given that Takayama was still considered crap in 2000. Not quite enough aired for me to be confident with my rating, but I’ll estimate **3/4.
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