THE MOSS COVERED THREE HANDLED FAMILY CREDENZA

ARTICLE #3
SEPTEMBER 3, 2001

Misawa vs Kawada: Men’s Feud of the 1990s

Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada defined and set new standards for the All Japan product during the 1990s with their legendary feud over the Triple Crown title. This article takes a look at 7 of their most prominent Triple Crown battles, with summaries of each match. In between matches I provide commentary that looks at the significance of each match as it applied to both combatants, where each wrestler was in their career at the time of the match, how the result impacted their careers, and also the quality of each match.

October 21, 1992: Misawa (c) vs Kawada

Kawada dropped Misawa on his head with a backdrop driver early. The match slowed as Kawada attacked Misawa’s left arm for a few minutes. Misawa fought back with a bunch of elbows at the 5 minute mark. Misawa worked on Kawada’s back for a couple minutes. Kawada held his own and regained the advantage on the mat. They exchanged kicks but Misawa scored with a couple elbows. Misawa continued to weaken Kawada’s back by applying a Boston crab and then a camel clutch. Misawa suplexed Kawada for an early near fall and continued to focus his attack on Kawada’s back. Kawada fought back with a spinning savate kick that popped the crowd. Kawada briefly applied a sharpshooter and gained a near fall on Misawa with a senton. Misawa landed an elbow and a dropkick but Kawada fought back with another savate kick. Misawa blocked a suplex attempt but Kawada caught him off-guard by applying a Fujiwara armbar. Misawa and Kawada exchanged elbows with Misawa coming out on top. Misawa gave Kawada a series of jumping kicks but Kawada fought back with an enzu-lariat for a near fall. Kawada powerbombed Misawa at 18:02 for a heated near fall. Misawa countered a second powerbomb attempt but Kawada kicked him. Kawada hit a second rope kneedrop for a near fall. Misawa blocked a stretch plum but Kawada successfully applied the hold on a second try as heat reached a fever pitch. Misawa escaped as both men tumbled out of the ring a minute later. Kawada gained a heated near fall with a lariat and another after a high kick. Misawa German suplexed Kawada for a near fall and gave him a tiger driver for a great near fall. Misawa applied a facelock on Kawada and gained a near fall. Misawa hit a top rope splash for a near fall and followed with an elbow suicida at 24:10. Misawa gave Kawada a running elbow for a near fall but Kawada fought back with a jumping kick. Kawada German suplexed Misawa for a heated near fall and gained another near fall with a dragon suplex. Kawada applied a facelock of his own on Misawa. Misawa fought back with a couple elbows and a jumping kick. Misawa gave Kawada a running elbow to the back of his head for a near fall. Misawa hit a tiger driver for a dramatic near fall. Misawa tiger suplexed Kawada for another near fall. Kawada landed some kicks but Misawa flattened him with a running elbow. Misawa then pinned Kawada at 29:47 after a tiger suplex to retain the triple crown. ****1/2

Misawa and Kawada were still tag team partners at the time of their first triple crown showdown. In fact, just 6 weeks later they would win the annual Real World Tag League tournament. As a result, they had not yet become heated rivals, so they were slightly more limited in the story they could tell. Also, Kawada had never pinned Misawa at all, and it would be 3 more years before Kawada pinned Misawa in a tag team match (and 5 years before he would in a singles match.). Kawada was a great underdog-style wrestler circa 1988, but in 1992 was in a more transitional style as he slowly became a veteran, a role that he would become more comfortable with in another year or so. He was not the masterful story-teller he would become in later years. Also, Misawa was a couple years away from perfecting his persona and style that would epitomize “Misawa the Champ”. His selling and pacing were great here, but not as standard-setting as they would be in 1994 or 1995. Given the fact that neither man had reached his working peak yet, this was probably about as good a match as you could ask for from these two in 1992. A fitting and worthy match to begin their legendary triple crown rivalry.

July 29, 1993: Misawa (c) vs Kawada

The match started slow with a feel out process typical of AJ matches at this time. Kawada caused the first damage with a kick to Misawa’s neck. Misawa dropkicked Kawada out of the ring a minute later. Misawa landed a couple kicks and knocked Kawada off the apron into the ringside barricade with an elbow. Kawada fought back with one of his trademark kicks and focused his attack on Misawa’s elbow for a couple minutes. Kawada kicked the crap out of Misawa but Misawa came back with a barrage of kicks of his own. Kawada gained near falls with a powerslam and a lariat. They traded knee strikes at 12:45 and then traded elbows, and Misawa regained the advantage. Misawa gained two near falls after tiger splashes as heat picked up. Misawa applied his favorite submission hold, the facelock. Misawa gave Kawada a tiger driver for a near fall at 15:28. Kawada blocked a tiger suplex attempt and hit a desperation lariat. Misawa twice blocked a stretch plum attempt but Kawada hit a jumping kick for a near fall. Kawada then applied his stretch plum. Misawa tried to escape and both men tumbled out of the ring. Kawada dropkicked Misawa off the apron into the barricade. Back in the ring Kawada powerbombed Misawa for a near fall. Kawada gained a near fall with a German suplex and a heated one with another powerbomb. Kawada kicked Misawa repeatedly in the head but Misawa flattened him with an elbow. Misawa tiger suplexed Kawada for a near fall and gained another with an elbow strike. Kawada fought back with a backdrop driver and a jumping kick. Misawa gave Kawada two released German suplexes for a great near fall. He hit a third released German suplex and pinned Kawada at 25:52 after a tiger suplex. A fantastic match, but not an all-time classic since the two had not developed a detailed rivalry yet in terms of psychology. ****1/4

This was their first singles match since becoming “official” rivals. On 6/1/93 they had their first of many classic matches with Kobashi and Taue as their respective partners. One would hope for a sequel that was better than their first match, especially given their new rivalry, but that did not happen here. Perhaps they didn’t feel the need to work such a heated match given the epic Kobashi-Hansen match they were following. Another thing that hurt this match was the spotty crowd heat, especially early. Misawa or Kawada could have used a spot like a tiger driver or a backdrop driver to pop the crowd early, but instead they went with the more traditional slow start. I can’t really say that Kawada gained strides on Misawa in this match because that happened more in the aforementioned tag team match. The result made sense because, (1) Kawada & Taue won their 6/1/93 tag team title defense and this was Misawa’s first chance for revenge and (2) Kawada hadn’t been elevated enough to pin Misawa yet. A disappointing match only because it wasn’t better than their first, but still a super match.

June 3, 1994: Misawa (c) vs Kawada

This is unquestionably one of the greatest men's matches ever and is arguably the best men's singles match. Everything was perfectly timed, perfectly executed, and simply flawless in general. The first eighteen minutes saw the usual great build, with smartly chosen setup moves and occasional highspots that really meant something. Television showed the last 18 minutes, and this was an amazing stretch, with the crowd being really fired up the whole way. The near falls began around the 20 minute mark and the dramatic moves, counters, and near falls are too many to list. At one point, Kawada powerbombed Misawa for a very near fall, and one of the fans was so surprised over Misawa's kickout that he was jumping around near his seat. Fans also went nuts when Kawada tried to gain a submission with his stretch plum. Misawa also gained several near falls with moves such as his tiger splash and tiger suplex. The crispness of every move was so amazing that fans thought each of these moves could have ended the match. Misawa went for a tiger driver, but Kawada kicked out of that pin attempt too. Misawa finally dropped Kawada on his head and neck with his tiger driver '91 and scored the pin at 35:50 to retain the triple crown. Fans went nuts and surrounded the ringside area, partially because of the monumental feel of the match and because they looked at this as a really tough win for Misawa even though Kawada had never before defeated him by pinfall. *****

Although Misawa vs Kobashi 1/20/97 was just as good, this was a more historical match and would be the standard-bearer for all triple crown title matches to come. What pretty much happened was Kawada the master (psychology and story-wise) and Misawa the Champ arrived in the same match. Fans knew they were witnessing something special and responded in kind, as the fan heat for most of the second half was off the charts. In fact, Kawada turned in such an amazing performance that he made fans “believe” he could pin Misawa even though that had never even happened in a tag team setting. The pop for Kawada’s near fall with a powerbomb near the 25 minute mark was something to behold and made the near fall among the most dramatic in wrestling history. Kawada had lost each of their last 3 meetings, the previous triple crown match and two tag team title matches in 12/93 and one just two weeks earlier. He was out for revenge here and fans seemed to expect a reversal in Kawada’s fortune believing that he was due for the win. Another thing going for him was that he had won the Carnival Tournament 2 months earlier, beating Steve Williams in his biggest singles win to date. Kawada had also fought Misawa to a draw in their Carnival tournament match, so fans were especially into this match as the 30 minute mark passed. The pop for Misawa’s win was also amazing, as fans realized just how hard he had to fight to retain his title. While “Misawa the Champ” had fully arrived with this epic, Kawada was catching up to Misawa and fans knew it.

July 24, 1995: Misawa (c) vs Kawada

Misawa blocked a couple Kawada kicks in a hot early sequence, and Kawada blocked a kick from Misawa. Kawada knocked Misawa out of the ring with a koppo kick and Misawa sold like he was shot. They had an exchange of elbow strikes, and Kawada actually won with a brutal elbow to Misawa’s nose. He then kicked the crap out of Misawa’s head in the corner and scored with a running boot to Misawa’s face. Kawada powerbombed Misawa on the arena floor at 4:27. Back in the ring Kawada hit a jumping kick and applied a sleeper. Misawa blocked a powerbomb so Kawada kneed him in the head. Kawada again kicked the crap out of Misawa but Misawa fought back with elbows and hit a roaring elbow. Misawa folded up Kawada with a released German suplex for a near fall. Misawa hit another released German suplex and Kawada tumbled to the floor. Misawa used a facelock on Kawada. Kawada hit an enzu-lariat and a second lariat for a heated near fall. Kawada and Misawa had a fast sequence ending with another stiff kick to Misawa’s face. Kawada gave Misawa two backdrop drivers for a heated near fall. Kawada applied a stretch plum at 15:00 and gained a near fall. Misawa hit a desperation elbow but Kawada flattened him with a jumping kick and a released German suplex. Kawada powerbombed Misawa for a super near fall as heat reached a fever pitch. Kawada hit a second powerbomb for an even more dramatic near fall. Misawa countered a backdrop driver but Kawada booted him in the face. They traded elbows and kicks and Misawa came out on top with a roaring elbow. Kawada gave Misawa a backdrop driver. Misawa hit Kawada with an elbow and folded him up with a released German suplex for a near fall. Misawa gained another near fall with a tiger suplex but Kawada punched him in desperation. Misawa used a roaring elbow and hit a released tiger suplex for a near fall. Misawa hit a second released tiger suplex and pinned Kawada at 24:20 after a running elbow strike. A real gem of a match with fever pitched heat throughout. ****3/4

Fans were especially pumped for this match since it was their first singles match since Kawada pinned Misawa for the first time 6 weeks earlier to win the tag team titles for himself and Taue after originally losing the belts to Misawa and Kobashi on 12/3/93. Misawa was still clearly ahead of Kawada since he had just won the Carnival Tournament in April and regained the triple crown title in May. Also, Misawa’s work had improved to the point that he was wrestling’s number one worker and fans realized it. However, in terms of stature Kawada was catching up. In addition to the aforementioned win, Kawada had a brief run as the triple crown champion in late ’94 and early ’95. While Kawada wasn’t at Misawa’s level yet, he was clearly in his league, as evident by this match in which Kawada was given plenty of offense to at least give an impression of equality with Misawa. Of course this match wasn’t as great as their gem a year earlier, but that was and is a nearly impossible standard to meet. On its own this was a tremendous near-match of the year candidate (1995 produced many ***** matches in Japan) with flawless and dramatic work throughout. Actually, had this been actually the first 24 minutes of a 30+ minute match, Misawa and Kawada could have indeed produced another “epic” match. It was obvious from this match and its stiffness that the Misawa-Kawada rivalry had reached a fever pitch. While it would take a back seat to other stories, at least in terms of singles matches, in 1996, 1997 would re-ignite the rivalry with another memorable match…

June 6, 1997: Misawa (c) vs Kawada

This was another all-time classic between these two. Although it wasn't quite as memorable or dramatic as their legendary 6/3/94 match, this match had more spectacular moves. The match began with the usual exchange of stiff blows before Misawa gave Kawada a tiger driver on the arena floor. Kawada came roaring back and dominated the next several minutes, mainly focusing his attack on Misawa's right arm. Misawa then dominated the match, folding up Kawada with a German suplex. Misawa countered a powerbomb with a huracanrana, but Kawada's momentum was only temporarily broken. He gave Misawa a wicked backdrop driver at the 15 minute mark and later powerbombed him on the floor in a great revenge spot. Misawa sold that move like he was shot. Misawa fought back and hit a tiger driver for a near fall at 19:20. Kawada gave Misawa two backdrop drivers before applying the stretch plum. More great spots from these two down the stretch. Misawa German suplexed Kawada twice but Kawada nailed a leaping kick to stay in the match. Misawa gained another near fall with a German suplex. After another stiff exchange of blows, Misawa knocked Kawada out with an elbow and hit another German suplex for the pin at 31:22. Lots of great moves and near falls, and the crowd was into the match from start to finish, but the psychology and selling were not as "rich" or as sophisticated as in their 6/3/94 epic. That said, this was about as good a match as these two could put together. *****

This was sorta the three year anniversary of their epic 6/3/94 clash. Going into this match the odds were much more equal than for their previous triple crown title matches. Kawada gained his first singles pin of Misawa on 4/12/97- but with an asterisk; Misawa had just battled Kobashi to a 30 minute draw and this was part of a triangle match for the Carnival Tournament finals. Kawada had also pinned Misawa in the finals of the 1996 Real World Tag League tournament. It was only a matter of time before Kawada finally caught up to his rival and beat him for the triple crown, but it was not to be on this occasion. While Kawada had won his second Carnival tournament in April, Misawa was now the 3 time triple crown champion having defeated Kobashi in their 1/20/97 epic. Misawa was enjoying his third year as the best worker in wrestling while Kawada was just as great as he was in 1994 in terms of work. This match was in the same league as their 1994 match, but not quite as good. The psychology in this match was weaker, although the 1997 match had more hot moves and was a more “glamorous” match from an offensive standpoint. Still, there were no flaws in this match (hence the ***** rating); it just didn’t go above and beyond expectations as much or in as many ways as the 1994 match did. Kawada still hadn’t defeated Misawa in a triple crown match, and time seemed to be running out for his ascension to greatness. He would have another chance, this time with much bigger stakes- the main event of the biggest show in All Japan history.

May 2, 1998: Misawa (c) vs Kawada

These two put on another classic match, although it was not quite as memorable as two of their previous epics. Still, considering that both men were not at their physical best, they turned in a super effort. Kawada went to superplex Misawa but Misawa got up and Kawada kicked him in the face instead. Kawada gave Misawa a brainbuster and a legdrop for an early near fall. Kawada attempted a powerbomb but Misawa countered with a huracanrana, yet Kawada came back with another boot to Misawa's face. Kawada and Misawa traded brutal elbows with Misawa getting the better of that exchange. Misawa gave Kawada a German suplex but Kawada later gave him his trademark jumping kick. Kawada gave Misawa a backdrop driver but Misawa fought back with a series of elbows. Misawa German suplexed Kawada for a near fall. Misawa gained another near fall with a tiger driver. Kawada gave Misawa a dragon screw and applied a half crab. Kawada continued his attack with a figure four leglock. Misawa fought back with a series of elbows. Misawa gained a near fall on Kawada with a tiger suplex. Kawada kicked Misawa's strong arm and then gave him a boot to the face. Kawada attempted a submission with a cross armbreaker. Misawa gained a dramatic near fall on Kawada with a tiger driver. Kawada nailed Misawa with a lariat for a near fall but Misawa surprised Kawada with a tiger suplex and then a German suplex for a near fall. Kawada hit a rolling kick and then a jumping kick at the 25 minute mark for a great near fall. Kawada German suplexed Misawa and gave him a jumping kick. He gave Misawa a German suplex and another jumping kick followed by a brainbuster for a super near fall. Kawada scored a great near fall with a powerbomb before powerbombing Misawa a second time and scoring the pin at 28:05. Fans went nuts for Kawada's first major singles victory over Misawa. A fitting end to All Japan's first Tokyo Dome supercard. ****1/2

Although this was far from their best match against each other, it was arguably their most historic singles match. As mentioned before, you had the main event of All Japan’s biggest show ever before AJ’s biggest crowd ever and featuring the two crown jewels of the All Japan product. Such an occasion called for a monumental result, and that’s just what was produced as Kawada gained his first triple crown title win over Misawa (and in many people’s eyes Kawada’s first official singles defeat of Misawa). Although it was Misawa who achieved the most in taking the AJ product to new heights in the 90s, it was Kawada who capped off that run with the biggest win of his career in regaining the triple crown title. From a quality standpoint this was perhaps not the epic match that the occasion called for, partially because Misawa was limited due to a number of nagging injuries. However, it didn’t have to be since the novelty of seeing Misawa and Kawada go at it on wrestling’s grandest stage (the Tokyo Dome) carried so much significance. In terms of quality, it was more like “their typical world class match”, which as perfectly acceptable since, along with the novelty, the end result probably would have overshadowed the match even if it had been a ***** classic. When the dust (or the rice?) settled afterwards, the question stood: could Kawada repeat his defeat of Misawa?

January 22, 1999: Misawa (c) vs Kawada

This was far from their best match, but was one of their most amazing efforts considering that Misawa was banged up and Kawada broke his arm 8 minutes into the match. The match started slowly and then the two exchanged various blows with neither man getting a sustained advantage. Misawa knocked Kawada out of the ring and nailed him with an elbow suicida. Misawa hit Kawada with a slew of elbows and gave him a back suplex. Kawada gave Misawa a boot to the face that knocked him off the apron to the ringside barricade. Another boot to Misawa knocked him over the barricade to the front row. Misawa turned a Kawada powerbomb into a huracanrana, but Kawada stiffed him with a boot to the face. At 8:30, Kawada broke his own arm when he gave Misawa a spinning back forearm to his head. Amazingly, the match continued. Kawada German suplexed Misawa but Misawa fought back and gained a near fall. After another exchange of blows, Misawa gained a near fall with a tiger driver. Misawa continued his dominance of Kawada in and out of the ring. Misawa gave Kawada a tiger suplex but Kawada came back with a backdrop driver and a jumping kick for a near fall. Kawada attacked Misawa's leg and applied the stretch plum. Kawada gave Misawa a slew of knees in the corner. Kawada applied the figure four leglock to attempt a submission. Misawa fought back and knocked down Kawada with a roaring elbow. Kawada gave Misawa a pair of jumping kicks for a dramatic near fall. Misawa gained a near fall with a German suplex. Kawada gave Misawa a brainbuster for a near fall. Kawada went for a powerbomb, Misawa went for a huracanrana, but Kawada blocked it and dropped Misawa straight on his head with a ganso bomb. Kawada gave Misawa a jumping kick. He then gave Misawa a brainbuster and scored the pin at 24:15 to regain the Triple Crown. It was amazing how well Kawada did with the broken arm. An incredible and gutsy performance. ****1/2

Kawada’s win here made sense because giving the triple crown back to Misawa could have diminished the impact of their 1998 match, the result of which could have been considered a fluke. Instead, if anything Kawada gained even more credibility while Misawa’s credibility wasn’t damaged at all because of what he had accomplished during the decade. However, this match’s legacy is not necessarily drawn out of the result; it actually comes from the face that Kawada fought the last 2/3 of the match with a broken arm. Everyone who knew about Kawada knew about how great he was as a worker, especially his ability to carry inferior opponents to great matches. Given his broken arm, Kawada’s performance was almost ridiculously amazing (if such a term makes sense J) as he managed to produce his end of yet another classic match that compared favorably with the other Misawa-Kawada matches. Even more amazing was the fact that Misawa didn’t have to carry Kawada during the final 15 minutes. On its own, this match is not nearly as great as their 1994 and 1997 triple crown matches, but as of 8:30 into this match, none of that mattered. Kawada continued the match, and in doing so gave one of the gutsiest performances I have ever seen.

NEXT ISSUE: Manami Toyota vs Kyoko Inoue: the tag team wars

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