1/20/97 All Japan Triple Crown Title: Kenta Kobashi (c) vs Mitsuharu Misawa
Misawa and Kobashi traded chops early. Kobashi tackled Misawa but Misawa fought back with a ton of elbows and a dropkick. Misawa knocked Kobashi out of the ring with a baseball slide kick and hit his elbow suicida. Misawa back suplexed Kobashi back into the ring and gave him a standing senton for an early near fall. Kobashi blocked a tiger driver attempt and won an exchange with a spinning chop and a DDT for a near fall. Kobashi threw a bunch of chops, Misawa landed a couple elbows but Kobashi scored with a couple spinning chops. Misawa countered a vertical suplex attempt but Kobashi gave him a kneelift. Kobashi gave Misawa two more knees to the gut and a Russian legsweep for a near fall. Kobashi landed a chop, Misawa responded with an elbow, but Kobashi then kneed him in the gut again. Kobashi gave Misawa a face front vertical suplex and applied an overknee surfboard of sorts on Misawa. Misawa landed an elbow but Kobashi tackled him. Kobashi gave Misawa another knee to the gut and applied an abdominal stretch. Kobashi landed a couple chops and superkicked Misawa but Misawa then knocked Kobashi down with an elbow. Misawa landed a couple elbows and a spinning kick for a near fall. Misawa applied a conventional surfboard but Kobashi turned the hold around once they regained their feet. Misawa then hit a cool dropkick and Kobashi ran right into an elbow strike, although Misawa appeared to hurt his elbow at that moment. Misawa hit a twisting dropkick off the second rope and Kobashi rolled out of the ring. Back in the ring Misawa double arm suplexed Kobashi. Kobashi landed some chops but Misawa won the exchange with his elbows. Misawa slammed Kobashi and hit a second rope elbow and a top rope tiger splash for a near fall. Misawa applied a camel clutch at 11:40. Misawa then applied his old facelock submission. Misawa landed a couple elbows and kicks but Kobashi responded with several chops. Misawa threw more elbows but Kobashi responded with some chops. They traded high kicks. Misawa won a heated exchange of strikes with an elbow that sent Kobashi out of the ring. Misawa jumped off the apron but Kobashi moved and Misawa crashed right elbow-first onto the barricade to commence one of the main stories of the match. As Misawa got on the apron, Kobashi gave him a lariat that sent him crashing back into the barricade. Kobashi then gained a near fall back in the ring as heat mounted. Misawa fired back with an elbow but Kobashi aborted his comeback and dropkicked Misawa�s bad elbow in the corner. Kobashi then pushed Misawa elbow-first into the barricade and repeatedly attacked the bad elbow using the barricade as a weapon-like prop. Kobashi further attacked Misawa�s elbow with a pumphandle armbreaker in the corner. Kobashi gave Misawa a single arm DDT while holding onto Misawa�s injured right elbow. Kobashi went for a cross armbreaker but Misawa reached the ropes. Kobashi attacked the elbow with a couple chops in the corner and another single arm DDT for a near fall. Kobashi used the pumphandle move three times as Misawa unsuccessfully tried to fight back. Misawa landed an elbow at ringside but it had no effect. Kobashi threw a couple kicks and dropped Misawa on his head with a half nelson German suplex. Kobashi then applied an armbar similar to the Nagata lock in WCW. Misawa fired back with an elbow but Kobashi then caught him and applied a Fujiwara armbar. Kobashi landed more chops and continued to attack Misawa�s right elbow. Kobashi gave Misawa a released German suplex but Misawa rolled through. Misawa charged with an attempted elbow strike but Kobashi gave him a judo throw and applied a cross armbreaker. Kobashi threw more chops, blocked a kick and gave Misawa a captured back suplex of sorts. Misawa kicked a charging Kobashi. Kobashi attempted a lariat but Misawa elbowed his outstretched arm, establishing another �injury� storyline in the match. Right after the impact both men sold their injuries to perfection as heat reached a fever pitch. Misawa knocked Kobashi into the barricade with a baseball slide kick and followed with a twisting tope. Misawa gained a near fall back in the ring and hit a flying lariat. Kobashi blocked a tiger driver attempt and again went for a lariat but Misawa elbowed his arm. Misawa gave Kobashi a released German suplex and a tiger driver for a near fall. Misawa won an exchange with an elbow strike. He attempted a top rope dropkick but Kobashi countered with a lariat in mid-air with his bad arm, after which he gained a near fall yet continued to sell the damage to his arm. Kobashi powerbombed Misawa for a heated near fall. Kobashi gave Misawa two legdrops and a vertical suplex dropped into a powerbomb for a near fall. Misawa blocked a lariat attempt with his elbow again but Kobashi maintained the advantage. Kobashi attempted to powerbomb Misawa from the apron to the floor but Misawa countered with a huracanrana in perhaps the spot of the match. Both men were slow to roll back into the ring. Misawa gave Kobashi a couple elbows, a lariat and a German suplex. Misawa gave Kobashi two roaring elbows but missed a third and Kobashi gave him a lariat. Misawa landed more elbows but Kobashi dropped him on his head with a brutal released German suplex. Misawa fought back with an elbow to Kobashi�s back and gave him a released tiger suplex for a near fall. Kobashi missed a roundhouse chop and Misawa gave him a tiger driver �91 for a super near fall. Kobashi hit a desperation lariat but it didn�t have much effect. Misawa gave Kobashi a released dragon suplex. He then knocked out Kobashi with a running elbow strike and pinned him at 42:06 to win the title for the third time. A definitive, textbook All Japan classic. Their selling was so great in that they never overlooked the details of their �injuries�, and that they also varied in their selling. For example, when Misawa�s elbow was first damaged, he reacted almost as if the arm went numb because Kobashi had caused so much damage as opposed to crying out in pain. When Misawa elbowed Kobashi�s arm, Kobashi more or less cried out in pain, but that worked perfectly since it was such a spontaneous counter that not only did he not �expect� Misawa to be capable of, Kobashi had a look of panic as if to temporarily say �there just went my most dependable weapon�. The pacing was perfect and disguised the match length so well until the very end since they mixed key spots, near falls, and injury spots so effectively throughout the match. Not as many near falls as many other ***** All Japan classics, but every near fall in the last 20 minutes had a sense of urgency. Although Misawa vs Kawada from 1994 might have been more technically flawless in some respects, this match would likely appeal to an �outsider� fan unfamiliar with the All Japan genre more than that match. *****
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