6/11/99 All Japan Triple Crown Title: Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs Kenta Kobashi
Misawa was moving around really stiff, like he was carrying lead weights throughout his body, ad did not have a look of comfort on his face before the match. Kobashi landed a bunch of chops but Misawa responded with a bunch of elbows as footage began. Kobashi scored with a spinning mule kick and a spinning chop to Misawa�s neck. Kobashi gave Misawa two kneelitfs and dropped him gut first on his knee for an early near fall. He then applied a Boston crab on Misawa briefly. Kobashi gave Misawa a vertical face front suplex for a near fall. Kobashi scored with another kneelift but Misawa fought back with an elbow and a flying lariat. Misawa hit a standing senton and knocked Kobashi out of the ring with a baseball slide kick. Misawa jumped off the apron but Kobashi caught him and powerslammed him on the floor. Kobashi whipped Misawa into the barricade. Misawa blocked an attempted powerbomb off the apron and landed an elbow, but Kobashi then attacked his elbow with a pumphandle. He then drove Misawa right elbow-first onto the barricade. Kobashi continued to attack the elbow and also gave Misawa a kick against the barricade. Kobashi attacked the elbow with more pumphandles and drove it right onto the turnbuckle bolt in the corner. Back in the ring Kobashi gave Misawa two single arm DDTs while holding Misawa�s damaged right elbow. Kobashi then applied a figure 4 armbar of sorts. Misawa tried to fight back with an elbow but it had no effect. Misawa blocked a half nelson German suplex but Kobashi rolled over him into a cross armbreaker in a really neat spot as heat reached a fever pitch due in part to Misawa�s dramatic selling. Misawa fought back with several kicks and knocked Kobashi down with a high kick. Kobashi caught Misawa and dropped him with a released German suplex. Misawa got right back up and charged but Kobashi gave him a judo throw. Kobashi blocked an elbow and dropped Misawa on his head with a half nelson German suplex. Kobashi then applied a Nagata lock armbar as heat again reached a fever pitch. Kobashi attempted to apply a Fujiwara armbar but Misawa rolled through and fought back with a DDT. Misawa gave Kobashi a kick reminiscent of his Tiger Mask days and Kobashi rolled out of the ring. Kobashi attacked Misawa�s elbow and neck with chops and tried to suplex him over the top rope to the floor but Misawa landed on his feet at ringside, elbowed Kobashi�s knee and back suplexed him from the apron to the floor. Misawa hit his elbow suicida and hit a top rope dropkick back in the ring. Misawa hit a tiger splash for a near fall. Kobashi countered a tiger driver with a backdrop but Misawa recovered and gave Kobashi a tiger driver on a second attempt but further damaged his right elbow in the process. Misawa attempted to give Kobashi a tiger driver from the apron to the floor but Kobashi countered with a backdrop. Kobashi whipped Misawa towards the barricade, Misawa put on the brakes and turned, Misawa went for an elbow strike but Kobashi caught him and dropped him on his head with a brutal half nelson German suplex on the floor. Kobashi attempted to suplex Misawa back into the ring but Misawa countered. Kobashi recovered and German suplexed Misawa for a near fall. Kobashi powerbombed Misawa and then went for a second powerbomb and turned it into a stun gun on Misawa on the top rope. Kobashi lifted Misawa in a brainbuster position but dropped him like a sideways powerbomb for a near fall. Kobashi moonsaulted Misawa for a dramatic near fall. Kobashi missed a lariat but landed an enzu-lariat. Kobashi attempted his burning hammer out of the corner but Misawa repeatedly countered. Kobashi knocked Misawa off the top rope to the canvas with a stiff short lariat almost reminiscent of the classic 1993 Hansen-Kobashi match where that very move did Kobashi in. Kobashi gained a heated near fall and Misawa rolled out of the ring. After a series if counters, Kobashi attempted a powerbomb on the floor but Misawa countered with a huracanrana that sent Kobashi into the barricade in an amazing spot by All Japan standards. Back in the ring Kobashi hit a jumping knee but missed a lariat. Misawa gave Kobashi a released German suplex, Kobashi bounced right back up and went for a lariat but Misawa blocked it with his elbow, which hurt Kobashi�s arm in a spot reminiscent of their 1/97 classic. Kobashi blocked a tiger driver attempt but Misawa then gave him a tiger suplex for a near fall. Misawa hit a running elbow strike. Kobashi blocked a tiger driver attempt but Misawa gave him a somersault axe kick and then a tiger driver �91 for a super near fall where the fans yelled �three� since they were so sure it would be the finish. Misawa missed a roaring elbow and Kobashi dropped him almost straight down on his head with a brutal released dragon suplex. Kobashi gave Misawa a lariat for a heated near fall. Kobashi attempted another lariat but ran into several elbows including a roaring elbow. Misawa came off the second rope with a somersault body attack and gave Kobashi his tiger suplex �85 for a near fall. Kobashi tried to fight back with a ton of chops but Misawa landed several elbows and gave Kobashi an emerald erosion for the pin at 43:40 (about 31 minutes aired). Just an amazing display of guts, stamina and everything that made the All Japan style great. Not as great as the 1/20/97 epic because the heat and excitement weren�t as constant in the first half of this match, nor did the content in the first half of this match have as much meaning as in the 1/97 match. However, the pacing was still perfect, the selling top-notch, and the collection of spots in this match may have been the most spectacular of any of their classic matches. Most of all, this was one of Misawa�s most amazing performances. He walked so rigidly to the ring, almost like he was in a body cast, and clearly was in discomfort with every movement. Yet he somehow gutted out a performance which, taking into consideration his biggest bumps, should have put him in traction, but ended up being perhaps his most underrated performance. Kobashi was at his very best as well. They did something here that not even the amazing Misawa-Kawada feud accomplished- this became the third Misawa-Kobashi classic to become match of the year- and for the third consecutive year! *****
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