9/10/95 All Japan Triple Crown Title: Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs Akira Taue

Taye applied a headlock and they did a criss cross. Misawa scored with a flying lariat and some elbows. Misawa hit an elbow suicida and hit a senton in the ring. Misawa went for a tiger driver but Taue countered with a hiptoss. Misawa blocked a high kick and landed an elbow. Misawa then gave Taue a tiger driver for an early but heated near fall. Misawa applied a facelock on Taue and Taue rolled out of the ring. Misawa kicked Taue through the ropes. Misawa knocked Taue off the apron with a series of elbows but Taue then dropkicked his right knee at ringside. Taue threw Misawa back into the ring and kicked away at his knee. Misawa fought back with elbows but Taue surprised him with a nodowa for a near fall. Taue went for a nodowa, Misawa blocked it so Taue pushed him into the corner. Taue gave Misawa a couple high kicks and a third for a near fall. Taue applied a bearhug but then slammed Misawa head first into the corner. Taue gave Misawa a second snake eyes in the corner and slammed him neck first across the top rope. Taue DDTd Misawa but Misawa blocked a nodowa. Taue pounded Misawa and went for a nodowa but Misawa countered with an armdrag. Taue responded with a dropkick and hit a rare tope suicida. Taue chopped Misawa several times and kicked him, but Misawa blocked a nodowa off the apron. Taue then shoved Misawa off the apron into the barricade. Back in the ring Taue stomped Misawa and gave him a powerbomb for a near fall. Taue went for a second powerbomb but Misawa backdropped him. Taue responded with a high kick to the back of Misawa's head. Misawa fought back with a couple elbows and a roaring elbow. Misawa German suplexed Taue for a near fall but continued to sell his own weakened knee. Taue kicked Misawa's right knee alertly and Misawa rolled out of the ring. Taue stomped Misawa's knee at ringside and whipped him into the barricade. Taue pulled the mats back at ringside. Misawa blocked a nodowa off the apron but Taue high kicked him. Taue kicked Misawa and Misawa fell to the floor. Misawa elbowed Taue on the apron but Taue recovered and gained a near fall. Taue applied a sharpshooter on Misawa to not much heat given the injury storyline (although that story had not been milked huge). Misawa reached the ropes but Taue gave him a great released German suplex on his head. Taue gave Misawa a dynamic bomb for a great near fall as heat mounted. Taue stomped Misawa and went for a nodowa but Misawa reached the ropes. Taue pounded Misawa but Misawa fought back. Misawa missed a roaring elbow and Taue gave him a high kick. Misawa gave Taue a released German suplex of his own and a sharp running elbow for a heated near fall. Misawa went for a tiger suplex but Taue grabbed the ropes. Taue elbowed Misawa and gave him an enzuguiri. Taue went for a German suplex but Misawa countered and they both fell backwards. Misawa hit a roaring elbow but Taue responded with a nodowa for a near fall. Taue gave Misawa an enzuguiri, Misawa responded with an elbow but Taue then kicked his knee. Taue went for a powerbomb but Misawa countered with a huracanrana. Misawa landed a bunch of elbows and a roaring elbow. He German suplexed Taue and landed more elbows in the corner. Taue fought back with headbutts and German suplexed Misawa on his head but Misawa responded with an elbow. Misawa gave Taue an elbow and a roaring elbow for the pin at 20:50. Some have rated this even with their all-time classic Carnival tournament final 5 months earlier. Technically probably just as great, but not nearly as dramatic or as much of a revelation. Which is not to say this wasn't flawless because it damn near was. Great psychology and layout. For example, they wasted little time going for their big moves, like Misawa's tiger driver and Taue's nodowa. Great psychology in Misawa using the tiger driver as early as he did, which was reminiscent of Taue giving him the nodowa off the apron early in their Carnival tournament final. This certainly had the sense of urgency characteristic of great Triple Crown matches, in particular Taue busting out his rarely used tope suicida. Although they started using their key spots early, this match never had the feeling of being excessive in terms of spots and every big move they used had meaning and strong heat, even early on. Both men looked really sharp on offense, including Taue, who looked every bit as great as he did in their previous classic. In other words, although Misawa was by far the better worker, Taue wasn't carried at all and contributed every bit as much as Misawa to the drama of the match. Misawa's elbows looked as sharp as ever, and were more than credible enough to make for an effective finish. I have no doubt this was a classic, and that this was top 100 material. But the one question lies in the exact rating. I can see ****1/2 or **** 3/4, amd can't really make up my mind. If you look at how flawless the match was, a ****3/4 rating isn't that outrageous. However, I'll depart from my norm and be a bit more conservative than that, because I find their 4/15/95 match to be far more memorable. Still arguably the second best singles match of Taue's career. ****1/2

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