AJ TV 6/8/97 taped 6/6 Tokyo Budokan Hall

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada for Misawa's Triple Crown. This was an absolutely fantastic bout. It was just plain awesome. The match played off both men's key spots extremely well. This was not one of the greatest psychological matches I've ever seen though. The psychology of the match wasn't deep as it really didn't play off old matches or AJ history that much. The deepest sequence was actually a brilliant play off the finish two of their most famous peers, Shinya Hashimoto & Nobuhiko Takaka, used on 4/29/96 at the Tokyo Dome. This match also didn't play off previous Misawa vs. Kawada matches that much, as it really only played off the finishes of their previous matches. In the past, when there was a victor in a Misawa vs. Kawada match, Misawa always knocked Kawada out. Kawada owns one singles win over Misawa, on 4/19/97, when he pinned him with his powerbomb finisher. The main point in the psychology of this match was Kawada trying like hell to avoid getting knocked out once again and Misawa trying like hell to make sure he didn't become a two-time victim of Kawada's deadly powerbomb. With Misawa trying to avoid Kawada's powerbomb at all costs, Kawada was forced to shift to two of his other favorite finishers, the Dangerous backdrop and the jumping high kick, both moves that rock his opponents head and neck. It just so happens that Misawa's neck was injured during this year's Champion Carnival, an injury that played right to Kawada's offensive strengths. Kawada using several lethal moves that were directed at Misawa's injured neck was a key to the psychology of the match, however, the match just flowed to that psychology rather than it being something the two had to dig for. What made this match great was that after all these years, Misawa and Kawada were able to break new ground and tell a new story. The really incredible thing about this new story was that although both men delivered several bonecrushing moves, they were predominantly just doing their regular big spots. Misawa didn't have to pull out his Tiger Suplex '85 or his Tiger Driver '91 and they didn't have to give anthing away in that regard, yet it was sheer brilliance. The last 21:30 aired. It started off with Kawada in Misawa's facelock, a move Misawa has used to beat big stars such as Jumbo Tsuruta, but Kawada escaped it by getting to the ropes. Misawa went to his trusty elbows then tried his Tiger Driver finisher, as he was going for the typical KO then power pin for the win, but Kawada blocked it. They teased a suplex on the head before Misawa hit a Dangerous released German suplex. Misawa hit his running elbow finisher. Kawada crossed up Misawa's elbows before hitting one of this own, which both sold. Kawada used his shotgun lariat for a near fall. Misawa elbowed Kawada, but Kawada elbowed him back then hit his spinning high kick. Misawa was down in the corner selling his neck, but Kawada attacked him anyway, rocking his helpless foe with a series of knees to the head. Kawada tried his powerbomb, but Misawa turned it into a Frankensteiner. Kawada cut Misawa's comeback off then tryied to end it with his powerbomb, but Misawa fought for dear life. Misawa eventually fell prey to it, but still had enough left to kick out. Misawa ducked Kawada's jumping high kick finisher. Misawa tried his rolling elbow finisher, but Kawada ducked it and hit his Dangerous backdrop. Misawa rolled to the floor and sold like he was dead. Kawada tried to powerbomb Misawa on the floor, but Misawa blocked it, so Kawada gave him an axe kick. Kawada was now able to deliver the killer powerbomb on the floor. Misawa lied on the floor for about a minute (they didn't fall prey to the big problem in the great Liger vs. Otani and Liger vs. Kanemoto matches from Feb., not that this should surprise anyone) before Kawada dragged him into the ring. Kawada once again tried to end it with his powerbomb, but Misawa resisted. Kawada unloaded a series of kicks, but became so frustrated about his inability to finish Misawa off that he punched him Misawa in the face. Both men hit big strikes, but the sequence climaxed with Misawa crossing up Kawada's spinning high kick then Kawada failing to return the favor and getting caught with a Misawa enzuiguri. Misawa went for the finish with his elbow followed by his Tiger Driver, but Kawada kicked out. Misawa tried to get extra emphasis on his elbow by doing a diving version, but it backfired as Kawada jumping high kicked him in midair and both sold. Both workers got up at the same time and Misawa tried for the KO with his running elbow, but Kawada once again saw it coming and jumping high kicked Misawa. Kawada tried to KO Misawa by delievering two more Dangerous backdrops. Kawada then applied his stretch plum finisher, releasing it after a short while and covering Misawa for a near fall. Kawada tried to end it with his powerbomb, but Misawa resisted for 30 seconds before both men "collapsed from exhaustion." Kawada went back to the powerbomb, but Misawa blocked it for 15 seconds before back body dropping Kawada. Misawa's counter did little damage so Kawada got right up and hit an enzui lariat. Kawada hit yet another Dangerous backdrop. Kawada transformed himself into his NJ counterpart Hashimoto, for the first time delivering Hash's brainbuster DDT then applying the triangle hold. This was the finish of Hashimoto vs. Takaka from 4/29/96, but it was more brilliant here as Kawada not only incorporated the finish of one of the biggest money matches in the history of wrestling, but incorporated it in a manner where it perfectly fit the bad neck storyline. Although the moves were new to AJ, the fans recogized what they were seeing and understood this could very well be the finish. Unlike Takada, Misawa was able to escape by a rope break. Kawada Dangerous backdropped Misawa once again. Misawa, who had seemingly about had it, was able to summon all his energy to get up and lay Kawada out with his elbow before falling down. Both sold this spot for about a minute. Kawada ducked Misawa's rolling elbow and tried yet another Dangerous backdrop, but Misawa finally avoided the deadly move. Misawa then tried his rolling elbow, but Kawada avoided it. Kawada then tried his jumping high kick, but Misawa blocked it then dropkicked Kawada. Great stuff as either guy could seemingly win with one more big move, but both guys know this and are able to avoid falling prey to one. Misawa hit his Tiger suplex on Kawada, but couldn't hold the bridge and had to do a lateral press for a near fall. This may have been part of the psychology or may have been a partially blown spot. If it was partially blown, it was the closest thing to a messed up spot in the entire match. If not, then the match had flawless execution. Misawa hit a Dangerous released German suplex, but Kawada got up and tried his shotgun lariat Misawa, which Misawa ducked then went right into a released German suplex. Misawa tried his running elbow, but Kawada once again countered with his jumping high kick. This got a big pop and both sold. Misawa blocked Kawada's high kick and connected with a rolling elbow. Misawa did a released Tiger suplex. Misawa tried to go back to that spot, but Kawada blocked it, so Misawa delivered his enzui rolling elbow. Misawa tried to put Kawada away with a German suplex, but Kawada wasn't done yet. Misawa hit two more elbows then went for his running elbow, but Kawada saw it coming. However, Kawada was "too injured" to counter it with a jumping high kick, so he simply collapsed to avoid it. Kawada blocked Misawa's Tiger Driver and tried to come back with chops, but Misawa cut him off with elbows. Misawa tried his discus elbow, but Kawada blocked it and with the title at stake, resorted to punching Misawa. Misawa put Kawada down with his rolling elbow. Misawa delivered a stiff elbow, which for all intents and purposes KO'd Misawa. Misawa covered, but Kawada somehow escaped at 2.9+ (you couldn't see him budge at all on tv as they had a bad camera angle). Misawa dragged Kawada's limp KO'd carcass up and German suplexed him for the win. Super must see match. Brilliant work. Extremely stiff and bone crunching match that may have set a record for most times with guys taking bumps directly on their head. In the 21:30 that aired, there wasn't one more that was out of place or one move that didn't add to the match. Very intense and riveting. Great heat. Better than the tv version of the 1/20/97 Misawa vs. Kobashi match. Probably the best match thusfar in 1997 and clearly one of the greatest men's heavyweight matches of all-time. I'll hold off any further comparisons until I see this masterpiece unedited. 31:22. *****