FUJIWARASMIRK

This was a 45-minute time limit draw.

There’s a certain apprehension that comes with time limit draws, especially with how telegraphed they can be. Lesser talents can often make these matches feel borderline excruciating to sit through and ultimately inconsequential, wasting minutes of a viewer’s time to justify the match length.

None of that is the case with this match.

These four maximize every moment here in front of an uproarious Korakuen Hall crowd. There’s a logical cohesion to the proceedings, organically building a narrative in a vacuum as well as adding another chapter in the context of the feud the match is in service to.

The key to differentiating this match from others orbiting this Super Generation Army/Tsuruta-gun rivalry, surprisingly, is shifting the alignments.

Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada serve as the antagonists here, a stark contrast to the last four months of this feud where they were cast in a more heroic light standing up to the tyrannical Jumbo Tsuruta and his gang of miscreants. No, it’s in this match where we see these two shine as cockier, more arrogant and less sympathetic versions of themselves.

Mitsuharu Misawa doesn’t have as active a role here as his partner, but he’s more than impactful whenever he’s engaging with his opponents. With his singles record with Jumbo Tsuruta tied at 1-1 this year, there’s still an air of unfinished business between the two, which is exemplified when Jumbo practically tosses his partner aside to start the match off opposite the man in the emerald tights opposite him. Misawa is continuing to grow in confidence in this matchup, and he gets the better of his rival early, but it’s the fights that he picks with Akira Taue that really allow him to show off his mean streak here; he’s proactive when Kawada throws him outside the ring, tossing his former partner into the guardrails and then slamming him head-first into the ringpost, the catalyst for Taue’s forehead bandage coming off and the two Super Generation members targeting the cut inflicted the previous night by Stan Hansen.

Misawa is exceptionally cruel against a bleeding Taue, stomping at the cut repeatedly at points and targeting him with precise elbows and head-based offense. He even wears Taue’s blood on his chest, a reminder of the punishment inflicted on him even when the crimson mask dissipates. Both Misawa and Kawada are aware that their best chance of winning this match is by singling out Taue, and with a tangible weakness like the one he’s coming into the bout with, they show no hesitation in attacking it whenever possible.

Toshiaki Kawada, in particular, shows no reservations in being a gigantic prick about it.

Dangerous K finally adorned his iconic black and yellow tights the previous night, and like that match, he already is wrestling like the vicious bastard most of us know and love. It’s him who officially busts Taue back open with kicks to the head, and there’s clearly no love lost between the two with how Kawada laser focuses on the cut. Whether it’s repeated knees to the face, or landing his trademark Kawada kicks which earn him the crowd’s ire, Kawada gets so much heat on Taue to the point that Korakuen Hall is chanting the man’s name over even Jumbo, let alone new superstar Misawa.

None of this matters if Akira Taue isn’t as great as he is at taking this beating, though.

Taue is fucking excellent throughout this entire match. The blood helps draw him sympathy, but it cannot be considered a crutch given how well he sells it throughout the majority of the runtime. It’s an ever-present aspect of his performance, not just a great visual but an excellent shorthand for the theme of him having to sink or swim both as Jumbo Tsuruta’s new tag partner, but in a perilous situation against two men that mean him serious harm. There’s a feeling of him having to prove himself here that serves to make every hope spot and tag to Jumbo feel that much more impactful.

It especially makes the moments where he fights back feel incredibly special.

Taue refuses to back down from either Misawa or Kawada, in spite of the handicap of a bloody face. He trades elbows with Misawa numerous times throughout this, refusing to give an inch to the proven deadly striker. When his opponents throw him into the guardrails a third time, he has enough and immediately wallops Misawa with a lariat in response. When Kawada tries to break him with kicks and knees to his cut, he defiantly throws it back in his opponent’s face with a series of headbutts. Hell, he takes offense to Kawada casually strolling to his corner to tag Misawa in, rushing him and landing a back elbow. If the goal was for Akira Taue to prove himself to belong here, in this feud with these current and future super workers, he more than meets that expectation with both his opponents and his tag partner.

Jumbo Tsuruta is the final piece to the puzzle, and he’s in a different role than usual. Again, with the Super Generation boys working as heels tonight, Jumbo sheds the tyrannical king persona in favor of a more heroic angle, in addition to his big brother dynamic with Taue. Indeed, it’s his moments with Taue that are so compelling, like when he roots him on after a tope suicida on Kawada, or when he consoles him outside the ring after some brutal punishment. It’s beautiful to see him put so much trust in Taue here, even allowing him to shine and fight his own way instead of constantly bailing him out.

When he does get in, though, he’s just as great as he always is. Another perfect performance mechanically, every hold and strike and move looks great, including a pair of gorgeous dropkicks on Misawa and Kawada. He takes pleasure in destroying Kawada’s midsection, which Kawada sells as well as you’d expect from him, keeling over after absorbing those brutal elbows to the stomach Jumbo’s grown fond of. What’s more, when he’s asked to sell himself Jumbo excels there too, putting over the weight of his opponent’s stakes by constantly holding his hurt head in the middle section of the match. It’s what makes the heat sections on Taue so compelling, because you’re not sure whether Jumbo’s going to recover enough to help him fend off these ruthless challengers.

It’s all the more scary for Our Adopted Heroes given how in sync Misawa and Kawada are at this point, a team that is clicking perfectly at just the right time. Their double teams are both inventive and effective, such as their body splash/leg drop combo or the top rope elbow smash they pull off where Kawada hoists Taue up so Misawa can knock him down. Jumbo is the best in the world, and Taue’s proven himself here, but they simply don’t have the experience together yet to take down such a well oiled machine like Misawa and Kawada.

And yet, Misawa and Kawada don’t have the strength to break Taue’s will either. No matter what, he manages to kick out of everything they can throw at him. No kick, no elbow, no suplex are able to keep him down for the three. He doesn’t get the win, but the fact that he’s able to survive the onslaught and say he wasn’t beaten either is a big victory for Taue regardless at this stage in his career. Another excellent chapter in the feud that’s been the lynchpin to All Japan’s incredible year, and an extremely pivotal development in the future of the promotion as well.

Rating: ****1/4