Steve Williams vs. Toshiaki Kawada

[7.0] "A match that's long for the sake of being long. This goes roughly the same length as Kobashi/Williams from around a month prior, but ends up being a way worse match. The pace is absolutely GLACIAL, and it doesn't even end up kicking into overdrive like most classic slow-build AJPW matches. I liked the storytelling around Williams's knee, though it could've been conveyed just as well in half the time. Last few minutes were good. Great moment seeing Kawada finally win the big one, even if the finish was anticlimactic. ***1/2"

[7.0] "Good but suffers for the same reasons Williams' title win suffers. After a decent opening, and some genuinely relevant stuff that damages Williams' knee, this slows down into some of the most irrelevant and dullest stuff you'll find in a 1990s AJPW title match, regardless of the title. Williams is brilliant in a narrow spectrum, and you feel that here. Once it paces up, though - and it does slowly but methodically till it's roaring away - it's excellent. Williams and Kawada trade advantage - sometimes on weird transitions - but Doc can't keep on top because his knee, hurt early and then hurt repeatedly, can't bear Kawada's weight. Doc sometimes runs the ropes slowly due to the knee, too. It's genuinely brilliant work, quietly vulnerable. Kawada is expressive and determined, and his final few bursts of offence, especially the lethal Gamengiris and Enzui Lariat, are brutal and brilliant looking. 3.5/5"

[6.0] "Pretty good match that would be great with a better pacing. Kawada targeted dr death's leg early in the match but then he stopped besides some sporadic kicks. Dr death's selling was great here regardless of that. The match had some great moments like kawada doing his classic delayed selling. The finish was great with kawada using everything he had to win. *** 1/2"

[8.0] "This is a very good match to be sure but the finishing sequence with Kawada just drilling Williams with lariats front and back and that final Gan-menguiri (I'm sure I've spelled that wrong) where Williams just drops and Kawada covers and the place just explodes. There's nothing much like a huge Budokan crowd when one of their native sons wins the big title especially when against such a perfect monster heel like Dr. Death."

[7.0] "Kawada's big win feels like a bit of a damp squib - especially when you know that he'll notch up zero wins during his first reign. Following on from Misawa vs. Kawada in June and Williams vs Kobashi in September, this is the third Triple Crown defence of 1994 to push past 35 minutes, and it's by far the least interesting of the three. You could skip the first 15 and miss very little, and from there it just kind of meanders in no particular direction until Dangerous K slays the beast ***1/2"

[9.0] "This match was incredible, Steve Williams won the title against Misawa, had a title defense against Kobashi, and now faced another pillar in Toshiaki Kawada, in a match that, in my opinion, was way better than his glorified bout against Kobashi (the one before this match right here). This was a true epic, if they somehow failed the mission to do an all-timer epic there, they did it here, because the sellings were so much better, by both men. Kawada focused on hurting Doc's knee, the knee that was already pretty damaged before the match, because of his previous and brutal contests, and the strategy paid off, he spent the whole match focusing on that left knee, and they just played with exhaustion the whole match... some people may call this slow, and it was slow, but I think this was really enjoyable, it had some dead moments for sure, but everything was just brilliantly executed in my opinion, the slow pace of the match made every move look bigger and more important, they created insane anticipation before doing stuff, and they were trying to exhaust each other the whole time, which made the audience feel how tough the battle was being, felt like a war, a real fight. At the end Kawada managed to do a sequence, outwrestled Williams and FINALLY won the Triple Crown Championship, a well deserved win for him - {****1/2}"

[7.0] "I found this to be weaker than their Champion Carnival match earlier in the year. The grappling was pretty good, but not compelling enough to comprise the majority of this match. I thought when Kawada blocked the backdrop suplex and started to lay the kicks in, but then it went back to solid grapling. The backdrop on the outside was pretty cool, but the camera angle obscured this. ***1/2"

[9.0] "Great match, typical AJPW King's Road Style here. Maybe the weakest defense of Williams' title reign but it is still an exciting encounter with stiff shots and great selling (especially by Williams). The final sequence is obviously great with the crowd going crazy when Kawada finally wins the big one. ****1/4"

[9.0] "This was just an absolute fight and a struggle between two beasts who would not stop. The crowd go crazy every time Dr Death goes for his high backdrop. Kawada finally wins the big one and gets the celebration he deserves. ****1/2"

[8.0] "A great match that sadly ends Williams' reign but thankfully kickstarts Kawada's long-awaited first reign. I liked the continuity here with Kawada targeting the knee that Kobashi likewise worked over in his own challenge for Williams' Triple Crown. Kawada did well in methodically working the leg over with a variety of stiff kicks, tight submissions, and more, and Williams gave a truly fantastic leg-selling performance. Kawada likewise stood out with his outstanding real-time selling when it was his turn to be the one worked over, with all his pained and panicked cries, excruciated facial expressions, and fiery displays of passion making for a very compelling performance. Williams naturally looked like a beast when he was in control, making great use of his size and strength advantage. The story of Kawada constantly evading William's Dangerous Backdrop finisher was great, building up great anticipation for when it would eventually be used. I also liked how this meant Williams instead had to use a variety of other power moves that were almost as devastating. Even when Williams finally hit it for the first time, Kawada was smart enough to pull himself outside to avoid a pin attempt, which further added to this engaging story they were telling. Williams did extremely well selling his leg the more that he had to use it, giving a good number of gestures, grimaces, and stumbles to ensure that Kawada's work had not been forgotten, especially when it came to executing moves that were more leg-dependent. It was great seeing Kawada show more desperation to get the win, like when he went for an illegal choke and had to have it broken up by ref Wada's 5-count. Kawada would smarty switch back to targeting the knee whenever he felt that his general offence was no longer working, which was also enjoyable to see. Kawada again sold very well and showed tremendous passion as he got his final comeback to desperately try put Williams away with all his fantastic signature moves. Williams looked great as the invincible monster that was refusing to go down but was slowly being picked apart bit by bit (especially with his injured leg stunting his movement). Kawada then hit that awesome flurry at the end and got the pin to FINALLY win the Triple Crown, cementing himself as his rival Misawa's equal. I actually think this is equal to William's 94 Kobashi match, a bit better than his 94 Misawa match, and far, far better than his overrated 93 Kobashi match, so this is at least in the conversation for Williams' best singles match and his best ever individual performance. ****"

[9.0] "This match was just genuine. In this match, Williams and Kawada destroyed each other, Williams attacked the leg of Kawada early in the match and Kawada's selling was always great. Williams also had an awesome selling of his knee, and he played very well on the size difference between him and Kawada. Some Suplexes by Williams were monstruous, and every sequence of this match, even outside of the ring, was excellent. The finish with Kawada knocking out Williams with a lot of attacks was awesome. Another incredible match in AJPW's Kings Road. ****1/2"

[8.0] "Not a classic like Williams' matches against Misawa to win the straps, or his match defending the straps against Kobashi, but it was still a really good match. I thought the length might bog it down, but it moved fairly well for a 38-minute match. I wouldn't say it breezed by, but they sprinkled in enough good spots to keep me invested. Much of the story centered around Williams' knee, but he hit a Tiger Suplex and a brainbuster to keep himself in control. Williams hit another Tiger Suplex and a backdrop, but when he tried a backdrop on the floor, Kawada was able to counter it to save himself. It was still a sick spot that sent both of their heads into the guard rail. Like instead of Kawada being the only one going down, he took Williams with him. Momentum had really picked up by this point, but they couldn't quite put the exclamation point on the ending sequence to make me rate this higher. In the end it was Kawada's trademark kicks that won the day. It is so great to see Kawada finally being put on someone else's shoulders to celebrate the Triple Crown victory. It was a long time coming. ****1/4"

[10.0] "Well, that's super great. The first time I watched it, two years ago, I didn't understand half the coolness of this match, and it surprised me that many old-school puroresu fans thought it was the best match in Steve's title reign. But now I fully understand this point of view, because I have become familiar with Kawada's thinking style in detail and now I see the meaning in many actions. Toshiaki's tactics work perfectly when you look back at Williams' victories over Kobashi and Misawa. They all got caught in a mistake and the deadly backdrop unsettled them, after which they lost. Kawada tries to be careful and dangerous at the same time, he works hard on Doc's leg, and this tactic helps him in many moments of the match when his body is in danger. And everything works and everything is incredibly exciting, because Kawada took care of literally everything, focusing on how to survive and achieve his first triumph. And even when he is overtaken by the backdrop, and he is an inch away from losing, wit and willpower helped him beat Kenta and Mitsuharu, Toshiaki had a chance to rest, and Williams, having an injured leg, spent some percentage of stamina to return Dangerous K back to the ring. Kawada had calculated everything, and all that remained was to see if his bet would play out or not. The decisive kill of Williams with a series of powerful kicks, accompanied by the determination and alertness of Kawada, who quickly reacts to each reflex blow of Steve - this is probably in the top 20 of my favorite endings in wrestling. The greatest match, the greatest triumph, the greatest ending to the greatest title reign, and probably one of the most underrated matches in the history of Cagematch. The legendary fight (*****)."

[9.0] "So naturally I was excited to witness this. The match doesn't have a great reputation as the Misawa or Kobashi match, mostly because Doc's strengths lie in his signature high-impact offence which also is All Japan's bread and butter. This feels a more stripped down, methodical match that I can see coming off as dull and not as captivating to some as it was to me. It went a bit too long in parts and they could've gone home earlier but I enjoyed the ride they took us. I thought they did a tremendous job in teasing and building up their biggest hits that the match exploded when they finally went for them. Whether it was Kawada going for the kill shots at the end or Williams hitting the Stampede, Doctor Bomb and the Dangerous Backdrop for many great false finishes. Kawada's strikes were timed perfectly as well. I don't remember him hitting as many spinning backfists before to such great effect. They were the turning point for his eventual win. And I must point out how great Williams' selling was towards the end. Even when he was blocking the kick attempts, he was staggering around, clearly out of his feet. Just great stuff. There were a few people in the front row crying when Kawada won the title. I felt that. Loved this wholeheartedly. ****1/4"