Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa

[10.0] "[5.0*] Because of the raw intensity between 4 wrestlers who are so intertwined with each other, the great action, the fantastic smart tag-team work and IQ, the traditional nasty head-drops and stiff strikes, and the commentary + crowd going crazy at everything, I have no doubt in my mind this is the greatest tag match ever."

[10.0] "Few matches come close to matching the shear drama and raw intensity displayed here by the Four Pillars. There were many breathtaking moments worth discussing, but Kawada finally pinning his archrival Misawa further cemented the immortal status of this legendary tag team match."

[10.0] "This is my favorite match of all time. I have never seen better in ring story telling than this match right here every move had impact on the next and the ending sequence gets you kinda emotional. I cant do this match justice its perfect if you haven't watched it hurry up and go watch it. *****"

[10.0] "I had high hopes for this going in considering who's involved as well as the hype behind it, and I am blown away. I love everything about this match and there isn't a dull moment. Taue and Kawada are working Kobashi's injured leg a majority of the match, and something I love here is Kobashi sacrificing himself for Misawa in the end. Such a great match and I'm glad I finally got around to watching it. *****"

[10.0] "A candidate for the greatest pro-wrestling match in history. Are words enough to describe the greatness and beauty of this match? Epic interactions, the leg work, masterclass selling, unique action, poetic moments, story, pure drama and tragic storytelling - perhaps Kawada & Taue slaughtering Misawa while Kobashi lies on top of him trying to protect him is the greatest babyface moment in pro-wrestling history. The greatest tag-team match of all time. *****"

[10.0] "Loved this match from begining to end, a rivalry between 4 of the greatest japanese wrestlers ever, the faces of AJPW, and match that had from great Tag Team Psychology, to the drama, the heat from the crowd, and level of technique and storytelling that was amazing, like in the final minutes of the match, Kobashi covering Misawa from the attacks of Taue and Kawada, I would say this is the best Tag Team match of all times, and If not it's very close up there. 10/10 [******]"

"Greatest tag team match of all time and I know that's not a very hot take. Haven't seen many matches from this era of All Japan but I'm excited to check out more next time I'm able to."

[9.0] "Wild and chaotic from start to finish--potentially overstuffed, but the relentless physicality and constant drama make it a compelling and distinctly unique spectacle overall. In particular, the emotional moment of Kobashi trying to protect Misawa is deeply memorable and speaks to the chemistry of all four men."

[6.0] "I'm not the target audience for this match because I don't have much context or a pre-existing conception of the 4 wrestlers involved so I'm judging this match strictly based on the action in the ring and the story evident from that alone. With this in mind, I think even for 1995 it feels a bit lackadaisical. I was really surprised by the finish and by the cheerful reaction of the crowd given the heelish tactics of the Holy Demon Army throughout. Many of the impact moves were repeated and seemed to lose impact the more they were used."

"I think this might be the best thing i've ever seen. The storytelling and execution were top notch. A ******* match!"

[10.0] "Incredible match. Best tag match I have ever watched and one of the best matches I have ever seen. The wrestling here was very basic, it was nothing fancy but it was executed superbly and they told an amazing story to go with the Excellent in ring work. These four have a rich history, the tension was already high even before the match began; Each of the four have a distinct style and characteristic which was evident here. Kawada had one of the best heel performance, Taue was incredible as well but it was Kawada who took the lead with a vicious and sadistic mean streak; Conversely, Kobashi had one of the best babyface perfomance in history, Misawa did an incredible job as well. The slow and methodical pace highlighted every action they did and despite the slow pacing, the match never felt remotely dull. The challengers did an incredible job of isolating the Champions, either targetting the pre injured limb of Kobashi or just brutalising Misawa with kicks and headshots; One time, Taue just threw Misawa right on top of Kobashi's leg which looked nasty. Kobashi's selling in this match is one of the best if not the best I have seen and he had one of the most heroic moments in professional wrestling when he sacrificed himself and protected a downed Misawa from Kawada. This match had some of the most coolest and emotional moments in a professional wrestling match. Everything they did in the match meant something; There wasn't a single dull moment and the story was engaging; Add to that, a molten crowd. *****"

[10.0] "All Four Heavenly Pillars lay it *all* out in the ring in a nearly 50-minute tag team classic where EVERYBODY gets their A-plus material in. There have been a lot of tag team and trios matches between these four, but I think this is probably the best we've gotten out of Misawa, Kobashi, Taue and Kawada being in the ring at the same time. Every match-up permutation and interaction is just fantastic, stiff-as-cement stuff and the pace NEVER lets up despite almost going a full hour. It feels like a grueling war of attrition, but it never hits ANY doldrums at all, which is super rare for a marathon match of its ilk. But it's the final stretch -- where Kobashi famously covers up his partner and mentor to keep him from absorbing any more punishment -- that makes this a TRULY transcendent wrestling match. We're going to argue forever whether this match or 12/06/96 is better, but it's a bit irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. All I know is that this is EASILY one of the best matches of the 1990s and one of the best tag team matches I've ever seen -- or probably ever *will* see."

[10.0] "genuinely the finest pro wrestling match i have ever seen its all 4 pillars just putting on the greatest performance ever ******* (7*)"

[9.0] "I thought it was a great match, with some great moves. Every time there was a pin I felt like it would be a great finish, so ever time there was a kick out it was great suspense and story telling. But there were somethings that were done sloppy. It seemed like every time Kenta went for rapid strikes, it was sloppy. also when Kawada came off the 2nd rope onto Kenta's knee it was sloppy."

[10.0] "What the actual fuck have I just seen. I don't even know where to start. Screw the tag qualifier, this is one of the greatest professional wrestling matches ever, period. There's only a handful of matches I've ever seen that have made me feel the way this one did. Kawada/Misawa from 3/6/94 didn't live up to its all time great status for me, so I was worried the hype I had heard for this one might've been similar, but in reality it just did not fucking matter. When the quality is there, it gets through to you no matter the expectations. The Pillars' previous two matches from early summer (01/06/93 & 21/05/94) are two of my favorite matches I've seen from '90s All Japan so far, bona fide 5 star classics, but this one blew them out of the goddamn water. Misawa vs. Taue from a few months prior was a masterclass in psychology and heel work, this one topped that in those aspects as well. In this match, Kawada and Taue are two of the most hateable pricks I've ever seen in a ring. From the very beginning, when Kawada boots Misawa in the orbital HE broke, to the bitter end, their assault on Misawa's face and Kobashi's leg does not let up for a second. And Misawa and Kobashi, holy hell, what a babyface performance. Kobashi especially, the guy might be the best in-ring babyface I've ever seen. Him crawling over Misawa to protect him was beautiful, and that's not a word I've really associated with AJPW up to this point. The phenomenal character work and storytelling is just one aspect of it, of course. Combine that with the unreal wrestling chemistry these four have and this mind-blowing 40+ minute masterpiece is the result. The drama and near falls in the last ~10 minutes is one of those few times where you can say "this is one of pro-wrestling's peaks". I must have thought it was over at least 5 times by the end. When Kawada hit that final powerbomb for the three, I was exhausted just from watching. And as a final bow of perfection on the whole thing - Holy Demon Army winning MADE SENSE. I would've loved a Super Generation Army win more than anyone, and it wouldn't have taken anything away from the match, but the whole thing is made even better by HDA winning after the massacring they put on Kobashi and Misawa. I don't see how it gets better than this. If there's a pantheon of matches that every fan needs to see at least once, this is a lock for it. One of the best wrestling matches ever, and a contender for the greatest of all time. *****+"

[10.0] "I don't know what to say more tbh, this was beyond tremendous professional wrestling, that was beyond impressive, that was perfection. Couldn't be better than this, this is the definition of a perfect wrestling match in every single way possible, storytelling was peak and the psychology was another level, the spots the selling just everything was at the best at it can be, kawada with an all time performance here probably top 5-10 performances ever in the industry, mind blowing stuff. *****"

[10.0] "An absolute masterclass in tag team storytelling. Phenomenal work from all 4 pillars. Kobashi in particular had an unreal performance, but I loved everything Misawa and Kawada did as well. Taue added great heel work that connected everything together."

[10.0] "This is one of the realest matches I've ever seen, it didn't look like a wrestling match, it looked like a 4 men brawl with a pre-determined finish. Everyone played their role to perfection. Best tag team match that I've seen, ever. Misawa and Kawada were especially bright."

[9.0] "I'm gonna say it. I am currently watching all the top highest rated matches on cagematch, and I finally got to this one. At this point im fairly familiar with Misawa and Kobashi, and I have become a huge Kenta Kobashi fan in my time watching old matches. But this one just doesn't do it for me. It drags on for a REALLY long time with some near falls that maybe would be better if I understood the context, and maybe that is my fault, but watching this in a vacuum just feels like 50 long minutes of really good, not elite wrestling. Don't get me wrong, it is a BANGER of a match and something that tag matches should absolutely strive for, and having the four faces of AJPW in one ring going at it with amazing in ring psychology should warrant respect, but I think I was a little too excited for this match and it ended up not being what I thought it would be. It felt a bit like watching the Godfather so far after the fact, yes its amazing, yes it is an alltimer, but theres many better."

[6.0] "A nice tag team match that i thought was pretty enjoyable. Nothing too good about it that makes it special or an all timer, but I still had a good time. Wish we would see more of these all timer wrestlers tag watching other to give us all star tag matches."

[10.0] "As far as I'm concerned, this is the greatest tag match of all time. The crowd was nuclear hot for the entire time. The structure of the match is impeccable. Kawada and Taue probably control 75% of the offense in this match, yet the entire time it feels like Misawa and Kobashi still have a chance. I've also never seen a match where all four competitors play their role so perfectly. Kawada and Taue are ruthless killers in this match and are just the biggest bastards that you can imagine. Kobashi is the injured babyface who sells his leg so well the entire match. Misawa does his best to take the workload, but eventually you can tell he's overwhelmed by both Kawada and Taue. Kobashi's selling and the sympathy he generates is otherworldly. By the end of the match, despite his injury, he's lying on top of Misawa trying to protect him from the beating he's getting. If this doesn't pull at your heartstrings then you're not human. This match is probably the one that convinced me to put Kobashi on my Mount Rushmore of wrestlers. Maybe one of the most incredible aspects to this match is how important every spot is. In most matches that go this long, even the great ones, there's at least a little bit of filler. This match has none. If I could give this match higher than a 10, I would."

[10.0] "Crazy to think in their 8+ year of feuding(with them being partner for 6 years) this is the first time kawada defeated misawa in any type of match. And this match makes the good point of that. Kawada and taue feels like the bully type of heel they are and kobashi looks like the star here, battling with a bandage on his legs, took alot of beatings, sold moves like deaths, tried to protect misawa from the beatings by kawada and taue and was just inches away from breaking the pin in the final moment. The match felt natural, not too fact or slow and not too long or short despite being 42 minutes. This is how storytelling and psychology should be done. A great match"

[10.0] "One of the greatest matches ever. A grueling battle between men who refuse to stay down. The crowd reactions elevate the fantastic match to untouchable heights."

[10.0] "I think I would go over the character limit if I said everything I had to say about this match. This is the best tag team match ever, bar none, there's nothing else on its level. The crowd LOSING it every single time kobashi or misawa get in the ring just elevates everything about this already fantastic match. Kawada has a hell of a performance too, being an absolute killer and ruthlessly attacking Misawa and Kobashi. All 6 of the dynamics at play here between the wrestlers are perfect too, Kobashi gives one of the 3 best babyface performances of all time and Misawa is not far behind just REFUSING to die at the end. You can FEEL how pissed Taue and Kawada are that they just couldn't get the job done against Misawa historically. I would give this higher than a 10 if I could, there's very few matches of any type that come anywhere close to this"

[10.0] "Pretty much perfect. There are a lot of really clever and well-executed things here. Role performance and pacing have to top the list. Kawada and Taue are out to win and so go after their opponents' injuries; Kawada isn't distracted by a crowd who is very in his favour (for all the fact the Misawa chants on entrance are louder, when they first match up and indeed later the crowd is chiefly chanting for Kawada), but instead does every brutal thing he can, even when the crowd is shocked or boos. Taue doesn't get cheered - in heat terms, he's the sole actual heel here - and he doesn't care. Misawa is super-human (at points to the level of being annoying, in fact), and Kobashi is heroic despite his severe leg injury. The role performance goes deeper, particularly for Kawada and Taue - Taue is actually always quite good at performing confusion and annoyance, and Kawada is JUST. SO. MUCH. He looks frankly quietly furious every time someone hits him. His whole bodily manner is that of some lary Deano down the pub (this is something he's developed in HDA - even in his days at Revolution/SGA enforcer, he didn't quite hold himself like this). There is also a really intelligent use of what actually are "rest holds" through the middle, but which helpfully create a moment to collect our thoughts - they are a rest hold for us, too. They are always contested, too, and always look serious, and the Stretch Plum is a legitimate threat, too. The finish is justly famous, and Kobashi's performance, though perhaps including too much hulking up, is quite moving. Kawada gets the pin at last, and afterwards is a little stammery - from concussion or emotion? 5/5"

[10.0] "this is a modern day epique. Kobashi is a hero tryin to save Misawa and sacrifice himself all over the match even with an injured leg, everyone didn't want to lose the match whatever it takes. It's one of the greatest tag team match ever"

[10.0] "Not fast and not extreme but when you watch it with full focus you can understand the difference of this. It's not for everyone. Especially when you think about today's current situation people are more interested in watching the highlights instead of watching the full match. If there is no ladder and or no original stipulation most people can't stand long matches. This match really shows us what professional wrestling stands for. You never get tired of watching it because they're really selling everything perfect not just with taking the moves but with the tiredness in their face and with the pain in their eyes they are making it real. Misawa's tiger driver is one of my favourite finishers ever. Kawada's powerboms are so brutal. Kobashi covering Misawa was one of the best things in wrestling history i think. I don't want to call this match a professional wrestling. I think that was really really art. Just pure art."

[10.0] "This in my opinion is the best tag team match ever. These guys were the four biggest names in Japan at the time and four of the greatest in-ring workers of all time. The crowd was off the charts crazy for this match and I loved the in-ring match and it is one of my favorite tag team matches of all time. Overall I really enjoyed these four and all these amazing matches they put on against each other, but tag team wise, this is their best one and I highly recommend it."

[10.0] "I'd give this more than 10 if I could. I could ramble about this matches virtues all day but instead I'll just say this is most likely my favorite tag match anywhere from any company and anytime. When Kawada kicks Misawa off the apron 3-4 minutes in and has that look on his face like "yeah I did it... and I'd do it again too." Now it's on and everyone plays their part perfectly. Misawa is the stoic ace who is clearly not happy but not ready to show his true emotions quite yet (until he's pushed there later in the match). Kobashi is the incredulous babyface that can't believe Kawada can be such a dick. Taue acts like he's not sure of the tactics but slowly leans into it during the match and becomes quite the asshole in this match too plus I love when he just grabs someone by the head with both hands and tosses them to the ground. Then of course Kawada is the instigator who has already gotten it to a nasty place but knows he's about to get a lot more grimy. Just a wonderful match in all ways."

[10.0] "You look at the previous year's Super Power Series finale, a match between two of the Four Pillars which is so famous that you only need to say the day it took place for all real graps appreciators to recognise it, and you wonder how you can improve it. Well, this is how: a tag match involving all Four Pillars. Simple in design, simple in execution: the Super Generation Army are dented heroes walking into this match: MIsawa with his broken orbital; Kobashi with his injured leg. Taue and Kawada both have beef and a drive to prove themselves against Misawa: Taue to avenge coming up short yet again in the Champion Carnival, and Kawada to finally get that pin on MIsawa that had eluded him for years. And what follows is forty minutes of pure intensity where the match could end at any second, but to true King's Road style, they continue fighting until they are all spent and then some, leading to the legendary visual of Kawada digging Misawa's shoulders into the mat with Kobashi fingertips away from breaking the pin, stopped only by Taue holding on for dear life. If June 3, 1994 is one of the greatest singles matches of all time, then the sequel of June 9, 1995 is the greatest tag matches of all time."

[8.0] "A match often hailed as one of the greatest of all time, but I haven't fully grasped its aesthetics. I didn't feel a strong emotional connection to it. Other tag matches from this pairing resonated much more strongly with me. Perhaps the unusually bland camera work was to blame."

[10.0] "Following on from the collective disappointments of the RWTL, Kawada's Triple Crown reign and the Champion Carnival, Holy Demon Army are in a foul mood and out to take back what's theirs by any means necessary - and that especially includes going after Misawa's dodgy eye socket and Kobashi's bum wheel. With the odds massively stacked, the SGA lads put on a relentlessly brave showing and almost sneak one, but nah, Taue & Kawada are not about to let this one slip. Their ruthlessness is best summed up in the emo af closing scenes by the pair of them stomping on Kobashi's head while he throws himself over his helpless partner's limp body. It's as good as wrestling gets for not only being ambitious, but also nailing what it sets out to do *****+"

[9.0] "The four maddest, most physical, most intense bastards in the world go at it in a true tag team war. There is too much brilliance to properly go into detail but special shout out to Kawada and Kobashi who are both on fire. So, why a 9? Well, it's because of Misawa (not his wrestling which is practically flawless) but rather the fact he is too OP here, for the first half of the match Misawa wins literally every single exchange even landing on his feet from backdrops and suplexs, it annoyed me (again, not Misawa's wrestling which was amazing but rather the booking), it made sense when Misawa ate the pinfall at the end which I was surprised by, present him strong so the loss doesn't hurt him and I'm theoretically okay with that but it annoyed me in the moment and took me out, I get he was the number one guy but it was too much. Also, Akira Taue, I'm sorry but he sticks out like a sore thumb here as the least talented and most one-dimensional guy in the ring. But look, Misawa does some amazing stuff whilst Kobashi and Kawada are dynamite here, Taue does some good stuff but is the weakest. A tag team war, deserves a 9. And it must be mentioned that Kobashi bought so much emotion to this match and him covering Misawa is amazing."

[10.0] "Not only in All Japan but in the entire wrestling world, this right here is the greatest tag team match of all-time. Absolute pinnacle of King's Road and legendary Four Heavenly Kings of All Japan."

[10.0] "This is one of my first king's road matches, so I will say this, this match is a true masterclass of storytelling in tag team wrestling."

[10.0] "Legendary, remarkable, beautiful, historic, magnificent... there's a lot of adjectives to classify this match, and it absolutely deserves the reputation, this is an outstanding piece of work, that generations need to keep alive and keep watching forever, it was the day that four geniuses decided to do their most brilliant work, the ultimate match, and although it's not my favorite match of the period, it's completely magical and of the highest quality possible. King's Road and NWA styles are very close to each other, in America we have very established faces/heels, and it's heavily character based, consequently the theatrics are a huge factor, and AJPW did all of that too, but in some matches they just did more, like Misawa vs Kawada on June '94, and this one was very focused on personal dramas and theatrics as well, which kinda concerned me at first, but they've absolutely mastered the craft and didn't let any novelistic angles harm the match, everything made perfect sense and added a lot of complexity and emotion into the match. This was all about struggle, Misawa and Kobashi were both injured, Misawa with the fractured orbital bone, and Kobashi with an injured left leg, and Taue and Kawada were there to win or die trying, the babyfaces are tough to beat, it seemed that they always had something extra to kickout the moves and win the matches, so the heels were tired of this, and went there in a mission, to destroy them, to exploit their weaknesses and win at any cost, and they did just that. This match had probably the best selling I've ever watched in my entire life, Misawa and Kobashi sold their struggles consistently during the 42-minutes, and the psychology was so catching and so well worked that it didn't looked like this long at all, the match doesn't get boring for a single second and everything it's extremely interesting and relevant, they were in so much pain that every move could end the match, and 90s All Japan can do that like nobody else ever could. This was legitimately the first time that for me Kobashi completely outshined Misawa in a match, and Misawa was fantastic, but Kobashi was just on another level, he limped the whole match, and was fighting with his life, what a warrior, outstanding, one of the best individual performances ever, the way he took the bullet for Misawa two or three times was beautiful, what a loyal wingman, he was completely destroyed and yet was trying to protect Misawa from the heels. Workrate-wise this was perfect as well, their chemistry is unbelievable and everything connected incredibly well, they had reversals for each big move and I love how stuff connected, it isn't only strikes, everything has a sequence, every action has a consequence, the match is based on continuity, and not only move after move. It's impossible not to cheer for the babyfaces here, they fight hard and try everything even under bad conditions, but it was the time for Holy Demon Army... Kawada pinned Misawa for the first time in his life, his desperation at those ending stretches was amazing, the guy was thinking: "what the hell I need to do? ", but after a lot of tries he finally did it, and after nearly one and a half year, Misawa and Kobashi are no longer World Tag Team Champions, the first time since November 13th of 1993 that another tag team holds the belt, in a match that absolutely did justice to that fact - {*****}"

[10.0] "[5.0*] The best Tag Team Match I have ever seen. This was hands down perfect, in every single aspect of an analysis. On the background, Taue was insanely angry that he lost a match against Misawa one month prior to this bout, and Kawada had NEVER pinned him, so this was a insane chip on the shoulder to carry, specially for two longtime rivals and the #1/#2 of the company. Misawa had just beaten Stan Hansen to become the new Triple Crown Champion, so this was clearly a difficult task for Kawada. This started off pretty slow, until Kawada decided to kick Misawas face while he was waiting to get in, on the corner. Then he did the exact same thing to Kobashi and the match started to heat up. Kawada and Taue worked a lot on Kobashis legs and his selling was impressive, until Misawa is finally able to get in and save the day. The action was very heated and thrilling, with a special performance from the heels. Kawada, specifically, was the MOTM, in my opinion. Just a perfect appearance, he set the tone and carried the pace of the whole match with his actions, fucking impressive. The last 20 minutes are pure insanity, where the heart stopping nearfalls started and I thought the match would end several times. I watched this one without knowing the result or the timestamp, so I just did not know who was going to win and when it was going to end, something that let my experience be 100% better, because I was rooting a lot for Kawada and Taue, but the babyfaces never stopped kicking out and resisting, they were just not giving up, and I was like: please, stay down! It was like I was watching it live, you know? Fantastic experience. Kobashi did the famous spot of laying on Misawa a couple of times to protect his partner from being attacked, and this was just absurd in terms of psychology, because he did that while he was already fucked up by those guys, so he just did not want the same fate for Misawa. At this point I was thinking that there is no way Holy Demon Army were losing, right? Look at them, they are fucking monsters, machines of destruction. On this match, it becomes clear that Misawa and Kobashi were just perfect individuals, while Kawada and Taue were the perfect team. Even while being less successful than the other two, their game-plan was just miles ahead and their teamwork made them capable of dominating. At the end, Kawada defeated Misawa (super symbolic) while Taue was holding the Kobashi leg that was targeted the whole time, making him watch it without doing nothing. New Champs. Fucking. Brutal. What a perfect match, what a perfect team."

[10.0] "Best tag team ma-- fuck it, BEST PRO WRESTLING MATCH EVER. THE GODFATHER/CITIZEN KANE OF PRO WRESTLING."

[10.0] "5.75 stars just read all the other comments and you'll know why this is rated that highly great babyface work by kobashi as he sells the leg injury awesome heel work by kawada brilliant & believable commentary perfect crowd exciting near falls and finally good enough wrestling n psychology."

[10.0] "That was simply fucking amazing. This is perfection. There is no way to describe it and not to lose that magic. After that match all those Young Bucks spotfests are just a stupid joke."

[10.0] "Kawada is a fucking god. The storytelling is simply magnificent from the targeting selling of Kobashi's injured leg in the first half to Kobashi showing his commendable fighting spirit all while sacrificing himself for Misawa's aid. Truly marvelous stuff from the peak days of King's Road"

[10.0] "Maybe one of the best tag team matches ever. Decent storytelling and some great in ring action, very hard hitting. Taue and Kawada dominated a lot of the match and the anticipation built in the match was great."

[9.0] "Pretty much what you watch these old All Japan matches for. A match that feels half its length and has an aura making every move feel epic. Only drawback that while Taue has some cool moments, he feels a good bit more limited here than the other pillars. Hes mostly fine but hes not bringing many moves to the dance and has some awkward interactions just getting Kobashi and Misawa away from the main action after big spots."

[10.0] "Here we go. I have watched this match several times throughout the past couple of decades and continue to find parts of it that get me fired up in different ways. Off the rip, the dynamic of Kobashi bullying Taue a little bit and Kawada coming in and just going ape shit, which in turn brings in Masawa to dispatch him out of the match and then turn it right back over to Kobashi to continue his assault on Taue. These guys just used the strength of their parts at the exact moments they were required throughout the match. Every single time Kawada tagged in the crowd popped like they were expecting to see a murder and he bested Kobashi when matched up. The second half switched the story with a hobbled Kobashi coming to the aid of Misawa. Kawada was a killer the whole way through."

[7.0] "Amazing match with crazy crowd and energetic commentery. Kobashi showed why he is considered greatest of all time. Misawa was amazing too but i dont like fact that he need to kick out od 5 finishers every time he wrestle Kawada. Taue looked really bad here, his offense was looking weak, he had bad chokeslam"

[10.0] "tag team wrestling at its finest. the holy demon army are so badass and spend this entire match just punishing the living shit out of the babyface team. great work by all involved, but especially kobashi, who shines in his brief but excellent comeback. fantastic tag title match."

[10.0] "A match with vastly above-average story, in-ring buildup, movesets, the entire 90s AJPW package, and one of the best tag team matches of all time. A finishing stretch that left me completely exhilarated, the likes of how Kawada and Misawa's match a year prior did. An unreal contest with drivers, slams, limb attacks, and lots of brutality. Permanent classic that hasn't aged a day in 30 years. [5.00]"

[10.0] "This match certainly doesn't hit for me the same way as some of the other matches involving these four have, especially in terms of Kenta Kobashi and Mitsuharu Misawa, due to the slower speed in comparison to something like Kobashi vs. Misawa in 2003. But I can't deny that this is an excellent match in terms of the chemistry and story telling between these four, with some absolutely beautiful spots here. Kobashi trying to protect Misawa from the pummeling of Akira and Toshiaki was great. The work on Kobashi's injured leg was great. A ton of fantastic selling. A fantastic tag team match, just don't expect it to go by fast, that's for sure."

[10.0] "A great tag match, one of the best ever, the four pillars demonstrating their chemistry and brilliance to the fullest (*****)"

[10.0] "[5.5*] This is one of the best matches in AJPW history and one of the best tag team matches in history, an absolute classic starring the four pillars of heaven who were giants and helped lift AJPW during the 90s. The match is insanely brutal, there were MANY violent chops, punches and kicks during the match, Taue & Kawada worked very well on Kobashi's leg injury, every time Misawa and Kawada entered the ring the crowd went crazy, the exchanges between Kawada and Misawa were (as in imagine) perfect. One of the most incredible moments of the match for me was Misawa almost knocking Taue and Kawada out in succession with just one punch. The end of this match is historic, Misawa and Kobashi started by isolating Kawada and attacking him with Moonsault, Misawa doing a Kawada Driver and Kawada managing to survive and kicking out, the Crowd was on fire, simply one of the hottest crowds I've ever seen. Kawada and Misawa battling with everything they had left was exciting, Kawada submitting Misawa and winning the match was an iconic moment, I have never seen a match with so much emotion at the end than this one, it was truly a WAR between four wrestlers who lived the Purosesu like few others."