Jun Akiyama & Kenta Kobashi vs. Takao Omori & Yoshihiro Takayama

[10.0] "Watching a tense encounter between all four of these men was fun as we don't normally see big guys like Kobashi & Akiyama go up against anyone that's bigger then them."

[9.0] "Tremendous tag team match. Kobashi comes in with the anger and clearly cannot stand these two bullies. NO FEAR keeps fueling the fire and whenever they provoke Kobashi's anger, he attacks with unprecedented fury, even pushing the referee and Akiyama. When NO FEAR gains momentum, they dominate, but a cold finish determines everything. ****1/4"

[8.0] "This one popped up on the tube today and after there being some phenomenal tag matches in 2026, I wanted to check this out in comparison. Obviously Akiyama goes off immediately and it's prime Kobashi but No Fear were freaking great. Much more of a traditional tag team than their opponents. Would have loved to see these guys against the Steiners."

[9.0] "This shit fucking rocked from the start. Stiff stiff action all throughout with a hot crowd. ****1/4"

[8.0] "An incredible affair between two pairs of giants; Omori and Takayama's plan was simple: make sure Akiyama was the one in the ring, take turns wearing him down, and keep Kobashi off-limits. It wasn't anything complicated, but it worked so perfectly... had they not pushed Kobashi's buttons a bit too much. The fiery warrior wasn't taking any shit as soon as he got tagged in, especially during the first half of the bout, where he unleashed an arsenal of strikes over Takayama to the point that both the referee AND Akiyama--his partner--had to intervene so he did not take it too far, only to be pushed away so the assault continued. Just an amazing example of wrestling psychology. Also, can we, for a moment, talk about Akiyama? The guy took every single hit by No Fear and did not give up at all. He did learn a thing or two from Kobashi during their time as teammates in Burning. No Fear, despite being the losers of the bout, are the stars in this: they are not just bullies, but astonishingly clever, and exploited every single opening as the aforementioned plan unfolded. The only problem, however, is that they were dealing with the ultimate determinator, Kobashi, and lost with a burning lariat. In short, an incredible match [****1/2]"

[8.0] "Really stellar match here. Kenta & Akiyama are so hot as baby faces and No Fear are really disliked. This is a hot, fast-paced bout that rarely slows down. The heel vs. face dynamic here is stellar. It's so shown through the crowd reaction, but also shown through the styles worked. Kobashi at one point just gets so pissed off at Takayama that he just starts starting him down and beats the shit out of him in the corner. He needs to be pulled away but he fights off anybody who tries. This obsession and vendetta almost causes him to lose the match but eventually he locks in and gets the pin for the win. Akiyama is the smallest guy here so he's getting powered through and tossed around a lot. It works exceptionally well though. It allows Kobashi to shine and it highlights Akiyama's selling, and also his offensive repetair. Akiyama does more athletic and agile things through the match, while Kobashi is either slamming dudes or chopping them to bits. Everyone here sells very well, it seems like a really true competition, and it's all great. My only "complaints" are that it just never reaches the emotional or physical heights you'd expect from a match that I'd give a higher star rating too. It's a very high 4-star match, almost a 4.25. Super stuff. [****]"

[8.0] "An explosive, pulsating match, that flirts with intoxicating heights and settles for being well worth a watch. A match that symbolizes all the incredible traits of Kenta Kobashi, his inner rage and defiance, indomitable pride, the way he wears his emotions on his sleeve, and his inability to prevent all of those things from spilling out are all on display, as well as how he sells *every* aspect of a wrestling match, be it his opponent's offense, or his own. The moment where he stands up to Takayama, full of vile and loathing over the youngsters complete disrespect towards him, and unleashes a torrent of unrestrained violence towards him, is the highpoint of the match. It is a genuine onslaught, they can hardly be called chops, because it feels like a man who has lost control and is just throwing his arms in complete anger towards the person in front of him. When he throws the referee away, legitimately hurls him to the ground, to continue, even Akiyama, the man who started the match off by attacking the youngsters himself! has to pull Kobashi back. It sells the escalation of this match even further. Unfortunately things sort of plateau from there, as Omori and Takayama's heat segment rather fizzles, but they do have some strong cutoffs as they push towards the finish, capturing the people once again. Great match with a moment in time that flirts with being much, much more. ****"

[8.0] "kobashi est TERRIFFIANT avec sa barbe et quand akiyama jump pour l'arrêter... les chills j'ai envie dte dire"

[8.0] "This rocks. Omori and Takayama set the tone with an offensive onslaught, taking control for a hectic take on double heat. As usual, Kobashi is electric throughout, with his defiant retort producing the match's centrepice. Akiyama makes a great face-in-peril too, launching Kobashi's hot tag in triumphant fashion. ***3/4"

[9.0] "So far the best match of 1999. I loved Kenta Kobashi in this, and was the best performance I have seen of his. His knife edge chops never looked better, and I loved the spot where he refused to stop doing them on Yoshihiro Takayama, pushing away the ref, and even his partner (and how Takao Omori gave them both a massive dropkick immediately after). No Fear are one of the best teams in company history, they feel like massive threats, and that while the veterans do usually beat them, they push them to go as hard as they have even do, to become more vicious then ever. ****3/4"

[8.0] "What a damn match! Per usual with legends of this magnitude, this is all about the story. Kenta Kobashi is a ball of rage. There is nothing that matters more to him in this match than taking the head off of his opponents, namely Yoshihiro Takayama. That rage ended up being as costly as it was motivating, as it led to Kobashi losing his focus, nearly costing his team the match via disqualification, and creating openings for NO FEAR to exploit. Takayama was absolutely brilliant in this match, specifically with the use of the Big Boots and Knee Lifts that Jun Akiyama and Kobashi simply did not have an answer for. Takao Omori was just as good, brilliantly targeting the neck of Akiyama and perfectly timing his dastardly interferences to swing the momentum back in his team's favor. As the story involved, the intensity heightened and one of the best tag team matches of 1999 hit its marvelous peak. Akiyama looked to save his mentor from his own rage, Kobashi fought for that solitary intention of beheading his rival, and NO FEAR executed some fantastic double team offense that was made possible by the errors of their opponents. With a hot finish, an explosive crowd that was shocked by Kobashi's actions, and a great story, this one deserves all of the praise it receives. 4.25 stars, 8.5 out of 10. What a damn match!"

[8.0] "This is for the Kobashi & Akiyama Unified tag team championship. A title won only 7 day before. A the end of the match, Akiyama neutralize Omori with an exploder and Kobashi clobbered Takayama with a very impactful lariat to pull off the victory. This is a very good match, but short, which prevents this match from having a better rating. (****)"

[8.0] "This was an excellent match, I think a little bit too short but the slugfest was fantastic, Akiyama was for me the MVP of the match where everyone shined a lot. His team work with Kobashi is fantastic, and the ending is too, Kobashi's Larriats are very impactful. An excellent AJPW tag team match. ****"

[9.0] "Wow, just intense, far more than you expect from AJPW tag matches. Thanks in no small part to the excellent heel work of No Fear, which is an exciting, unusual dynamic for AJPW, and the way the ferocity builds and builds within Akiyama and Kobashi and then explodes is very satisfying. Omori is a very underrated talent, and Takayama is just awesome. ****1/2; easily one of the best non-4 Pillars tag matches."

[8.0] "Brutal and intense massacre, just something you want to see from such match-up. But you surely woun`t excpect the early stage of the fight, which was done beautifly with the exact rage that needed for such story. My only complain is what the match should go a little longer. I would love to give a bigger rating, but the fight was a bit shorter then it should`ve been, they definetly should go for another round. ****"

[8.0] "Kobashi was badly pissed off by the Fear and I loved it. I also liked how Akiyama tried to tell Kobashi to calm down earlier in the match. The opposite side did a beautiful job working on top, showing their cocky attitude. Then both teams traded back and forth action with good intensity in it. Very fun to watch."

[7.0] "Kobashi is badly pissed at No Fear, then nasty scoundrels; both Omori and Takayama are on a rampage, starting to maul Burning adversaries. Akiyama keeps it up, and once he tags Kobashi in, in the middle of the action, the Tetsujin let all of his frustration out, and boy, they all deliver heavy action. ***1/4 - ***1/2"