[7.0] "Fourth in a five-match series on the night between the loyalists and Ishingun. This has its limits but does not overstay its welcome and ends up pretty good as a result. Much as he will two years later with Jumbo, TM2 keeps Choshu grounded where he can, but this eventually breaks out and Choshu starts really beating on him. TM2 eventually gets a comeback and hits exciting offence in response - this whole section has great energy. Choshu does get the Scorpion Deathlock on, but TM2 won't tap, and Choshu wins with his Lariat. This is a nice bit of elevation for the newly-promoted-to-heavyweight Misawa - he's not in Choshu's league yet but he can resist. 3.5/5"
[7.0] "Good match with a super fun second half. The match is initially pretty mat based and technical, with both guys fighting for submissions. Choshu on multiple occasions tries to lock Misawa in his patented Sharpshooter but Misawa does a pretty good job at defending himself from it. Choshu eventually mixes up his approach and starts using his sheer brute strength in order to attempt to put down Misawa. He nails him with a back elbow and a running powerslam but that's not enough so he tries a backdrop, which Misawa is able to flip out of, allowing him to hit Choshu with two consecutive spinning heel kicks. Misawa then just starts hitting all of his big moves on Choshu in an attempt to quickly put him away. He tries a fisherman suplex, and German suplex and a missile dropkick but it's not enough. He tries a regular dropkick but Choshu is able to counter it and finally lock in the Sharpshooter that he tried earlier in the match. Misawa shockingly holds on though and doesn't tap out, forcing Choshu to change his strategy once more, nailing Misawa with a lariat to get the win. This is probably my favourite TMII match that I've seen so far on account of how great his performance was here. Choshu was of course pretty good here too, but this is by far the best that Misawa has looked up until this point. Really good match overall. ***3/4"
[7.0] "These two started off slow but the last half really made me wish for a longer bout. I wish Choshu was still around All Japan when Misawa got big. The ending from Choshu locking in the Scorpion until the finish is a great way to get Tiger Mask over more while making Choshu look unbeatable. That Riki Lariat at the end is about as perfect as you can get, too."
[7.0] "A decent exhibition from both sides here, Misawa competes with his Tiger Mask gimmick, which may be seen as below expectations if you're accustomed to his future performances; nonetheless, still a very promising wrestler for the time. It's fair to say that Choshu almost completely dominated the match, using his physical strength and well-applied submissions. Tiger Mask managed some nice move combinations throughout the match, making it quite an interesting experience to watch, but overall, it was a good match that could have been even better if both had faced each other at Misawa's peak."
[8.0] "This was a great match. It was a nice matbased match, and also had a ton of really nice looking submissions. Choshu seemed to have the advantage all throughout the match, with Tiger Mask getting his moments here and there, and every time he did, the crowd went crazy. I would say this is worth watching if you are taking a deep dive into the career of Misawa. (****)"
[8.0] "An underrated match. Choshu worked like Choshu, which means that he worked very well, and the tricks of Tiger Mask made him work even better. It was a measured match that built up the momentum to shoot at the end, which is what happened. I was shocked by their final interaction. I'm sorry that Tenryu and Choshu didn't catch Misawa in his prime (****)."
[5.0] "As you might expect, this is a case where the gimmick keeps this from being satisfying as any sort of dream matchup. I'm about as big a Misawa fan as there is, and I'll be the first to tell you that he was probably the worst fit out of anyone who ever played Tiger Mask; moreover, this is the beginning of his heavyweight era, where he isn't doing the aerial stuff as often but he's not in a position which comfortably allows him to grow into the wrestler he actually is/will be. So if this doesn't really work as a dream match, even one that didn't happen at the ideal time (as is the case for most dream matches that actually happen), what does this work as? Nothing terrible, but neither is it remarkable. Some okay matwork between the two, though Choshu is on autopilot as he grapples toward the sasorigatame. After some nearfalls, he gets it, but Misawa doesn't tap, so Choshu lariats him for the pinfall. It's not bad, but it's just kind of there as a match. Workmanlike, you could say. **3/4"
