Akira Taue, Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Masanobu Fuchi & The Great Kabuki

[9.0] "Awesome main event here. Loved the intensity between Tsruta and Misawa, particularly. Misawa stepping up to the veteran, resulting in said veteran trying to put him in his place, was a simple, yet very effective, story. Really good in-ring work aside from that, but the intensity of it all really helped it out. Great stuff."

[9.0] "This is an incredible setup match for the Jumbo/Misawa match a little bit down the road. Jumbo is an extra grumpy old man here ready to kick these new kids off his lawn and they aren't having it and fight back for their spot on top. ****1/2"

[7.0] "This was one of those matches where the atmosphere and the story make the most of the match. The action was already good, but every time Misawa and Jumbo got anywhere near each other the whole thing blow up. There was so much tension between them that even the smallest interactions felt intense. The moment Misawa elbowed Jumbo was the turning point. Jumbo sold it like he'd been hit by a truck, and when he finally got back up and charged after Misawa, the match completely broke down into chaos. That whole sequence was incredible and made their rivalry feel personal right away. Kobashi was excellent here too. He spent a lot of the match getting an absolute beating. Taue also had some moments of his own and already looked different from everyone else in the ring. The veterans were great as well, especially Jumbo, who came across as a proud veteran refusing to let the younger generation take their spot. The match wasn't as perfect as their future bouts. There were a few awkward moments and a lot of the time it drifted a little, especially when Misawa and Jumbo weren't involved. But whenever the focus returned to them, the energy shot right back up. The final few minutes were awesome. Fast paced, intense, and packed with big moves and great reactions from the crowd. By the end it felt like more than just a six-man tag. It felt like the beginning of a whole new era, and the crowd seemed to know it. A really good match that balanced great action with some fantastic storytelling. ***1/2"

[9.0] "Great and flashy way to start what it will be an excellent experience. Kobashi took the beating of his life and Taue performance overall was awesome, I do think they were a bit "lost" at some points here. Clearly there was a visible disconnect about what each one should do in the moments which we had more than one wrestler inside the ring. But, overall Tsuruta was incredible, landing some Lariats on Kobashi and Misawa that felt like they would die in the same moment on the impact. Dope experience, overall. It will probably only get better"

[8.0] "In this fight, you can see the ongoing rivalry between Misawa and Jumbo Tsuruta, as well as an explosive and active Akira Taue. Sadly, Kobashi was only used as a punching bag in the fight, but this is understandable considering the date the fight took place."

[9.0] "This is just an insanely fun 6 man tag teaming 3 of the 4 pillars against Jumbo and his grizzled vets. Most of this match is honestly just Kobashi getting his ever loving ass kicked, you start to feel really bad for him. He sells his ass off though. Misawa is insanely over, the crowd is hot for their next ace. One of the storylines here is Misawa and Tsuruta's white hot hatred for one another. Tsuruta starts things by wailing on Misawa as he stands on the apron after hitting Kobashi with a jumping knee. Misawa soon returns the favor and after Tsuruta sells on the outside for ages like he got shot, he runs in and the whole match breaks down. It's like a brawl in a baseball game, benches clear so to speak and the ref struggles to maintain control. Finally the match continues. The final sprint at the end is really fun. Misawa gets the final pinfall on Fuchi. Baba was such a genius the way he had his audience in the palm of his hand, he creates his next superstar (arguably the GOAT) with ease."

[9.0] "This match is very good throughout with great action and the three young lads come across as amazing and are over with me and the crowd straight away, Kenta Kobashi looks ready for the main event, Taue was impressive and Misawa is clearly the main character here. The vets do some great stuff, especially Kabuki who really impressed me. The intensity jumps up when Misawa and Jumbo go off at each other, even if some of the strikes don't look good but some do hit the mark. The reason this gets a 9 is because of the second half which is really strong and especially the final 3-4 minutes which is incredibly exciting, from the Jumbo lariat and Misawa kick-out to the Tiger Suplex for the win from Misawa is just perfection. It's interesting that Misawa and Jumbo play much less of an active in-ring role than the other four. 6 guys putting in a great performance and it means so much more in hindsight because of what came later with the four pillars."

[7.0] "Pretty good match with very solid action. I especially liked the exchanges between Misawa and Tsuruta."

[9.0] "A coming out party and turning point in the AJPW landscape here. Kobashi, Taue, welcome to the main event. They delivered incredibly"

[8.0] "Misawa is such a star here. The crowd popped huge every time he came into the ring, especially when he was squaring off with Jumbo. Great action from all six competitors with a nice mix of fast-paced spots and mat wrestling."

[8.0] "Oh yeah, you can tell exactly why they went all in on Misawa after this. The action is your typical AJPW 6-Man, but whenever Misawa/Tsuruta are in the ring together the crowd go ballistic. It reminds me a lot of the Olympics/Revolution matches from 89' and how they'd react to Tenryu/Tsuruta squaring up. Really looking forward to what these two do against each other."

[8.0] "going in i am aware misawa just unmasked a few weeks prior and called out Junbo to fight tor the triple crown. This match show so much to start the new vs old generation rivalry that was to follow. Taue wrestles his own style, Kabuki and Kobashi look amazing. Misawas Elbow is put over massively! Jumbo seems flustered and worried about this. cut out some slow parts and this holds up"

[8.0] "A pretty fun six-man tag. The crowd was hot for it too, and the exchanges between Misawa and Tsuruta were good."

[8.0] "Historically important match, and good, too. This is a bit of a chrysalis match - though actually better than the July six-man, it's not as fully-formed as that one, and it's certainly not on a part with the October match (which match is? ). The action here is good, constant, and pointed, though it has bits that drift. Roles are here, but not completely: Fuchi tortures Taue and Kobashi a bit, but these are limited in quantity; Taue doesn't have much to do; Kabuki is the hard-punching enforcer (as he will be in the other matches he's in over the summer), and is fine as far as it goes, but as usual that's as far as it goes. Jumbo and Misawa bring a lot: early on, Jumbo, clears out the opposing corner, and Misawa takes exception and comes over later to elbow Jumbo off the apron. Jumbo (famously) is baffled by the enormous chants for Misawa, which is a key character moment escalating the issue of his resentment of Tenryu. Interestingly, when Fuchi and Taue are in together, the crowd alternates the NA-ME-CLAP-CLAP-CLAP chants - later reserved for Fuchi, because the crowd hate Taue once he betrays SGA. 4/5"

[9.0] "One of many fantastic 6-Man Tags in AJPW in the 90's, but this one includes Akira Taue, Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi as young up-and-comers on the brink of becoming three of the four guys to lead All Japan in the decade against three grizzled veterans in Masanobu Fuchi, Jumbo Tsuruta and The Great Kabuki. The heels are awesome here as ass-kicking veterans. The Great Kabuki, someone I haven't seen a lot of was awesome here, I really enjoyed how dangerous he was portrayed every time he came into the match, stopping the babyfaces with strikes to the throat and thrust kicks. The match really heated up when Jumbo Tsuruta & Mitsuharu Misawa started wailing on one another and had to be separated throughout which really put across the hatred between the Top Guy and the young, super popular man who's vying for his position as top guy. The crowd were molten hot throughout and loved Tsuruta, Taue, Kobashi and especially Misawa. The last few minutes were insane, 3 to 4 minutes of intense explosive action. Fantastic Match."

[8.0] "Excellent match, very good pace and a lot of frenetic and dynamic sequences and moments. The Jumbo and Misawa interactions in this were priceless, a lot of hatred showed and incredible stories being told - {***3/4}"

[8.0] "The energy in this match. The ferocity. The ambition and relentlessness of the young trio, and the grizzled vets trying to desperately beat them back, filled with antipathy and disdain. This is a match rich in themes and subtext, but also full of passion, intensity, and effort. When you pair those two together, you truly cannot go wrong. It sets up the massive main event match for a week between Misawa and Jumbo, the former showing in this match he's not going to be one to back down from the ace and is coming for his spot; and Jumbo reacting to this with almost sheer disdain. Kobashi gets his moment to highlight the competitor he will be in the coming years. It's a true gem and a great precursor to the years ahead of All Japan. ****1/4"

[9.0] "Required viewing. Three of the Four Pillars together here, kicking off a new era in wrestling. That one elbow, and the brawl spot that follows... it puts so many things in motion. I'm almost tempted to say that looking back on this we rate it higher than it should be just for the historical importance. But if you listen to the crowd here, the vibe I'm getting is that this was great even without all the context to follow. Everyone in the ring is a talented worker, but continuing to interrupt the match with the heat between Misawa and Tsuruta doesn't "break" the pacing for me. It's part of the pacing. The shake-up of the match flow represents the shake-up in the booking. Things are going to be different from now on. You're on a train to a ~15 year stay in Suplex City and there is no slowing down. I don't have any complaints, but I don't think I can give it a 10 knowing where we're headed."

[9.0] "May 26th, 1990 - Tiger Mask II's big reveal as Mitsuharu Misawa took place on the first day of the 1990 'Super Power Series' Tour. After that unforgettable moment, he looked to cement the arrival of the 'Super Generation' by laying down a challenge to the ace, Jumbo Tsuruta, at Budokan Hall on the last night of the tour. This match take place in Korakuen Hall and taped for TV. The Super Generation are hungry, they want to take down the ace. The Tsuruta-gun vs Super Generation Army six-man tags are legendary; garnering widespread critical acclaim for their quality, action and drama. This is an early example of precisely why. It was, relatively speaking, just the initial skirmish in the war between Misawa and Jumbo but still a captivating, must-see match. So many of the themes that would become staples of Misawa, Kobashi and Taue's entire careers were laid out here. Misawa showed the power of his elbow strikes and had no fear stepping up to the legendary Tsuruta. Kobashi showed incredible fighting spirit to battle through arm and leg injuries. Taue looked weird and awkward, but continually found ways to be a dangerous and effective fighter. The real star here, however, was Jumbo. I endlessly praised his performances in putting Tenryu over in the late 80's, he was even better here. Here we saw a Jumbo who had already seen his top spot briefly taken from him by Tenryu before. He wasn't about to allow another snot-nosed group of punks to come for him. From the very first time he entered the ring he was looking to dominate; knocking Misawa and Taue off the apron, skittling the Super Generation Army like bowling pins. He then produced an unbelievably complex, subtle and detailed sell-job on that elbow strike. He spent the rest of the match clutching his head between spots, still trying to appear as the alpha male even as the cameras continually capture him in pain. Even at the end, his look of pure unadulterated frustration as Misawa got one over him was a real picture. We saw it with Tenryu before, but the Jumbo is an absolute MASTER at putting someone over. Individually it was one of the best displays of professional wrestling I've ever seen. So good it basically carried the match to greatness. It certainly wasn't flawless, but it is ESSENTIAL viewing. ****1/2"

[9.0] "This was pretty fantastic. Everybody brings the heat, but it's the exchanges between Jumbo and Misawa that are the real highlight here. They continuously take cheap shots at each other, refusing to back down as tensions escalate over the course of the match. While they are the focal point, everybody else has a good showing as well. Taue in particular shows great fire. Even Jumbo's bodyslams were great - he just slams Kobashi to the mat with such disdain, it really shows how much the little things can make a match. The crowd is electric by the end, and it is clear how successful the match has been at showcase AJPW's future stars, while also building to a pivotal match between Misawa and Tsuruta. Great action and believable heat - what more could you really ask for?"

[8.0] "If you want more context before watching Misawa Vs Jumbo, this match is essential viewing. It perfectly sets the stage for their match by establishing a few key things. Firstly Jumbo is a grumpy veteran who enjoys roughhousing the younger guys. Misawa shows that he's not going to stand for this by fighting back and knocking Jumbo clean out with an elbow that leaves out cold which brings me to the second key thing this match establishes: Misawa's elbows are killer. Once Jumbo is back up, he rushes back into the ring to attack Misawa and the match has to be temporarily halted as everyone else tries to restore order. Outside of setting up for the big singles match, this is still a great match in own right removed from the bigger story it was telling. Kobashi continues to endear himself to the audience by selling his ass off. The crowd are hot for everything and there is constant heat throughout. Even Kabuki puts in a decent shift and doesn't drag things down here!"

[6.0] "Nothing too special here from AJPW this time. It's more important from a story perspective than a match perspective, as this is where the Misawa/Tsuruta feud kicks off. They do an incredible job of getting Misawa over here. But it's still not a particularly great match. It's not at all bad, and is definitely well into good territory, but it's only great when Misawa and Tsuruta are in there. Kobashi is a good face in peril and Fuchi does some good limbwork, but The Great Kabuki and Taue don't add much to the proceedings here, mostly being warm bodies to keep the match flowing. Still, it's good, and a critical part of the Misawa story."

[8.0] "I'm here for the novelty of Taue teaming with Misawa & Kobashi (and receiving a massive babyface reaction for his beastly efforts). The heat isn't full-on nuclear yet, but it's boiling over between Jumbo & Misawa, and Kobashi's GOAT babyface fire is already burning. You can see the style shift that's taken place from '80s All Japan & just imagine Kabuki getting to the back & letting Baba know he's getting too old for this shit ****"

[9.0] "This match starts Jumbo's irrational hatred towards Misawa, I mean it's not exactly irrational he hit him pretty hard but this is wrestling, what did Jumbo expect? Well he gives Misawa what he got & then some. This is great because of just how deranged Jumbo comes across. One of the more underrated highlights include Jumbo letting his anger out on Kobashi & Kobashi trying his best to not take any shit from Jumbo."

[9.0] "Probably Kabuki's best ever performance but I guess being in a ring with some of the best wrestlers ever in the middle of the Misawa/Jumbo rivalry is going to push you to that level. Jumbo plays the surly veteran role so perfectly in all of these matches and I adore him"

[9.0] "This was a great match. The Jumbo/Misawa moments are the real high points. Jumbo knocks both Misawa and Kobashi off the apron early in the match. Misawa later retaliates with a vicious elbow shot that Jumbo sells like death. Once Jumbo recovers, there's a wild brawl sequence that the crowd is white hot for. Kobashi has a strong showing here playing the babyface in peril. The finishing sequence is awesome with rapid-fire tags and moves. Downsides to me were Kabuki's offense wasn't great and Taue's slaps were terrible. ****1/2"

[8.0] "Finally getting into 90s All Japan and I really loved this first match, the story of Jumbo and Misawa both trying to punk each other before Misawa gets the surprise upset was great."

[8.0] "The highlight of this match is when Jumbo reaches at Misawa from the apron, and then Misawa hits him with an elbow that Jumbo sells like a knockout. It really puts over the Misawa elbow as a vicious weapon. When Jumbo comes to, he goes right after Misawa and all hell breaks loose. Thus the seeds are planted for the great Jumbo/Misawa rivalry. The rest of the match is well executed with Kobashi serving as the whipping boy for much of the time until Super Generation Army turns things around and comes out with the win. It's a good match but serves more as a vehicle to advance the Jumbo/Misawa story. ****1/4"

[9.0] "Super hot 6-man that really begins the legendary Jumbo/New Generation feud. The great interactions between Misawa and Jumbo are the focus here but I love the role that Taue and Kobashi play too. Both get big pops when they have success against their more experienced opponents. Another note is that the crowd and commentary definitely help these big 90s All Japan matches."

[9.0] "Yeah, this thing is red hot. Everybody plays their part & then some more-- the Jumbo vs. Misawa exchanges & brawls are fantastic, Jumbo's selling & character work is simply wonderful throughout, Kabuki n' Fuchi look really good wrecking Kobashi, Kobashi is a terrific face-in-peril & Taue in sort of the "hero-role" for his team was great. Everybody in this is great."

[8.0] "Misawa fires off the first big elbow of many, rocking Jumbo Tsuruta while he's on the apron, leaving him on the floor for a lengthy time period. Jumbo and Misawa square off multiple times in this match, always having these fire exchanges that always have to be broken up and brought under control but this has a ton more than setting the ground for those two. As this match is around 20+ everyone is given enough time to shine and show what they can do. Kobashi and Taue step up as the young juniors (not in the weight sense) in the match and Fuchi and Kabuki stiffly and snugly attack everyone who opposes them. I adored Taue in this. This was pre joining hands with Tsuruta so he was the true underdog against the veterans, gaining big success with his oshidashi slaps and running tackles before being cut off. Kabuki had a shockingly great performance as well. I loved the technical work he brought to this match. It matched the tone the rest of the match had. ****"

[8.0] "Another great 6 man which is hardly surprising with who was in it. Grumpy veteran Jumbo is the best. ****"

[8.0] "This was a great six man tag, and an important lead up to the showdown between Misawa and Tsuruta that would occur the following month. Practically all men worked very well together and got their time to shine (even the Great Kabuki surprisingly), though the match offered just a taste of what was to come in the careers of Misawa, Kobashi and Taue. Tsuruta played the wily veteran and boss of his team, while Fuchi and Kabuki fulfilled their respective roles well too, with Fuchi doing most of the dirtywork. All in all definitely worth a watch. Misawa puts Fuchi away after a tiger suplex, scoring a victory leading into his match with Tsuruta. ****"

[8.0] "Big tag match leading up to the iconic Misawa vs Tsuruta bout in the following month. We get some fun sequences early on that give glimpses of the magic that would happen down the line in later All Japan 6-man tags. Though once Tsuruta tries to bully Misawa on the apron, he pays for it with a brutal elbow strike. Tsuruta's strong selling can be argued as the first instance where Misawa's elbow becomes a truly formidable part of his offense; everyone had to take notice of the damage it left. Jumbo takes entire minutes before he can gather his bearings ringside. Though once he does, he immediately goes after Misawa, causing everyone else in the match to try breaking up the ensuing brawl and eventually separate the two. It's this moment that really pushed their rivalry from the typical Old vs New generations of the promotion to something more ruthless and personal. By the time both guys can return to their respective corners, Kobashi is serving as the whipping boy for most of the extended heat segment, until a great finishing stretch that allows each of the young guys some well-deserved shine. ****1/4"

[9.0] "Lively. Kabuki's crisp strikes, Fuchi's slimy deviousness, Taue's bursts of offence, and of course the red-hot Misawa/Tsuruta feud that led up to that elbow KO ... Generally decent selling of the arm/knee by Kobashi, who was excellent as FIP. Great match. (****1/4)"

[10.0] "Jumbo against any of the Pillars right around this time is SOLID GOLD. I lost it at Misawa just going after him and after him with elbows until he couldn't take it anymore. Red hot stuff."

[8.0] "Great match, really heats up when Jumbo attempts to bully Misawa and Misawa then responds with a hard elbow which is sold for a long time. Once Jumbo recovers he charges towards Misawa and the match breaks down with all 6 men in the ring, and Misawa and Jumbo's partners failing to stop them attacking each other, the hatred and chaos is sold tremendously well here. The match continue at a good pace from this point onward and the crowd is now extremely hot for anything the new generation team do, Taue gets some good hits on Jumbo and Fuchi while Kobashi takes damage and valiantly rises up to great crowd reactions. The match does have some glaring faults though, for example Kobashi's leg gets worked over a lot in the middle of the match but he doesn't sell it at all towards the end, also there were some awkward moments at times with Misawa and Taue not being able to irish whip Jumbo together for some reason and Jumbo's weird out of the ring sells. All in all though this match was really exciting and a great way to put the new generation over."

[7.0] "This was a strong match, although I would have preferred to see more back-and-forth near-falls towards the end, as the finish, whilst decisive, seemed to come out of nowhere."

[10.0] "I remember the first time I watched this match and I was really excited. The interaction between Jumbo and Misawa really built their future match. The heat between the two seemed real thanks to the amazing selling by both guys."

[7.0] "Perhaps THE match that planted the seeds for Misawa's eventual rise to become AJPW ace. All throughout the match Misawa was getting in Tsuruta's face, though not in any real insolent way. It was usually out of anger for Tsuruta working over one of Misawa's partners, Kobashi or Taue, which angered Misawa enough to have some choice words for him and to make sure to crank up his intensity when going after him. Tsuruta sold very well for Misawa, making Misawa's attacks feel very important by how long he would sell the damage for. Tsuruta would also make sure to constantly draw attention to Misawa as he would stare daggers at him or call him out, which highlighted to the crowd that Misawa was the centre of Tsuruta's attention. I didn't really enjoy the messy brawls that broke out between everyone but I did appreciate that they further focused upon the newly established heat between the Misawa and Tsuruta. Kobashi and Taue followed Misawa's lead and began executing a noticeably more impactful offence upon Tsuruta also. This really got the crowd excited for the team of 3 youngsters, and they really wanted the underdog Misawa et al team to pull out the victory against the supposed favourite team which had ace Tsuruta as the leader. The near falls were very good and in the end the crowd popped big as Misawa's team won. Tsuruta was visibly angry immediately after the match, again showing just how seriously he was taking this display produced by the youngsters, especially Misawa. ***3/4"

[8.0] "Nice story told involving your hero standing up to the big bully and setting up the rest of the year for the promotion."

[8.0] "This match is filled with lots of talent. It takes a while to pick up but once it does it becomes a lot of fun. The crowd starts off relatively hot but by the end they're extremely hot. The crowd was all for Misawa. Fun tag match with a great build towards Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jumbo Tsuruta. ****1/4"

[9.0] "This match was blissful to watch. If Misawa unmasking is the preamble to King's Road and Misawa v. Tsuruta is Chapter 1, this match is the prologue. Great storytelling from everyone involved and there was never a boring moment."

[8.0] "Good match, with the highlights being the Misawa-Tsuruta exchanges and the incredible impactful lariats. Action-packed match, that lacked a little bit structure or story."

[7.0] "Good solid six man. Slightly overrated but still eventual viewing for fans of AJPW from the 90s. The 6 mans would be much better once the teams had been properly solidified most notably Taue joining team Jumbo. Great Kabuki has never done much for me and without Kawada's involvement this match notably suffers in my eyes"