Misawa's two year chase

[Guest Black Tiger]

Every fan of All Japan Pro Wrestling is familiar with the name Mitsuharu Misawa. In the 1990's Misawa was the top wrestler for All Japan. Much like Hulk Hogan in the WWF in the 1980's. This will piss off many people, but Misawa is probably the greatest wrestler in the world at the moment. The number of **** - ***** he's put on is unmatched. This column is dedicated to Misawa's chase of the Triple Crown, the top title in All Japan.

 

Background: Misawa spent his early All Japan career as Tiger Mask II. He had some good matches with the likes of Pirata Morgan, Kuniaki Kobayahi, Dynamite Kid, and La Fiera, when Misawa was a junior heavyweight. In 1986 Tiger moved up to heayweight and had some great matches with top wrestler Jumbo Tsuruta, Ted Dibiase, and a decent match with Curt Hennig.

 

Becoming A Top Guy, Step 1: In order to become a top wrestler in All Japan, Misawa decided to stop being the Tiger Mask. Any wrestler who wants to make a splash in the pecking order will tell you that. you have to establish a feud with a top name. In May of 1990, during a tag team match with Toshiaki Kawada vs Samson (Kodo) Fuyuki and Jumbo Tsuruta. Misawa told Kawada to unmask him and Misawa began to assault Jumbo. Misawa would eventualy score the pinfall over Fuyuki with a German Suplex.

 

During a six man tag match, Misawa gave a cheap shot elbow to Jumbo as he was on the apron and the two of them wound up in a brawl on the floor. On 6/8/90 Mitsuharu Misawa and Jumbo Tsuruta went face to face. It was an excellent match. Both men went into the match as faces, Jumbo being the company man who wants to prove he's still the top guy, and Misawa being the small timer who just wants a shot. During the match, Misawa SLAPS Jumbo and reminds the crowd he also wants to get on top as Jumbo's expense. After nearly 25 minutes of action, Misawa rolled over a body press for the three count. The match was fantasic, ***** without question. Three months later they had a rematch with Jumbo getting the duke, but Misawa used his win to help establish himself.

 

Step 2, Getting Sympathy:  Now that Misawa was seen as a force to recon with by his victory over Jumbo his next step was to get himself popular with the crowd. Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada entered into a feud over the unified tag team titles with foreign heels Steve Williams and Terry Gordy. During one match, with Misawa and Kawada so close to victory, Gordy gave Misawa a power bomb on the floor, leaving him laying and Kawada was pinned.

 

Misawa got his revenge on Gordy pinning him in a singles match and then him and Kawada managed to take the titles. Around this time. Misawa, Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi formed a stable of young wrestlers wanting a shot at the top of the card. They were in a feud with Jumbo, Akira Taue, Masa Fuchi, and Yoshinari Ogawa. The teams would have many four, six, and eight match tags over the next two years, Ogawa would be the only one who wouldn't benefit from it. Misawa and Kawada sucessfuly defended their titles against Jumbo and Taue in mid 1991, Misawa proving his win wasn't a fluke and forcing Jumbo to submit. Soon after this, Williams and Gordy regained the titles but it was a blessing in disguise. Jumbo had upset Stan Hansen for the Triple Crown.

 

Step 3, Going for the kill: Fresh off his victory over Jumbo by submission in the tag match. Misawa challenged Jumbo for the triple crown. I haven't seen the complete match but it looks to be pretty good. In the match Misawa used his facelock submission, the same move he used to defeat Jumbo in the tag match. Jumbo would come back however and win with a backdrop. The Jumbo and Co. vs Misawa and Co. feud was still going on and Misawa's team was in control by this point. Jumbo wound up losing the titles to Stan Hansen in early 1992. Misawa challenged Hansen in March of 1992 but came up short. He tried again in May but he still couldn't get the job done. For nearly two years Misawa had tried to become the top guy and it was for nothing.

 

Step 4: OH SHIT! Misawa had signed a Title match with Hansen for August on 1992, 29 months after he had unmasked for career advancement. During a six man tag in the ongoing feud Misawa landed wrong and seperated his shoulder. Injured, he still managed to make Ogawa submit. With his shoulder still in tape, he went into another tag match and still got the win. When August rolled around, Misawa was ready for his Triple Crown shot. His arm was not fully heeled, but he didn't have it taped up either. In the match, which was only solid due to Hansen's lack of ability for big bumps. Misawa rebounded from a boot to the jaw to land an elbow and drop Hansen for the 1...2...3!  After over two years, brutal matches, different feuds and injuries, Mitsuharu Misawa was the top guy in All Japan.

 

Aftermath: Misawa would reign as champion for nearly 2 years. He became the first ever five crown king, unifying the Triple Crown and Unified Tag Titles. He had great mathes with the likes of Kenta Kobashi, Akira Taue and parnter Toshiaki Kawada.

 

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[Guest Big McLargeHuge]

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