Kenta Kobashi vs Mitsuharu Misawa - All Japan Pro Wrestling - 1997
Added 2025-05-08 22:00:03 +0000 UTCWatch: https://streamable.com/6msns3
Comments
Misawa's elbow is god
Varits Vq
2025-05-13 21:50:33 +0000 UTCIf you feel Like it, check Out their 98, 99 and 03 Match. Gets better and better imo.
ElSche
2025-05-13 20:46:40 +0000 UTCI should have sought this out. This was epic. I saw a guy get lariated out of a top rope drop kick. Both guys selling off the charts. I guess misawa was tougher on the night. Damn
Diruroru
2025-05-11 19:01:00 +0000 UTCOn commentary, as color commentator was indeed Giant Baba, the founder and owner of All Japan Pro Wrestling. So you remembered that right. I think you are right about the way the match developed. A bit slower, then it picks up, and then it goes down into the grueling finish phase. To be honest, I kind of prefer that over the finishes where a thousand moves are done. Although, to be fair, those finishes can be very fun, too. So Kobashi wasn't able to overcome Misawa. But he will try again.
ElSche
2025-05-09 17:28:36 +0000 UTCYeah i View IT similarly. It was basically Kobashi being not as tough as Misawa. Not yet at least.
ElSche
2025-05-09 17:20:40 +0000 UTCThis match is great, but definitely bloated. Though with stars this over, that almost feels intentional. It’s like Punk vs. Seth vs. Roman. Bloated, but I had an appetite for as much as possible in that moment. Maybe in 30 years, people will view that match like how I view this one. Misawa kept using the elbow because it was his special technique, just like Kobashi had the lariat/clothesline. Best modern comparison is Claudio’s uppercuts. A move he deploys regularly, but he can also pin someone with it. AJPW’s style leaned theatrical compared to that periods NJPW (its different now), influenced by southern USA wrestling. I think the story was that Misawa’s elbow was untouchable, he’s that good. Whereas Kobashi’s lariat could be taken out with far less. That's at least my interpretation.
.
2025-05-09 13:35:41 +0000 UTC
