- Been watching AJPW through the 90s, so here is my short thoughts on 91. 92 will be more in-depth-
MOTY: Super Generation Army vs. Tsuruta-gun - AJPW 20/04/1991
Well, the obvious pick. It's a classic match. One of the best matches of all time. One of the best heel performances by Fuchi. Great babyface performance by all of SGA. A 5 star classic.
Wrestler Of The Year: Toshiaki Kawada
A tough choice between him and Jumbo but at the end of the day, I thought Kawada was able to carry Misawa, who was injury riddled for the latter parts of the year, as well as having some of the best matches of the year. Kawada turned from the partner of Misawa coming out to footloose until fucking TOSHIAKI KAWADA right infront of my very eyes.
Feud Of The Year: Super Generation Army vs. Tsuruta-gun
Obvious choice. The hottest feud of the year. A great continuation of the feud last year, adding more Kawada and Taue development along the way.
Most Disappointing Match Of The Year: Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Steve Williams - AJPW 20/07/1991
Two big names. It should be good right? No. Total snoozefest. Wish I didn't find the footage.
Top Five Matches:
1) Super Generation Army (Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada) vs. Tsuruta-gun (Akira Taue, Jumbo Tsuruta & Masanobu Fuchi) - AJPW Fan Appreciation Day 20/04/1991
SAG vs Tsuruta-gun is simply fantastic. One of the best (if not THE best) six man tags of all time. Fuchi was amazing in this match. He was a great heel in this match, cheating whenever he could and being a slimy hateable dick. He sold excellent when he had too as well. Kobashi was the ultimate babyface, selling his arse off for 15 minutes but making some great comebacks. He gets the crowd behind him so well. In-fact, everyone was fantastic in the match. The only criticism I would have for this match is the length. There are many times where I drifted off and became disinterested but that's gonna happen when a match is 52 minutes long. *****
2) Triple Crown Title Match: Jumbo Tsuruta (c) vs. Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW October Giant Series 1991 - Day 22 24/10/1991
This was fantastic.. Maybe the turning point for Kawada turning from Misawa’s partner to a top guy. Maybe not. The difference from this match and their Champion Carnival match is clear. In that match Kawada was on the defensive, this time he was on offence. And boy was he dominant. Smart use of the headlocks and the abdominal stretches to wear down Jumbo. Him being able to grind Jumbo down was fantastic to watch. Jumbo having to struggle and fight for everything he got is a rare sight, even against some of his toughest opponents. Misawa included. The crowd was red hot for everything as well. Being Pro-Tsuruta but Kawada having tons of fans as well. The finishing stretch was fantastic and elevated by all the struggle beforehand. ****1/2
3) Real World Tag League 1991 Match: Super Generation Army (Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada) vs. Tsuruta-gun (Akira Taue & Jumbo Tsuruta) - AJPW Real World Tag League 1991 - Day 11 29/11/1991
I knew that this was a 30 Minute match coming in but they sucked me in that well that I completely forgot about the time limit to the end. No padding, none that was obvious anyway, all action and progression. Misawa struggling because of his facial injuries. Kawada struggling again Tsuruta-Gun and their cheating antics. A fantastic closing stretch. Awesome match. ****1/2
4) Real World Tag League 1991 Match: Danny Spivey & Stan Hansen vs. Tsuruta-gun (Akira Taue & Jumbo Tsuruta) - AJPW Real World Tag League 1991 - Day 17 06/12/1991
Well this was amazing. The dynamic double teams of Tsuruta-Gun against the brutal force of Hansen and Spivey. Great action start to finish with some great urgency with this only being 12 minutes. Frantic pacing. Heavy action. Great finish with Hansen accidently nailing Spivey with the lariat too. ****1/4
5) Akira Taue vs. Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW 18/04/1991
Now that's a finish I wasn't expecting. The match had some decent storytelling with Kawada attacking the arm of Taue to trying to stop Taue from delivering his powermoves and Taue working on the leg of Kawada to trying to stop the kicks. All decent enough selling, nothing spectacular. I liked it when Kawada went straight in on Taue's cut early on. And the aforementioned finish. I liked this for many reasons. One, they put over how dangerous the mats was and put it over as something that'll take out anyone. And two, Taue knowing straight away that he won after that, getting back in the ring and "relaxing" on the ring mat. Really good match, the crowd was a little subdued but they chanted for both wrestlers at times in the match. Very good match between Kawada and Taue. ****
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