Holy Demon Army (Masanobu Fuchi & Toshiaki Kawada) vs. Super Generation Army (Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa) - AJPW New Year Giant Series 1994 - Day 4 07/01/1994
This was a super good B-level version of these matches (and I don’t mean it in a dismissive way. Fuchi being a b-level player in this feud gives this feud a whole ton of depth). Kawada and Fuchi bring out each other’s aggressive tendencies in a big way working over Misawa who could only try and withstand all of it and make the tag to Kobashi. ***1/2
Asunaro Cup 1994 Final Match: Takao Omori vs. Jun Akiyama - AJPW New Year Giant Series 1994 - Day 20 29/01/1994
What is the Asunaro Cup? Well I’ve gathered that it’s essentially the Young Lions Cup for All Japan rookies. Previous iterations of it were named “The Lou Thesz Cup”. Previous winners have included Toshiaki Kawada, the winner of the last tournament held in 1989 and Shiro Koshinaka in 1983. One would prove to have a successful career in All Japan, while the other went elsewhere. But still, there is some prestige when it comes to the Cup. Omori and Akiayma would become big parts of the next generation for All Japan (and then NOAH as far as Akiyama is concerned), so there is a historical prevalence here.
Given the nature of the match and the point in which both are at in their careers, this is worked in a small, basic and minimalistic way. It was quite entertaining seeing both Jun and Omori really struggle over a hammerlock. The crowd was totally amped up for that exchange as well. Omori gaining back leverage after being in a dangerous position drew a great pop from the crowd. Out of the two, Omori was in the driving seat for the whole match and had some of the best stretches of the match. The way he built to hitting the elbow drow off the top rope was super good. Akiyama, while working from beneath, had some good sparking moments as well. His judo throw counter was a neat transition to the closing stretch. And it was a damn exciting finish to a well built match. Credit to both wrestlers. ***1/2
Giant Baba & Super Generation Army (Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa) vs. Holy Demon Army (Akira Taue, Masanobu Fuchi & Toshiaki Kawada) - AJPW New Year Giant Series 1994 - Day 20 29/01/1994
This was pretty great. Although it lacked the cohesive overall story of the more famous iterations of the six man tags. It was more of a collection of spots and moments blended in together. You have the entire Holy Demon Army team taking turns in stiffing Baba with strikes and kicks. Kawada torturing Baba with the stretch plum was sooo good and one of the big peaks of the match. Fuchi also continues his mini beef with Kobashi and makes sure to inflict tons of punishment on him, despite Kobashi basically graduating from being a whipping boy. There was a key bit in that exchange where Kobashi leathers Fuchi with a slap but Fuchi hangs on to the arm just long enough to clear the cobwebs and make the tag out. The Misawa v Kawada stuff is good as always and is just the topping of the match. 40 minutes of great wrestling. ****1/4
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