AJPW Summer Action Series I 1996
AJPW World Tag Team Title Match: Jun Akiyama & Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs. Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW Summer Action Series 1996 - Day 9 09/07/1996
Incredible tag team wrestling match. I thought it was about on par with the match in May. The chemistry between Taue and Kawada was more instinctive than it usually is with the two being able to link up without even having to talk at times. Akiyama and Misawa gel as a unit but they are largely carried by their individual prowess. Misawa drives his team to victory with his relentless offence, and Taue is pretty helpless to stop it, only hanging on by a thread until a Final Tiger Suplex does the trick. ****
Gary Albright vs. Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW Summer Action Series I 1996 - Day 18 - 24/07/1996
This was another great match between the two. It was incredibly straightforward with strikes and holds, along with Kawada being a massive dick, being the only tools used in the match. There was a great flow to the wrestling with both guys knowing when to counter and how to milk every hold. Albright in All Japan can v a bit of a lame duck as Albright requires ultra care in how he's presented but as he's not the top guy, he has to go half way. Kawada goes the extra mile to sell for Albright here, making him look like a monster in the process. ***3/4
Triple Crown Title Match: Akira Taue (c) vs. Kenta Kobashi - AJPW Summer Action Series I 1996 - Day 18 - 24/07/1996
The long wait has finally ended - Kenta Kobashi has finally won the Triple Crown Title! The month of July wasn't a great one with Taue, who took the fall in the Tag Team Title Match against Misawa earlier in the month, so he was very vulnerable and Kobashi seized the moment for himself. This was a highly rewarding match for Kobashi fans as he is able to fight his way out of any of Taue’s dangerous moves, such as the Nodowa off the apron, and slowly build his way towards a climaxing win against with smart counters and carefully built nearfalls. The atmosphere for the closing stretch was amazing - the final pop for the three, in particular. Some title winning moments don't get the reactions they deserve but this certainly did. ****1/4
AJPW Summer Action Series II 1996
Triple Crown Title Match: Kenta Kobashi (c) vs. Stan Hansen - AJPW Summer Action Series II 1996 - Day 14 05/09/1996
Trust Stan Hansen to put on such a performance at 47 years old. He put Kenta Kobashi through the ringer, being very careful with what he did and the pace in which Hansen went about. Hansen didn't go crazy, preferring to slowly hurt Kobashi utilising his usual tricks, such as the ring post and barricade. I loved Hansen’s strikes. The knees and kicks to the face looked very painful and very precise, too. Which is quite surprising considering how infamously poor Hansen’s eyesight is. He'll usually wack his opponents hard but rather clean but he was very clean here. The match doesn't have many new ideas but they are still quite effective. Kobashi is able to regain his footing after he attacks the wrist of Hansen, using the simple method of slamming it into his own shoulder. The closing stretch was incredible. It was a race to see who'd hit the Lariat first which usually ends with the first one, making it all the more amazing when Kobashi is able to kick out of the discus lariat, just. Then Kobashi is able to hit one of his own despite Hansen’s best efforts to evade it, proving his lariat is the superior. ****1/2
AJPW World Tag Team Title Match: Jun Akiyama & Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs. Johnny Ace & Steve Williams - AJPW Summer Action Series II 1996 - Day 14 05/09/1996
Maybe not the famous match of the pairing but it's on par with the ones I've seen so far. Johnny Ace stood out as the star in this match unlike the others though. He and Akiyama had a hot opening exchange where they were countering each other and Ace had some of the best moments in the match, like when he pulled out the over the rope ace crusher and he got the shining moment at the end. Misawa was on fire in the closing stretch, trying to save his team but it was the team work of Williams and Ace that won out at the end. ***3/4
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