Talk about it here.

Great drama with the finish. These two teams usually match up well. I like the January '93 match way better, but this is a really good match too. The layout seemed designed to put Kawada over strong. Misawa "saving" Kawada by neutralizing Gordy reminded me of the Misawa/Akiyama dynamic in '96.

This was fine but it was kinda sad seeing Terry Gordy like this. He wasn't post stroke Terry yet but you could tell something was wrong. Liked the finish a lot.

I thought the bout was solid. It didn't engage me enough watching it.

Decent match that got better down the stretch. They were clearly working "lighter" than usual as they built a usual '90s AJPW match without ever really going to the big bombs, aside from Doc's powerslam off the turnbuckles. The MVCs still have a propensity to lay around while working on top. HUGE surprise finish with Kawada pinning Doc for what has to be his biggest victory to date. Fun to see these guys starting to get elevated more rapidly now that Jumbo is gone.

Gordy with a stiff lariat on Kawada early and he'd continue bombing them throughout. Kawada sold for an extended stretch which made sense given the finish, but I didn't remember it or see it coming so this really came off great. MVC used double teams really effectively here to keep Kawada down and force Misawa into a spectator's role. This eventually felt like it was dragging and you figure they're definitely working a draw given its the tourney. Kawada with a great counter to Williams' attempted Stampede on Misawa. A few near falls at the end, but according to my notes "its pretty clear they're going 30 at this point." Wrong, as Kawada gets the surprise pin on Williams with a late enzuigiri. Super hot finish and win for Kawada, all the while also painting Misawa as the ace.

 

***1/2

I didn't think that a bull like Kawada could possibly be an effective Ricky Morton, but this match proved me wrong. He wrestled all but a few short minutes, was pounded to death by Doc and Grody the whole time, and still managed to have enough left to hit the winning enzuigiri just after hurting his knee. Doc was still selling the effects of that kick after the match, even though it wasn't particularly hard as far as kicks go.

 

This is the best I've ever seen the MVC look as a team. They tagged frequently, doubleteamed nicely, and always seemed to be there for each other when things got a bit rough, which is a skill in itself. If Watts had booked them this way in WCW, they'd be remembered a lot more fondly than they are, but if you'll permit a slightly tortured analogy, while in Japan the MVC was a well-made and tasty peanut butter cup, in America they were more like a chocolate bar dipped in peanut butter by mistake. By the way, Gordy didn't look that bad to me. He's slowed down a little, but he still knows what to do in there, at least at this point.

 

Misawa didn't have much to do here, but if they're going to push Kawada as a star in his own right and worthy Triple Crown contender, they need to convince the fans that Kawada can take a beating as well as dish one out, and this match proved that point perfectly.

 

The MVC's star certainly isn't on the rise; they've lost three high-profile matches in their last three Yearbook outings, plus their Unified tag title rematch at Halloween Havoc when Austin subbed for Bamm Bamm. I get the feeling we won't be seeing this team together for too much longer if things keep going the way they have been lately.