August 2, 201312 yr Author comment_5554499 Lots of fast action and kickouts. Kobashi's hammerlock DDT was pretty cool. Good 10 minute stretch with a hot crowd. Akiyama shows that he can hang and it's interesting to see a difference from what I'm used to at this point -- Akiyama in the Kobashi position, and Kobashi in the Kobashi opponent position.
August 5, 201312 yr comment_5554887 I'm trying to remember if this was the match where I wrote up being annoyed over Kobashi doing his "crying spot" after Jun kicked out of a finisher. That he was at the stage in his career, and at the stage of the AJPW pecking order, where he should drop the spot when wrestling someone lower than him like Jun. Get pissed... get stoic... get anything other than weepy, and then put the kid away. John
August 25, 201312 yr comment_5558432 Kobashi definitely does the crying spot here right before he puts Jun away. It's an annoying thing but beside that I thought he did a great job throughout the match and showing his dominance. Especially in the first section that got clipped from the yearbook as Akiyama through little flurries but Kobashi had an answer for all of them without making Akiyama look weak. Very good match overall as this feud really feels like it is on the onset of simmering.
August 31, 201312 yr comment_5559753 Good stuff from what is shown. Jun was more than ready to hang with the top guys in singles matches. Blue Thunder Driver by Akiyama. These moves bring me back to the AKI video games. JDW ruined this match with the Kobashi crying finish. He isn't noted for finishing guys with a powerbomb so not sure what he was weeping about.
March 6, 201411 yr comment_5592302 As with Misawa/Kawada, I think it's worth including this in full on a leftovers set.
August 23, 201510 yr comment_5693985 The crying spot jumped out at me, too. But that was a minor quibble in the midst of a pretty hot finishing stretch. Both guys get some heart-stopping near-falls on the other before Kobashi finally asserts himself.
October 15, 20168 yr comment_5771845 I think that everyone in WWE these days is required to cry and express disbelief after near falls, so no wonder it didn't stand out to me at all whilst viewing this. The opening exchanges consisted of a few fun parity spots. They paced the opening 10m like they might be going long. Instead they picked things up and still had plenty enough time for the stretch. In '96 Akiyama had broken through in the tag division. Here he demonstrated that he was worthy of a push in singles as well. At one stage there was the inkling of an upset, before Kobashi came through strong at the end. A nice Carny match with a fresh rivalry. No need to go overboard.
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