Best of Japan 2000-2009: Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama, AJPW 2/27/00

1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama, AJPW 2/27/00

Well let me be the first person ever - online, in person, really actually anywhere - to state that this right here is a great, excellent match. I've always heard matches described as "passing the torch" but usually that seems like an observation that's only able to be made in hindsight. But this match gave off that vibe for the whole thing. You can feel the sea change, of Akiyama stepping up as the ace, and nothing about it felt cheap or forced. Some matches you can look at all day and find different psychology or in-match stories, and some of them may have even been intended by the wrestlers, and not just projected by us, as nerds. But this match lays its very simple story and structure right out in the open, in the same way the Rude/Steamboat iron man did, but also different in a 100 ways. It's just a flat out classic match, hitting all the right notes and nailing all of the peaks.

I was a major fan of latter days cranky old gunslinger forced servitude ace Misawa, and elements of that are already peeking through in this match. The sighs are heavier, the "I'm getting too old for this shit" faces and long pained squints are more noticeable than they had ever been. There are hardly any wasted moments in this match, with a pacing that is among my favorites in a match ever. I'm not going to run through a move by move analysis as I imagine it's been done to death for a match like this. But everything about this match was just so damn good.

Apart from the pacing and the story, the most impressive thing was the execution. Both guys laid into everything and all the moves looked picture perfect. When you imagine Misawa locking in his crossface chinlock, you picture it like this, with his arm forcing Akiyama's nose into his brain. There's just not a missed moment or clumsy move in the whole match. Misawa looked as crisp and on point in this match as I've ever seen him, maybe ever. From delivering killer moves like his climb up dropkick in the corner, stiff senton, nasty elbows; to taking the moves nastier than most humans would take them, like flying chin first into the ring barrier, taking an Exploer off the apron like a nut, getting dumped on his head a bunch, taking all the knees to the face, Misawa just looked incredible here.

So yes, if you've somehow not seen this match at this point in your life, you clearly need to. Just flawless execution, storytelling, pacing and incredible build. All the peaks and valleys really mean something to the match and it's just too damn satisfying.


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