(Almost) 5-Star Match Reviews: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Hiroshi Hase – AJPW Giant Baba Retirement Show

The 1990s was full of historically great matches and one of the men involved in many of them was Toshiaki Kawada. He was and is one of the most copied wrestlers of the past three decades with many wrestlers copying his move-set and his penchant for dishing out stiff and brutal punishment in the ring. To this day fans debate where Kawada ranks among the so-called Four Pillars of All Japan, especially since he never made any journeys to North America after becoming a star.

But was Kawada always such a stellar wrestler, or did he have his off days like everyone else? Read on to find out.

The story

The first half of 1999 was rough for Kawada. Back in January he beat his perennial archrival Mitsuharu Misawa for the Triple Crown title for the second straight time. But unlike in 1998, where he had a big celebration and actually got a moment of glory, there was no happiness this time. Ten minutes into the match Kawada hit a spinning backfist to the back of Misawa’s head with so much force that he broke his own ulna.

Kawada fought through that injury and continued the match (because, wrestling), but it did affect his ability to perform moves properly. And because he didn’t have the arm strength to execute his usual moves, one of them went terribly wrong. When he attempted a powerbomb on Misawa, he couldn’t get him all the way up, leaving Misawa dangling upside down. Kawada then knelt down and spiked Misawa on his head with the dreaded Ganso Bomb.

Somehow that move didn’t end the match but Kawada won soon afterwards. Unfortunately, things only got worse for both Kawada and All Japan over the next seven days. First, Kawada’s ulna injury was so bad that he had to have surgery, which forced him to vacate the Triple Crown after only seven days. Second, that match would be the last one that AJPW founder Giant Baba would ever see as he would die of colon cancer eight days afterwards.

Baba kept his health situation very secret, to the point that everyone outside of his immediate family and a small handful of personal confidants didn’t know about his death until after he passed. The news sent shockwaves throughout Japan as Baba was a national hero of sorts; not quite on the same level as Rikidozan but still big enough for 28,000 people to attend his public funeral.

Shohei Baba’s death would end up having serious ramifications for both AJPW and pro-wrestling in the country in general. But for the time being, something needed to be done to commemorate Baba’s legacy. Thus, AJPW ran the Tokyo Dome for only the second time ever. The show was a memorial in all but name; they called it Baba’s “retirement” show but everyone knew what it was, including the two men in this match.

Kawada may have had a rocky relationship with Baba but he still respected his former boss, which is why he did everything in his power to get cleared for it. He wasn’t at 100% here; the wrist guard on his arm made that clear. But he vowed to deliver a strong performance fitting of his former boss’s tribute show no matter the cost.

As for Hase, he had only been wrestling for All Japan for around three years, having jumped from New Japan in 1996. He was one of the most humble men in the business, choosing to start at the very bottom instead of at the top. But despite doing so, he still had the air and legitimacy of a main-eventer. Also, both he and Kawada were accomplished amateur wrestlers before turning pro but Hase was a bit better on that front since he wrestled in university while Kawada ended at the high school level.

So you had two top-tier amateur grapplers facing off in the Tokyo Dome with one being an outsider wrestling on a shrinking schedule while the other was wrestling his first match in four months and still couldn’t hit with his right arm. Under those circumstances, most people predicted Kawada would win, but Hase wasn’t about to hand Kawada an easy victory.

The match

This match took place on May 2, 1999. It was rated ***1/4 out of five by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer (though that was because he only saw an edited TV version that had ten minutes cut).

The bell rings and Hase rushes Kawada. Kawada boots him and then lands a corner yakuza kick. But Hase walks it off, grabs Kawada’s head, and slaps him hard. The two wrestlers hit each other as hard as they can, with Kawada hitting with his bad right hand. Kawada stops the slap exchange to sell his hand and Hase takes advantage with a running kick. Hase tries again but Kawada kicks him first. Kawada charges for a lariat. Hase ducks and lands an insane uranage. Somehow Kawada gets to his feet, takes a few steps, and then stumbles backwards as he loses his balance. Now that is how you sell.

Hase tries a Greco-Roman knuckle lock but Kawada doesn’t want to risk getting caught in one of Hase’s submission holds. He’d rather brawl, so he starts a stiff elbow exchange. That turns into a running boot exchange which Kawada wins. After that the technical wrestling begins and Hase out-grapples Kawada into a headscissor/double wristlock combo. Hase tries different grounded holds but Kawada snakes through and gets a ropebreak with his foot. Then they do the Greco-Roman knuckle lock and Kawada powers Hase to the mat. But Hase bridges out because his neck is made of iron and stays bridged even as Kawada hops onto his gut and tries switching to a kimura lock. Then in a flash, Hase wrestles out and into his own kimura, which he keeps in despite Kawada kneeing him in the side of the head. Then Hase goes for an arm scissor but Kawada gets another ropebreak. Then he starts kicking Hase’s leg, but Hase catches Kawada’s right leg and kicks him in his historically-weaker left knee. Kawada goes down immediately and Hase starts working over that left leg. Hase applies an Indian deathlock but Kawada punches Hase’s leg to break free.

Hase maintains control with a deathlock/double underhook lock combo hold and tries stretching Kawada’s left arm as well but it doesn’t work. The two trade slaps but Hase maintains control with the deathlock and keeps Kawada grounded. But then Kawada slides through Hase’s legs and locks in an STF out of nowhere. Back-and-forth they go trading control with various submission holds until both men make it to their feet. Hase lands some stiff chops and then kicks Kawada’s bad knee again. Then Hase locks in a sharpshooter. Kawada gets a ropebreak but Hase continues going after the knee. Suddenly Kawada breaks free with a counter enzuigiri and goes for a powerbomb. Hase powers out but Kawada boots him back down. Kawada follows with a spinkick and a successful Folding powerbomb for a two-count. Kawada hits another running high kick. Hase tanks it and doesn’t even flinch. Kawada responds with a gamengiri. Hase remains standing. It takes another full-power gamengiri kick for Kawada to drop Hase. One, two, Hase kicks out.

Kawada kicks Hase hard and locks in a Stretch Plum. Hase gets a ropebreak so Kawada kicks him some more and tries another powerbomb. Hase resists so Kawada stepkicks him. Kawada struggles but eventually lifts Hase up…only for Hase to use Kawada’s own momentum to land on top of him. Hase hits two running big boots of his own, but Kawada tanks them like a boss. Hase charges for a third one…and runs into a (right-arm) lariat. Kawada appears to hurt himself and Hase takes advantage (because of course he does; he’d be stupid if he didn’t). Hase lands a jumping armbreaker drop and then goes for a giant swing, of all things. Even with Kawada slapping his face as hard as he can. Hase no-sells and begins the swing. Hase gets 21 revolutions and then falls down exhausted.

Hase gets up and goes for a northern lights suplex but Kawada blocks with kneelifts. Hase tries again but this time when Kawada blocks, Hase counters into a bridging German suplex for a two-count. Kawada elbows out of a second German attempt and slaps the hell out of Hase. But just like at the beginning, Hase ducks Kawada’s arm and lands a second crazy high-angle uranage. Kawada takes a nasty landing and the ref checks on him to see if he’s still conscious. Hase covers and gets a one-count. Kawada jumps right back up, takes a few steps, and collapses by the ropes.

Hase sees Kawada stirring and boots him down. He lands a picture-perfect Northern Lights suplex but only gets a two-count. Then Hase tries another uranage but Kawada grabs the ropes for safety. Hase tries again. Kawada elbows out and throws Hase off. Hase tries yet again. Kawada resists with all his might. But Hase’s healthier and gets Kawada up. But not all the way up as Kawada lands on top of Hase. Kawada regains control with some big boots of his own. Hase stays standing so Kawada goes back to the jumping gamengiris. Kawada hits three of those kicks in a row but Hase stays on his feet. Kawada follows with a powerbomb but can’t complete the fold because of the damage to his arm. Hase’s splayed out and looks like he’s unconscious but Kawada wants to end this without taking any more chances. He lifts a nearly-dead Hase up….and spikes him with the greatest Brainbuster in wrestling history!

One, two, and three! Kawada beats Hase!

Winner after 20:55: Toshiaki Kawada

Review

That was a solid match though it was far below what’s expected of 1990s All Japan. It was slower than usual, had some moments of dead air with nothing happening, and it even got a bit cartoony with Hase taking hits like a Mortal Kombat and then swaying like he was waiting for Kawada to FINISH HIM! But it was still hard-hitting, intense, and somewhat realistic, especially with Kawada doing some of his great delayed selling throughout the match.

The story here was obvious with Kawada’s injured forearm causing him problems at every turn. His first strike with it made it clear that it hurt him whenever he used it yet he fought through the pain to keep going. Whether fighting through pain with a broken right arm to show toughness or switching to a healthy left arm is the better choice is debatable. Regardless, Kawada had an obvious weakness that Hase exploited with strikes and submission holds whenever he could.

Hase didn’t just go after the obvious target: he also went after Kawada’s historically battered left knee with other submission holds and after Kawada’s neck with suplexes and uranages. Seriously, Hase hit some of the sickest throws ever seen as he somehow managed to take the uranage – which is basically a twisting Rock Bottom/side slam – and turn it into a head-spike. And yet Kawada survived all of this. Despite wrestling at anywhere from 50-75% power, Kawada soldiered on. There were several moments where he looked to be completely out of it, moving on spaghetti legs and without any thought of where he was going or what he was doing. Kawada’s selling made this match’s big moments look way more realistic and serious, which served as a nice counter to some of Hase’s more exaggerated selling noted earlier.

But aside from a few brutal-looking suplexes and head-spikes, the match was more of an exhibition than it was anything deep or personal. Both guys did the standing strike exchange that has become all too common in today’s wrestling, except these guys also bounced off the ropes while the other stood in place in anticipation for some full-contact strike. It was silly, but I guess that’s what this audience wanted: a lighthearted take on AJPW’s usually serious product to give some levity to the otherwise somber reason people came to the Dome in the first place.

Final Rating: ***1/2

This was an interesting little exhibition match between two solid wrestlers facing off for the first time. If anything, it was a test to see if Kawada came back from injury too early or if he had the guts to fight against one of the most skilled freelancers in the company with an increasingly broken down body. He passed his test and made an emphatic statement by both surviving Hase’s craziest head spikes and delivering one of the best he’s ever done.

There’s not much to this match compared to the wider AJPW scene at the time, but if anything this match’s first five and final five minutesare worth seeing just for the insane way these two men threw each other around.

Thanks for reading.