5-Star BOOK Reviews: Mitsuharu Misawa’s Books, Part VI

This next section of my Mitsuharu Misawa book reviews will cover an important years for the man, 1993. It’s a year full of developments, both positive and negative, for both Misawa and the company he wrestled for. With Jumbo Tsuruta gone from the wrestling scene and All Japan fully walled off from the rest of the wrestling world, the company isn’t in a position to have anything go wrong or to have any unexpected surprises. Sadly they do, and more than once.

You can read part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here, part 4 here, and part 5 here.

We leap right into the excitement here with Misawa’s first Triple Crown title defense and it’s against his friend Kawada. This is a very big deal, especially for AJPW’s younger fans who started following the company when Misawa formed his Chosedai-gun stable and Kawada was his right-hand man. It’s a literal dream match with lead play-by-play commentator Ken Wakabayashi using the word ‘Yume’ (“dream”) during the opening minutes. On top of that it takes place on AJPW’s 20^th Anniversary show inside a sold-out Nippon Budokan. But wait, there’s more. It’s also the first time two wrestlers of the same generation were headlining the Budokan and it’s also the first time in nine years that Misawa and Kawada face off one-on-one. It does live up to its dream match hype and while Misawa wins he only does so after about 30 minutes of intense action. It’s far from the best Misawa/Kawada singles match (APOD: I put it at ****1/2 Stars, excellent but not groundbreaking), it did serve as a sampler platter of what these two men were capable of.

From there things skip ahead a bit. At the start of 1993 Misawa, Kawada, and Ken Wakabayashi attend a school festival at Waseda University and have a Q&A session in which the two are separated and take turns talking about wrestling. When someone asks if the Super Generation Army should add new members, Kawada shifts the conversation and makes an interesting, and ultimately prophetic, statement:

“Rather than bringing in new members, maybe it would be better to change things up. We’ve been at this for quite a while, and the younger guys probably want to do things their way. It’s often said that pro wrestling changes every three years, right? Well, it’s already the third year, and the audience is likely looking for something new…”

When Misawa comes in for his turn he first notes that he liked the current situation and didn’t want to change the membership since they had come so far together. Then when asked to respond to Kawada’s comments directly he replies,

“That’s the most likely scenario. He’s the type who gets frustrated when he can’t do what he wants. Surprisingly, he’s the one who makes others around him feel considerate. So I think Kobashi and Kikuchi are more considerate of Kawada than of me.”

We get some more context to wider goings-on in All Japan with an update on Jumbo Tsuruta. Due to further complications with “organ issues” Tsuruta doesn’t participate in the 1992 Tag League and his role as Akira Taue’s partner is filled by the extremely green Jun Akiyama. We get some early thoughts from Akiyama who has probably the most pronounced baptism by fire of a rookie run imaginable. In the span of three months he goes from debuting in a high-profile match against Kenta Kobashi to closing the 1992 Tag League with Taue against Misawa & Kawada, leading to lots of “future ace” talk. But despite Akiyama’s surprising success for someone who had maybe 30 matches under his belt, he was no replacement for Tsuruta and Jumbo’s absence started showing in the overall main-event situation. With Jumbo gone Misawa no longer had a major star to chase on tours and on smaller provincial shows. While the foreigners were still above him to some degree they weren’t always around (APOD: and as we will see soon, one of them will also disappear due to unforeseen circumstances). As a result come 1993 Misawa is slowly warming up to the idea of shifting the team arrangements to create new stories which in a way would align with Kawada’s above three-year cycle comments.

(APOD: As a quick tangent one of the terms that have come up a lot in Kawada’s comments in different places is “being considerate”. Based on context I’m guessing this has to do with him shifting his actions to his surroundings in tag matches; in other words, working around his partners’ strengths and weaknesses. This, coupled with his “constraint” comments from the last section, makes it seem like Kawada was limiting himself in terms of what he did in the ring so that it wouldn’t shift attention away from whoever was the bigger star in his team, which more often than not was the other person and not Kawada. But as we will see soon, once he shifts away from Misawa that level of “consideration” for his partner will disappear and we will get a different side of Kawada in the matches that come as a result.)

Further seeds of dissention are planted at the end of January 1993 when Misawa & Kawada lost the tag titles to Gordy & Williams, leading to Kawada stating, “It’s not fun fighting. If I’m not having fun fighting, I don’t think the audience is having fun watching either. It’s not that I dislike the Super Generation Army. But if things continue like this, both I and the company will be in trouble.” Whether these comments were real or kayfabe it’s somewhat hard to conclude: in AJPW the wrestlers rarely made verbal appeals/promos in the same way that most of us are accustomed to in North America and any statements made to the press were based on facts or observable things that happened in the matches themselves. In response, Misawa expresses an unusual frustration and said that Kawada’s decision was a matter of personal freedom yet he seemed to lack the courage to take that next step.

Since both men were aware of these statements, their next match, which takes place during the 1993 Champion Carnival, is noticeably more aggressive and intense than their October 1992 Triple Crown outing. According to Osano this match is the first in this new style of AJPW wrestling match, one that could be described as “pro wrestling that clashes with raw emotions”. That match goes to Misawa and after it ends Misawa tells Kawada to take time off after the CC ended for him to think things over. Kawada does, but not before going to a 30-minute draw with Akira Taue and shaking his hand afterwards.

“After today’s match, I gained confidence that what I’ve been doing isn’t wrong. I want to continue down the path of pro wrestling that I believe in, and I think I need to break away from the current structure (the Super Generation Army). I want to properly thank Misawa, Kobashi, and Kikuchi,” said Kawada.

Two days later Baba formally announces that Kawada was leaving the Super Generation Army and joining Taue’s group. For Kawada this makes sense since it would be easier to challenge for Misawa’s Triple Crown without being constrained (there’s that word again) by the sempai/kouhai or childhood friend dynamics. He also underscores that this decision was equally borne from Tsuruta’s departure, noting that with Tsuruta gone he had nothing to climb for if he remained at Misawa’s side.

(APOD: These statements give a more logical explanation to things and tend to do away with any previously kayfabed notion that Kawada betrayed Misawa or left him out of personal greed. While framing this situation as two best friends splitting up violently makes for a relatable and intriguing narrative plot the truth is that these guys were pushed into this position by circumstance. And if we step back and look at this in a wider context, we can conclude that Kawada had more to gain as an individual wanting to break away from the seniority-based dynamic that he found himself smothered by…which in its own way further aligns with Misawa’s own philosophy of breaking away from traditional hierarchies. So while talking about the Misawa/Kawada feud as something personal and tragic makes for an entertaining story, the reality of the situation is something far simpler).

To further underscore that they were parting ways, Kawada stops showing up to the same snack bar that had become a gathering place for the SGA. Kawada explains that he wouldn’t’ve been able to fully commit to being Misawa’s archrival had they remained in close personal contact outside the ring and that making this personal sacrifice was best for business because it allows their interactions to be limited to the ring.

Kawada’s split with Misawa and the formation of the Holy Demon Army leads to a sudden rise for ‘Dangerous K’. As I noted before in the other Kings’ reviews, several important developments occur in the spring of 1993. The first Kawada/Taue tag match takes place on May 14^th and they make an emphatic statement by crushing Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi. Six days later Misawa & Kobashi (with Kenta now elevated to Kawada’s old position) beat Stan Hansen & Danny Spivey while that same night Kawada & Taue win the World Tag Titles from Terry Gordy & Steve Williams. Then the next night, May 21^st, is the Night of the Four Kings: Taue beats Spivey, Kobashi beats Gordy, Kawada beats Williams, and Misawa retains the Triple Crown against Hansen. Not only did all four of these native wrestlers of the same generation beat the four most powerful and accomplished foreigners in the same night, but in Misawa’s case he overcame two previous singles (non-title) losses to Hansen and fully earned the Texan’s unyielding respect.

“Misawa, congratulations. I am the number one master of the left arm, but Misawa is the number one master of the right arm. Even though I inflicted so much damage, today’s winner is Misawa.” – Stan Hansen’s post-match comments to Misawa

It’s from this event that the term “Four Heavenly Kings” originates; however the person or publication that deserves initial credit is a bit inconsistent. Osano implies that Weekly Gong put it in the headline for their 465^th issue which covered this event. Meanwhile in Ichinose’s Four Kings Bio he specifically namedrops Tokyo Sports reporter Soichi Shibata for coming up with the term and using it in print to describe this quartet. Regardless, this term, though not original to AJPW, would end up following these four men for not just the rest of their careers but the rest of their lives. Days later on June 1^st Kawada & Taue defended their freshly-won titles against Misawa & Kobashi in the first of nine two-on-two tag matches, with Kawada winning via powerbomb on Kobashi. This, too was such a profound and significant match impressed many people, including matchmaker Fuchi who continued to be stunned by the in-ring performances showcased by these wrestlers (APOD: when I first saw that match I went ****3/4 for it and still think it’s that great. There are so many tremendous moving parts in that match that even though it’s inferior to this quartet’s more famous matches it’s still excellent in its own right).

That match, however, was but a precursor of the intense wrestling that was to come. According to Osano and Fuchi, the REAL introduction to the Four Kings style would take place a few weeks later on July 29^th when Misawa defends his Triple Crown against Kawada and, in the process, “became a demon”. There are two main features in this match that sold it as a new type of fierce match. First is Misawa’s expression. After taking one Kawada kick too many his usually stoic expression twists into something inhuman, described in Japanese as “the face of The Great Demon God”. Second is the level of aggression shown through Misawa’s choice of techniques, specifically the release/throwaway German suplex, a move introduced to Japan by the Steiner Brothers but rarely used up to this point because the bridging German suplex was a better display of technique and skill. Though many accounts differ on what exactly constitutes Four Kings pro-wrestling Ichinose has a long but accurate starting point early in his mammoth book that helps define this specific subtype of wrestling match:

“There is no explicitly written definition of “Four Heavenly Kings Pro Wrestling.” However, a general shared understanding of what it entails has been established among people. A keyword when discussing Four Heavenly Kings Pro Wrestling: Around 150 matches in total. And such years continued for several years. As a result, an unprecedented movement called Four Heavenly Kings Pro Wrestling was born.

There is a match often mentioned as the starting point of this movement. July 29, 1993, at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. Like the Osaka event, Kawada challenged Misawa for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship belt. At the 24-minute mark, Misawa grabbed Kawada’s back and threw his body backward in one swift motion. He executed the same attack again. And then once more. Announcer Kenji Wakabayashi from the commentary booth screamed:
“German Suplex throw! He came up with a new weapon! Kawada countered! I want to name this the Match of the Year! What an incredible match! Repeated Germans. Three in a row. Misawa is a demon. There are two demons here!”

Another keyword: the “release German.” A single drop of water at the starting point flowed into the vast ocean. For instance, the phrase “count 2.9 battles” corresponds to this. In a typical pro wrestling match, a wrestler pins the opponent’s shoulders to the mat, and the referee taps the mat three times to decide the outcome. However, in Four Heavenly Kings Pro Wrestling, the moment of decision does not come easily. Even after taking a devastating move that spectators would think, “This is it,” the wrestlers still manage to shake off the opponent pinning them.

At the moment just before a count of three, which should be called count 2.9, the referee’s hand stops in mid-air. Spectators quickly swallow their breaths of resignation, giving their full-throated cheers with diaphragmatic breathing to the wrestlers who demonstrated their will to continue fighting by a margin of 0.1. Such scenes appear repeatedly in Four Heavenly Kings Pro Wrestling. This “repeatedly” is an important point. Multiple times in a single match. Such matches were repeated daily during the series. Eight series a year.”

And here’s what Kawada had to say about this same match, corroborating Ichinose’s:

“That German suplex where you’re just thrown and flying through the air was really tough (wry smile). Nobody does that kind of throw-and-release German suplex anymore, right? It was the kind where you fly through the air and your neck crumples on impact. It wasn’t the kind of rolling motion you see now; it was a sharp, soaring throw with a crushing impact. It was so intense that you felt like your neck might just snap off. From there, things started escalating more and more. That match might have been the start of the Four Heavenly Kings of Pro Wrestling.”

(APOD: While this explanation is extremely useful there’s something else that I want to zero in on because, in my opinion, it serves as a secondhand reason behind the wrestling style becoming what is describes above, this being this match’s outcome. I’ve mentioned this a few times before but it bears repeating: this Misawa/Kawada match absolutely and unequivocally had the wrong person going over. Kawada’s realignment [or heel turn, if you want to call it that] was still fresh in most fans’ eyes. He had tons of momentum going into this having won the tag titles and defended them in the first Four Kings match a month earlier. And in the lead-up to this match Akira Taue had hurt Misawa, meaning the champion wasn’t 100% going into this from a narrative direction. In other words, the setup was all there for Kawada to be crowned new champion. But even if he didn’t want to be ace, Kawada as champion would’ve broken up Misawa’s reign and added more intrigue to a wrestling product that, while captivating between the bells, was in some ways stagnant outside of the headlining matches. But no, instead the booking called for Misawa to show off his wrath and pin Kawada clean. In doing so Misawa pushed ahead and no one would come close.)

Having defeated Hansen in May and Kawada in July, Misawa needs a new challenger for the next tour. At first All Japan already has this challenger penciled in with Terry Gordy. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. On August 18^th Gordy collapses at Narita Airport and is rushed to hospital, where he stays for approximately ten days and is then sent back home. Osano’s book describes it as a heart attack but most other sources have described it as a drug overdose of pain medication which caused him to slip into a five-day coma and suffer permanent brain damage. Though he regained basic functions he was never the same again, either as a wrestler or as a person. This, too, would have serious ramifications for All Japan since it required a hastily booked change of plans. With Hansen freshly defeated, Gordy incapacitated, and no one else with main-event credibility available to challenge Misawa, Baba books for Dr. Death Steve Williams to get a major, rocket-like push to the main-event.

Aside from the fact that there weren’t many other options available, Doc getting the world title push stemmed from two factors. First, it was Doc who pinned Misawa back in January to capture the tag titles from him and Kawada. Second, in the lead-up to this match Doc had unleashed a super-weapon. As I mentioned in the previous section Doc’s high-angle Backdrop Driver had caused injuries when it was used in 1990 so he stopped using it. However, as part of the lead-up to his September 3 showdown with Misawa he used it on Kenta Kobashi, first in a setup tag match and then in their now-famous August 31 #1 Contender’s singles match. Doc executing this ludicrously violent technique, combined with Kobashi’s willingness to take three of them in one match and then put on a career-defining autopilot selljob reminiscent of the best of Terry Funk, elevated Doc into a main-event threat almost overnight.

(APOD: In further connection to what I mentioned last time it can be argued that this dangerous level of excess was in response to Jumbo Tsuruta’s departure from All Japan. That loss of talent alone was bad enough, but now AJPW also lost Terry Gordy which was almost equally as devastating. Gordy was an excellent wrestler; that isn’t just my opinion but based on how many times I’ve seen these Japanese wrestlers and wrestling reporters describe him in positive terms it’s clear that he was deeply respected over there. He was so good at his job that Osano even alleges that Baba originally wanted him, not Hansen, to be the new top gaijin, but Gordy’s personal habits, which messed up Baba’s booking plans earlier in the decade, prevented that from happening. Nevertheless, from 1988 to 1993 Gordy was extremely important as both a singles and tag team wrestler in AJPW since he had both main-event-level credibility and a natural ability to adapt to different styles. Then there’s also his perception among AJPW’s diehard audience: it was Gordy who allegedly hurt Giant Baba himself in a tag match and shortened Baba’s main-event career, making Gordy an instant heat magnet and any native wrestler facing him a super-babyface by default. With Gordy sidelined and permanently damaged AJPW’s remaining wrestlers had to adapt the only way they knew how: by further upping the ante with dangerous and high-risk action. While a lot of these excesses might’ve been avoidable had Baba not walled AJPW off from the rest of the world, it was also hard for Baba to really trust that many people given how many times he had either been betrayed or been forced to change his plans following someone else’s actions).

Anyways, Misawa faces Doc and he spends most of this match getting thrown around. Because Doc had also given Misawa a “light” neck injury in the lead-up to this encounter Misawa was unable to execute bridging techniques on his challenger. This forced him to rely on strikes, side attacks, and submissions, which didn’t work all that well because Doc was still able to execute his Dangerous Backdrop. Osano describes this match as particularly violent because, up to that point Misawa had not yet devised his special bumping technique that reduced the impact on his head and neck that he would receive from the many head drops to come in the years ahead. As a result he took an exceptionally bad landing this time around, yet just like in the Kawada match he had to bring out his vicious side. By being pushed to these extremes Misawa fought back violently and dropped Doc with multiple elbows and Tiger Drivers for good measure.

With Doc joining the defeated list the shallowness of All Japan’s roster became apparent once again because the next challenger was, once again, Hansen. This time, however, things would unravel for a different reason. Ten minutes into the match Hansen drops an elbow and in the process breaks Misawa’s breastbone. Unable to call the match off Misawa has to continue with this sudden injury, but because there was no way to express it to the audience in a way they could understand he basically had to move forward as if it didn’t happen. But this proves to be impossible. Misawa’s pace slows dramatically and he appears to move unnaturally. As the match progresses Misawa describes struggling to breathe. The action slows to a crawl and the flow of moves becomes disjointed. He and Hansen more or less improvise the rest of the match, stringing together something resembling a match, before Misawa gets a sudden cover and a three-count out of nowhere, which is almost instantly disputed since Hansen gets up at 3.1. According to Osano the crowd, unaware of Misawa’s injury, boos the result which was very surprising for everyone involved.

(APOD: This match is, fairly or not, considered the worst Misawa AJPW singles match and it’s not hard to see why. Everything fell apart once Misawa got hurt and because of the demands of the in-house style they couldn’t call an audible or do something different. In many ways this match shows the limitations of the King’s Road style: with this inherent expectation of escalation, both within each match and between them, having a sudden change with wrestlers “going home early” was not acceptable. Doing a sudden count-out was also not available. Even having Misawa drill Hansen with a sudden elbow smash like he did the prior August wasn’t an option. As for a submission victory that, too, wasn’t on the table because the match before this, Kawada vs. Kobashi, ended via submission, so two back-to-back finishes of the same type wouldn’t’ve gotten Baba’s stamp of approval. At the same time Misawa deserves credit for soldiering on with this injury, though for some reason this match also highlights the fact that, for whatever reason, Misawa just didn’t have the same degree of in-ring chemistry with Stan Hansen as either Kawada or Kobashi, both of whom had marvelous matches with “The Lariat” during their careers.)

We close this section off by covering the last important part of 1993, the Tag League tournament. Despite all four wrestlers being injured in one way or another, the Four Kings make it to the tournament final. This marked the first time these four men reached the finals of the tournament, and there had to be a winner among them for more reasons than one. If the match went to a time-limit draw then based on the number of points a three-way playoff would occur between Misawa & Kobashi, Kawada & Taue, and Baba & Hansen. The Four Kings needed to prevent this from happening, hence their going all out in this match. The end result was an instant classic, one that easily surpassed their June 1 encounter, and IMO an easy 5-Stars. Seek that match out already and save it for the future if you haven’t already. As for the Four Kings in Osano’s writings he puts more of a focus on Kobashi here since this match was built around him catching up to the other three. Just like he said in his own books Kobashi had strong initial reservations about being called one of the Four Heavenly Kings because, from his perspective, he wasn’t as strong, skilled, or experienced as the rest (APOD: the actual Shitenno term relates to, among other things, divine entities controlling the four cardinal wind directions, which by nature implies an equal footing among them). However Kobashi’s performance brought him up to the others’ level, especially since he was able to win the match for his side. Looking back Kobashi had this to say about this match and of how the lessons he got from Misawa played a role in his actions:

“When I used to watch on TV, Baba and Tsuruta were the champions. Even after I joined, Tsuruta was the one unifying the Triple Crown, and as a wrestler, I was there, watching and thinking, ‘Someday, I want to wear that belt too!’ So Baba and Tsuruta always seemed distant to me. But when Misawa defeated Tsuruta, I carried him on my shoulders. After that, we were together in the Super Generation Army, and I watched him become the Triple Crown Champion up close… So, it was Misawa who taught me what it means to be a champion by showing me his back up close. ‘A man speaks with his back.’ He wasn’t the type to say much but conveyed, ‘Take responsibility for yourself and think for yourself.’ He showed me, ‘I’ll do things my way!’ Watching him taught me to decide for myself, ‘I’ll build my matches my way, no matter who my opponent is.’ He didn’t dictate to me but gave me the freedom to act, though freedom is challenging unless you have firm beliefs. Later, when I had my time as a champion, I think Misawa’s influence was significant. Misawa was both kind and strict. While firmly holding onto his own beliefs, he had the broad-mindedness to let those around him act freely.”

APOD: 1993 was a pivotal year for All Japan and especially for Misawa, though more indirectly since he found himself a victim of outside circumstances more often than not. Tsuruta’s departure from the headlining position, initially believed to be short-term, ends up being permanent, which forces the dissolution of the Misawa/Kawada pairing. While this new arrangement had its own narrative strengths it also birthed the Four Kings style which, to this day, remains as controversial as it was captivating. Many, MANY people have commented on how excessive, violent, and risky it was, and there are some people who can’t really enjoy those old matches knowing how all four Kings would end up. Personally I’m not one of those but I can understand the perspective and how hindsight can alter one’s perception of something once enjoyed through the lens of nostalgia. Furthermore I think things would’ve been a lot better for All Japan had Terry Gordy not suffered his overdose. By 1993 the company was very much down to a position where they couldn’t lose a single man and losing Gordy really hurt their business. Maybe not immediately but long-term for sure. With All Japan still a walled garden and the remaining flowers not colored emerald, yellow, ruby, or orange still a long way from blossoming, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Four Heavenly Kings had no once else to rely on but themselves. Though it’s not like people weren’t banging on the gates to Baba’s garden; as we will see in the next section the world around Baba was willing to work with him…sort of.

Thanks for reading.