Whats the story, chasers of choreographed chaos?
The grind never stops at Wrestling Vault HQ, even if the drive isn't there, I'm dedicated to keeping this thing moving. Another single match for the week, but some real quality graps in this match. Should be no surprise from the two men involved.
I won't waste any more of your time, let's dive right in.
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| AJPW |
Weekly Roundup
Here's what I watched for the week;
Buy me a coffee!
I wanted to give something else a try this week.
I recently made a patreon so you guys could throw come change in my digital tip jar, but Patreon feels very transactional to me. I need to provide something extra and you guys toss me some change when that extra content is deemed worthy of being paid for. Now, I don't have a problem with that sort of customer/brand relationship, but the problem is; I just don't have a lot of extra stuff I can put over there right now. Maybe have Five Star posts out there a month in advance behind a paywall? I dunno, but as it stands, Patreon has laid dormant for a couple of weeks now and I don't know what to do to bring it back to life. I'll need to spend some time in the lab before I start posting on there regularly.
In its stead, I created something else, an actual digital tip jar. A "buy me a coffee" link. If you guys dig what I'm up to and want to throw me the change to grab a cup, the link is right there. (There's also a big blue button for it at the bottom of the blog) I know you can do a lot more with this coffee page thing, and I may at some point, but it's just a tip jar right now. My little tin can as I sit at the street corner rattling the quarters I do have while asking for just a couple more.
Again, no pressure to send anything, this is just for those of you that have the extra scratch lying around and think "yeah. this wrestling blog is pretty great, I'll send this guy $5." And for those of you that do, you have my eternal gratitude.
• • • • •
Kenta Kobashi vs. Vader - AJPW New Year Giant Series 1999 - Day 11 - 01/15/1999
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| Ready to tie up. AJPW |
The story at the Wrestling Vault HQ has been a difficult one to tell as of late. Motivation and drive are at an all time low so it's a real struggle for me to want to seek out matches and shows to watch. Regardless of wanting to do them for the blog or not, it can be a real effort just to boot up the weekly episode of Dynamite, and I haven't missed one of those in months!
So, I took to my good 'ol spreadsheet and started scrolling. I started at the very beginning, matches from the 50's to the 80's. The classics, y'know? Nothing was really catching my eye as I worked my way through the years, until I reached the 90's. But of course! You say to yourself! The 90's were a golden era for incredible wrestling! And you're absolutely right! I tried to avoid some of the really common match ups from this period, but when I saw these two names side by side, I couldn't resist. This was the match for the week, I could feel it in my bones.
I mean, Vader has been featured on this blog more times than anyone, this match marks his seventh appearance on the blog. Right behind him? Jake Something at four and Misawa at four, if you count his match as part of the Super Generation Army. So of course I'm excited to talk about him more, I love this dude!
The idea of two of All Japan's heaviest hitters squaring off has me shaking in my seat from excitement. Imagining how hard the monstrous Vader would take it to Kobashi, how the iron willed Kobashi would fight back in his effort to survive. Man, what an exciting match this sounds like on paper. I am so, so happy it did not disappoint.
Kobashi is in the back, awaiting his entrance and nursing a head injury, by the looks of the bandaging. The rousing piano to his incredible entrance song "Grand Sword" fills the Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium, chants of "Ko-ba-shi! Ko-ba-shi!" can be heard throughout. He marches through the people with a stern focus, ready for a fight but unsure of what it may look like.
Vader too is in the back, just out of sight of the crowd. The opening synth chords of Rainbow's "Eyes of the World" bring a sense of foreboding, reminiscent of the theme to "Jaws." He steadies himself and marches for the door, grabbing one of the folding chairs at the last moment before barging through the door, the song opening up as Vader swings his chair to part the sea of fans. They're terrified, but also in awe of the monster, cheering as much as they scream. He effortlessly walks through the crowd, climbing in the ring and ready for a fight. As tough as Vader may be, he knows he's in for a tough shift against someone like Kobashi.
A familiar voice is in the commentary seat tonight, it's Misawa! He joins the usual commentary team by taking the place of Giant Baba, who is in the last few weeks of his life at the time of this match.
A different start to this match than most may be anticipating, Vader drops into a low stance as he approaches Kobashi. They jockey for knuckle locks and waist locks, with Vader taking the ropes early to bring things back to neutral. They're eyes are locked on one another, neither man trusting the other in these opening moments. Vader is the first to gain the advantage, taking Kobashi down by just pulling him with a side headlock. Probably not Kobashi's smartest move, he starts grappling with Vader on the canvas. Vader has spent time wrestling for UWF-I and the Catch Wrestling Association, there's not really any place I'd necessarily want to tussle with Vader, but flat out on the canvas trading holds is certainly not one of the spots.
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| A-salt-ed and peppered with shots. AJPW |
Locking up in the middle again, Vader lands quick punches to the gut of Kobashi, trying to soften him up like a heavy bag. But it has the opposite effect; Kobashi ducks a short lariat and catches Vader with an open hand across the face. Stunned, Vader reels back, each open hand shot from Kobashi backs Vader up more and more, step by step he's being backed into the corner. With Vader backed up completely, Kobashi peppers him with short punches that drop Vader down to a seated position, his mask askew from the shots to the face.
Vader unmasks and tosses it aside, absorbing chops from Kobashi and reversing a whip attempt into a barge, but Kobashi drops Vader with a shoulder block! We're early in this match and Vader is already hitting the canvas! Kobashi keeps on Vader's head with punches and slaps, quickly trying to transition to an armbar after the referee tries to get him off of Vader. The big man tries to hold on, not wanting his arm damaged this early in the match, but Kobashi breaks his grip. Using pure bicep power alone, Vader keeps his arm bent, preventing Kobashi from fully locking out the arm bar. Knowing he'll be in worse shape if he doesn't do something ASAP, Vader shifts his massive frame around the ring and finds the bottom rope, catching it with his boot to break the hold.
Kobashi makes the most of the referee's five count, forcing Vader to slide to the floor to nurse his arm. Kobashi stands in the centre, ready and waiting to pounce. Normally, the guy getting in the ring is in a severely compromised position, giving the man in the ring a distinct advantage, but most-no, I'm pretty confident in this statement; none of those men are Vader. Climbing on the apron and sticking his torso through the ropes, Kobashi pounces, looking to strike Vader as he's bent over, but he gets caught. A grizzly-like paw swats at Kobashi, catching him in the head and staggering him. Standing up inside the ropes, Vader cracks Kobashi in the jaw with a right, forcing him to stumble back to centre.
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| Dangerous no matter where he stands. AJPW |
Kobashi falls to a knee to nurse his wound, but Vader gives him approximately zero seconds to breathe, he's right on top of him, pulling him to his feet only to pepper him with punches that drop him back to the canvas. A dragon sleeper is applied and Vader lays out flat, using his upper body to smother Kobashi. He nearly holds him down for a pin, but Kobashi defiantly shoots his shoulder to the sky, holding it in the air longer than necessary in defiance. "I'm not out yet!" Changing tactics, Vader breaks the hold and lands a snug headbutt on Kobashi's noggin, rebounding off the ropes just enough to give his splash that extra oomph. He stays put for the cover, but Kobashi breaks again, rolling to his side to ensure his safety.
Looking to continue his punishment, Vader pulls Kobashi up by the hair again. But this time, Kobashi shows signs of life, firing off a quick dropkick from an almost kneeling position, catching Vader in the left knee. This sudden shot drops Vader flat, forcing him to release his grip on Kobashi, making his way to his feet only to rip Vader down with a pair of absolutely heinous dragon screw leg whips. With a single shot, this match has turned around. Kobashi went from fighting from beneath, to being on top; but the pendulum swings in both directions.
Using the ropes to bring him back to his feet, Vader squares up with Kobashi and fires off a single right, catching Kobashi under the jaw and dropping him to the canvas again. Done with playing around, Vader tosses him to the floor and follows him out, clearing the ringside area of photographers and crew as they make their way out. That's always one of my favourite thing about these old All Japan shows, the amount of people that are ringside that you don't notice until someone goes to the floor. Then suddenly, there's like thirty people with cameras in little huddles to both stay away from the action but also get the good photos. I love it.
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| Life is pain. AJPW |
Vader clubs Kobashi with a shot across the back and pulls him in for a powerbomb, but Kobashi drops to a knee to slow Vader. This only works for so long, however, as a couple kidney shots and jabs to the jaw soften Kobashi up enough for a positively disgusting powerbomb on the floor. Leaving Kobashi for dead, Vader goes into the crowd and the people scatter. Like he's on fire or something, their mortified. He grabs a chair but there's three all attached. He drops this triplet of terror and manages to snag a single chair instead, even if I would have loved to see Vader swing three chairs at once. Alas, not in this lifetime.
Back at ringside, chair in hand, Vader winds up and absolutely crowns Kobashi with the chair. Like, bends the seat and everything. It's nasty. Referee lets this blatant weapon shot slide as Vader rolls the groggy Kobashi back into the ring. Vader takes off for the ropes and rebounds with a splash, crushing Kobashi for a pin attempt, but he survives! The camera focuses in on Kobashi's face and it looks at though he's coughing up blood, but it's kinda hard to tell honestly. I think that's what they're going for here.
Shooting Kobashi into the ropes, Vader cuts him in half with a lariat, standing and taunting the crowd before pulling him back to his feet and backing him into the corner. A chop to the chest from Vader before he sends Kobashi across the ring, charging in for a corner barge but Kobashi slips free! With all the fire he can muster, Kobashi chops Vader to stun him, pulling his head in before dropping down for a DDT! He spike Vader right on his head, flipping him over onto his back on impact. Both men are back on their feet again, with Kobashi chopping the chest of Vader over and over, back into the corner again. He assaults his chest with a flurry of chops, sending Vader tumbling along the ropes with a spinning knife hand to the throat.
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| Chopping down the tree. AJPW |
Feeling fired up, Kobashi lets loose a kick that kinda connects with Vader, but he goes over the top rope to the floor anyway. Just keep it going boys, the best cover for a whiff as close as this one. Vader isn't down long however, and Kobashi is waiting, springboarding over the top with a crossbody and crushing Vader down to the floor! He whips Vader across the floor and into the barricade, with the heap of camera men parting, and then coalescing once again, blocking the view of the camera recording the match. He stays on him with shot after shot until the referee gets in his face and tells him to get back inside the ring.
He's not in long before Vader is back on the apron, with Kobashi able to get the upper hand this time, hooking Vader for a vertical suplex! He makes a valiant effort to get the big man up, but Vader holds on and headbutts Kobashi to send him staggering back a few steps. Back inside the ring, Vader stalks Kobashi, only to get caught with a kick under the jaw. Again, he hooks Vader, and after a few attempts, he gets him up and over with an insane vertical suplex! He even holds him in the air for a couple seconds! Insane shit.
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| Always insane. AJPW |
Pulling him back up, he lands a back drop driver and goes for the pin, but it's only two. "Fine," Kobashi must have thought, "something from the top will keep him down," mere seconds before climbing through the ropes and up to the top rope. Vader is on his feet and eats a huge dropkick, but it's still only two! Ready to finish the match, Kobashi bodyslams Vader before ascending to the top again, firing off a lightning quick moonsault but Vader rolls out of the way just in time! There's no water in the pool as Kobashi lands, writhing around in pain and clutching his midsection.
A jumping knee to the face catches Vader as he pulls himself up in the corner and a side Russian leg sweep flattens him. Neither men are down for long, however, as Kobashi takes off for the ropes and fires off a lariat, but Vader ducks! He rebounds off the opposite side and-mother of god, this collision. This collision. Both men go for a lariat here and I swear to christ, it's like someone smashed two buildings together. Vader is taken clean off his feet, landing flat out on the mat, but Kobashi is still non his feet! But only for a heartbeat. As Vader falls, so does Kobashi, both men down like they've just been in a car wreck. I mean, they kinda were just a second ago.
-- double lariat
Both men use the ropes to help them to their feet, with Kobashi charging out of the corner with a head of steam. He bellows as he sprints for Vader, but the big man takes but a few steps out and lets Kobashi run into him, dropping him with no effort at all. Back in the corner goes Vader, but this time, he climbs. Back first he ascends, standing on the middle as he flies for a spl- no! Kobashi catches him and reverses it into a powerslam! he covers Vader for thre- no! Vader survives it! A bodyslam repositions Vader as Kobashi flies, taking off with a moonsault! Surely, this will be enough? No! Vader kicks out! So what does Kobashi do? Just cover him again! Maybe that kick out was all he had left in him, clever stuff, but it's not enough still.
With Kobashi pulling Vader to his feet, the big man counters with a thumb to the eye, taking advantage of Kobashi's previous injury. Back in control, Vader bodyslams Kobashi before ascending to the top, crushing him with a moonsault of his own! He covers for one, then two, then th- what?! Kobashi survives! Vader is shocked! Kobashi fights out of the waistlock attempt when back on his feet, but he can't fight out of a second after eating a corner barge, landing high, high on his shoulders off a German suplex. Vader repositions Kobashi near the corner before climbing for a Vader bomb, but he doesn't go for the pin! He climbs for a second Vader bomb and pins, but again, Kobashi survives! Done playing around, Vader climbs to the middle rope and comes crashing down with a middle rope splash, crushing Kobashi before pulling him in tight for the cover, pinning and winning the match.
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| Kobashi crusher. AJPW |
This was an awesome match! Two of the biggest, heaviest hitters in All Japan coming at each other with their heaviest, meanest shots. It turned into an impromptu battle of the moonsaults near the end, with Vader's iteration coming out on top, in a way. As per usual, Kobashi was as vailant as ever, kicking out of killshots and coming back at Vader with bombs of his own. The iron will of Kobashi will never die, even after the match, he forces himself to his feet so he can walk to the back. Assisted, sure, but he survived this fight. But only barely.
• • • • •
Well, there you have it! Another week down! I'm kinda feeling my mojo come back in the last days of the week, going to try and get back to watching more wrestling during my free time but I've got job hunting to keep at and a wedding to get ready fro. Less than a month away! Crazy shit. But, as always, I'll keep this blog afloat, I'm doing it for everyone reading as much as I am for me. Someone out there likes what I'm doing, so this is for you.
Until next week, be well, and love each other.
cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com
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