144. Danny Kroffat & Doug Furnas (c) vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (All-Asia Tag Team Championship, AJPW Super Power Series 1992 25.05.1992)

I’ve always thought the Japanese wrestling crowds were subdued. Polite clapping maybe some light cheering…but nowhere near as racuous as the Western crowds. Of course, my main point of reference is NJPW, and there have been some exceptions: the reactions to some Tanahashi/Okada and Okada/Omega matches were immense. However, although I’ve only seen a few AJPW matches, the small crowds have been rabid for each one. But the crowd witnessing Kenta Kobashi and Tsiyoshi Kikuchi vs Danny Kroffat and Doug Furnas is one of the hottest crowds I’ve ever heard, in any promotion. Kikuchi being a hometown boy may have hyped the crowd up, but whatever motivated them, this crowd could have blown the roof off.

143. ‘Dr Death’ Steve Williams vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW Summer Action Series II 31/8/1993)

I’ve found myself going down the Kenta Kobashi rabbit hole… undoubtedly, he is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. After watching his bout against Stan Hansen, I looked forward to his much acclaimed match against ‘Dr Death’ Steve Williams from 1994. However, thanks to blindly clicking on the first Youtube video that came up, I found myself watching their lesser-acclaimed match from 1994 (click here for my review). I loved their 1994 bout, so felt compelled to find the 1993 one. It left me a little disappointed…

142. ‘Dr Death’ Steve Williams (c) vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW Triple Crown Championship, AJPW Summer Action Series II 3/9/1994)

Sorry, my attempt to work through Inside The Ropes ‘100 Greatest Matches of the Decade 2011 to 2021‘ has ground to a halt, thanks to pneumonia…and finding myself going down the Kenta Kobashi rabbit hole! It began with his 2003 classic against Misawa (click here for my review). My next stop…Kobashi vs ‘Dr Death’ Steve Williams. Now, I intendes to watch their 1993 battle, but I clicked on the first video on Youtube…and halfway through I realised it was a later clash from 1994! So I will have to go back and watch the 1993 one. However, I was more than happy watching their 1994 brawl.

141. Kenta Kobashi vs Stan Hansen (AJPW Summer Action Series 29/7/1993)

Sorry, my attempt to work through Inside The Ropes ‘100 Greatest Matches of the Decade 2011 to 2021‘ has ground to a halt, thanks to pneumonia…and finding myself going down the Kenta Kobashi rabbit hole! After watching the masterpiece that was 2003‘s Misawa vs Kobashi (click here for my review), I Googled Kobashi’s best matches (and did the same for Misawa, so no doubt I’ll fall down that rabbit hole as well!). One opponent in particular stood out for me…one Stan Hansen, one of the stiffest workers in the late 80s/early 90s (and in AJPW, that’s saying something!). About halfway through this 1993 bout, I realised I’d already watched it a few years back…but it’s always good to go back and re-experience something, isn’t it? And while I remember loving it the first time around, I only thought it merely a very good bout the second time around.

140. Roman Reigns (c) vs Sami Zayn (WWE Undisputed Heavyweight Championship, WWE Elimination Chamber 2023)

Elimination Chamber 2023 has been and gone…and there were two clear candidates for Match of the Night. The first, the Elimination Chamber match for the US Championship, was one of the finest Chamber matches in recent years. The second, the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship match between Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn, saw a year-long storyline come to a thrilling head (well, the story between Reigns and Zayn…but the feud between Zayn and the Bloodline is not over yet!). Soley because I’ve been wrapped up in the Zayn/Bloodline story, I’m going gp go with Reigns vs Zayn…

139. Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs Kenta Kobashi (GHC Heavyweight Championship, Pro Wrestling Noah Navigate For Evolution 1.3.2003)

Please, I advise all of you…never contract pneumonia. It’s knocked me for six! But then again, my hospital stay gave me plenty of time to watch wrestling matches on Youtube. I watched the phenomenal bout between Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (the famed 3.6.1994 bout-click here for my review). The other notable bout I watched was the 2003 bout between Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi. This wasn’t in AJPW, but Pro Wrestling NOAH. These two had fought many times during their careers in AJPW. Both were worn down by this point, Kobashi especially so due to various knee surgeries. How would this bout measure up?

138. Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW Triple Crown Championship, AJPW Super Power Series 3.6.1994)

Thanks to a visit to the hospital for a week (severe pneumonia and a liver infection), I had ample time to watch some wrestling matches! Unfortunately, I was confined to the screen of my phone and mainly Youtube. So I couldn’t continue with my venture through Inside The Ropes’ Best 100 Matches 2011-2021…but I could look at some classic AJPW matches on Youtube! I’ve seen some AJPW matches before, but I did a quick Google to check out what I should watch. I settled on Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada from 3.6.1994…and it was a cracking choice!

137. Men’s Royal Rumble 2023 (WWE Royal Rumble 2023)

The Royal Rumble 2023 has been and gone…and for me, there was only one clear front runner for Match of the Night. Of course, the aftermath of Roman Reigns vs Kevin Owens was the highlight of the night, perhaps the highlight of WWE programming since Daniel Bryan’s ‘YES’ movement. But the two have had better matches, even two years ago at Royal Rumble 2021 (and at Rumble 2017!!!). The only contender can be the Men’s Royal Rumble!

136. AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki (NJPW G1 Climax 2014)

Inside The Ropes magazine (in issues 24 and 25) recently printed a two part feature on the 100 Greatest Matches of the Decade 2011 to 2021 . The WWE matches included are nothing new to me…but their NJPW matches? Some of them I hadn’t watched during my new odyssey of NJPW World. So, I started from the beginning of the list! The list is in date order, not quality order, by. the way.

135. Will Ospreay vs Zack Sabre Jr (NJPW New Japan Cup 2022)

There was one NJPW Meltzer-rated 5* match I hadn’t seen from 2022…Yet another Will Ospreay match, his bout against Zack Sabre Jr at the New Japan Cup tournament. Would it fall short of 5* perfection, as I feel most Ospreay matches do? Or would Sabre Jr temper William’s excesses?