LEADING INTO THIS MATCH: The last time these two tag teams faced each other in January 95, their title match went to a 60-minute draw. Kawada was the AJPW Triple Crown champ from October 94 till March 95, when Stan Hansen beat him for the belt. Misawa regained the title in May and beat Taue in the 95 Champion Carnival final, so he's got all the momentum in the world on his side right now. However Misawa is still suffering from his orbital bone injury he suffered against Kawada in their Championship Carnival match and judging from Kobashi's taped leg, he is not 100% either (spoilers: these injuries do play into the story of the match). During the Champion Carnival, Kawada drew with both Kobashi and Misawa, Taue beat Kobashi, drew and then lost to Misawa. Taue has a new mean streak since debuting the Nodowa Otoshi off the apron to the ringside floor in the starting stages of the Carnival. Super Generation Army are the current AJPW Tag Team Champs and the titles will be on the line.

DURING THE MATCH: The opening exchanges between Kobashi and Taue are quick and fun but forgettable. Kawada comes in and catches Misawa off guard by kicking him in the face off the apron which makes the crowd go wild, even Kobashi looks startled. Misawa is pissed and gets tagged in, he subtly sells his face to remind us of his injury. In the middle of a great reversal exchange, Kawada turns around and does the same to Kobashi to great heat again. Now Super Generation Army really pissed, all four men get in the ring and stand off uneasily, a great opening spot to add drama to the match. Kawada is great as the disrespectful meanie who bends the rules.

Things quiet down, quick tags, rest holds, busy work as Super Generation Army work over Taue. Taue tags Kawada who starts working on Kobashi's taped leg to regain control (Kawada again exploiting his opponent's injuries!). This immediately pays off, Kobashi can't follow up a front kick due to his injury. The Holy Demon Army capitalize and attack the leg more viciously with knee drops, awkward looking single leg boston crabs, sharpshooters, anything they can come up with. Kobashi eventually manages to make the tag to Misawa, after a few struggles.

Misawa takes out Taue and tries to go after Kawada on the apron to return the favour from earlier, but Kawada is two steps ahead of Misawa and he just steps off. Not a minute later, though, Misawa does manage to catch Kawada off guard and lands a big elbow! I marked out at this moment, great callback to the start of the match. Kawada does not take well to this and instead of being the bigger man like his opponents earlier, gets in the ring, kicks Misawa lazily in the face (who was applying a Boston Crab hold on Taue) and walks off sulking.

It is gradually becoming more apparent that The Holy Demon Army always gain an advantage when bending the rules or attacking their opponents' injuries, two things the are very happy to do as often as they can. Soon after this, Kawada is tagged in and starts hitting Misawa in the face with everything he's got. When the referee reprimands him for attacking Misawa in the corner, Kawada just pushes him off! Unheard of! Only the brutish gaijins would ever do that! Super Generation Army are getting restless and try to regain control, but again their injuries prevent them from doing so. They are looking quite vulnerable and if they don't do something soon, they're gonna be in big trouble. As all four men are in the ring, Taue manages to choke-push Misawa onto Kobashi's leg, and Kawada follows up with a sick diving knee drop to the taped thigh, which Kobashi sells like he's just been electrocuted. This once again grants The Holy Demon Army the upper hand. Kobashi rolls out of the ring and is sure to be out of the picture for a while. One of the sharpest and stiffest spin kicks ever from Kawada follows, enjoy it, taste it, feel it.

Holy Demon Army keep working over Misawa's face. Kobashi wraps his leg with MORE TAPE. Kawada kicks a downed Kobashi for massive heat from the fans. Such a bitter bitter man! The first big power-move comes. Kawada blasts Misawa with a Powerbomb, Kobashi tried to prevent it but failed, Taue drops Kobashi's knee over the guard rail as a receipt (you think he's had enough?). Kawada locks Misawa in the Stretch Plum, Kobashi still manages to get up and save his partner this time, after delivering a Lariat to Taue! A double Lariat leads to a double down between Kobashi and Kawada, leading to the first time Misawa has had a break in a long while. He manages to make the tag out finally, all thanks to Kobashi's never-give-up attitude!

Kobashi is back in the ring and still selling his leg (chef's kiss! Basic psychology!), he starts to attack Kawada. He just needs to buy enough time until Misawa has had some time to rest. Kawada fires up! He kicks Kobashi's leg! Kobashi fires up! He kicks Kawada's leg Kobashi goes down, but gets back up, even more fired up, and cleans house! All this and he can barely stand! It's hard to tell who has the upper hand in the following moments. Kawada and Taue take turns punishing Kobashi, but he keeps getting up each time and delivering big attacks back. It is obvious that Kobashi is feeling the effects of his opponents' offense and is hurting a lot, he probably can't keep this up for long. Misawa wakes up soon, though, and we are spared the answer to the question "How longer can Kobashi go like this?". A few double team moves give Kobashi the window to attempt a Moonsault, but Kawada kicks him in the face before he gets a chance to pull it off. That's fine, Kobashi only needed to buy time for Misawa to rest and he's done that and more. It looks as if Super Generation Army have the momentum in their side at the moment.

Kobashi manages to tag Misawa in. Refreshed, the latter delivers some high-impact offense to Taue and manages to thwart off Kawada as well. A Tiger Driver gets a two count. Holy Demon Army are def the ones in trouble now, they need to get their shit together and turn this around ASAP. Kawada and Taue end up on the wrong end of two simultaneous submissions, a Facelock from Misawa and a Sleeper Kobashi. Kawada escapes and attacks Misawa to save Taue, the resulting 2-on-1 gives Kawada the chance to land a sick-looking Backdrop out of nowhere right on the back of Misawa's neck.

This is the point where the match starts going into overdrive. Kobashi sprints to prevent a tag between Taue and Kawada (Taue has been the legal man for all this time and he's been thoroughly beat up) and gets the tag himself. Kawada prevents Kobashi from hitting the Moonsault again and gets tagged in. The last 10 minutes or so of this match are too hectic for me to cover here in the same detail. Sorry, but you just gotta watch the end for yourself, it's that good. Misawa throws every big bomb he has against Kawada, while Kobashi keeps Taue busy. Kawada was still relatively fresh before this onslaught of offense and manages to survive long enough for Taue to come in for the rescue. Despite Kobashi's best efforts, Kawada hits an Enzui-Lariat just before Taue lands the Nodowa Otoshi off the apron to the floor on Misawa! OUCH. Misawa sells like death, this is most likely the final nail in the coffin for Super Generation Army. Kobashi protects Misawa with his body by crawling over him, almost as if he's asking for mercy for his teammate. It's obvious he himself doesn't have much more fight left in the tank after all the damage his leg has sustained. Super Generation Army try everything in their power to delay the inevitable. Stereo Powerbomb and Nodowa Otoshi gets a two, it looks like Misawa crumpled to the ground rather than kicked out. Kobashi once again shields Misawa, receives a very scary (but very satisfying) Backdrop Nodowa Otoshi combination to finish him off for good. Misawa's last stand isn't for long, despite his attempts to fight back, Kawada keeps landing stiff kicks to the injured face, throws another insane looking backdrop and a final Powerbomb at last gets Holy Demon Army the victory and the AJPW Tag Belts in 42:37.

CONCLUSION: What an absolutly amazing match. I felt like a kid discovering wrestling for the first time again. Great psychology and storytelling, everything looked very realistic and gritty and the amount of high-impact offense and stiff strikes was ridiculous. Everyone looked after this, Misawa remains strong in his loss, Kobashi shows that he's got more heart than anybody in AJPW and just needed a bit more luck on his side (and a healthier leg!), Kawada and Taue are the bitter, dastardly bad guys that bend the rules and don't hesitate to strike below the belt to gain an advantage, while also being like a well-oiled machine together. Kawada looked especially strong in this match, didn't even break much of a sweat until Super Generation Army's last big array of offense, which he actually just barely managed to survive, and got the decisive pinfall over Misawa. GO WATCH THIS. NOW. My favourite match of all puroresu I've seen so far. PERIOD.