Article on Kawada I wrote, need input\corrections\facts

[El Fiasco]

I wrote this article on Toshiaka Kawada for my own amusement, hoping to get it posted on a site or something...plus I need stuff for my writing portfolio.

Anyway, its pretty rought right now, and I know I have some facts wrong and some important stuff left out. If some of you kind folks could read through it and give me your words of wisdom, I would be eternally grateful.

Its pretty durn long(two seperate parts) so it will probably take a few posts to complete. And thanks a billion to anyone who takes the time to read it all and reply!

[El Fiasco]

Toshiaka Kawada:
Fighting For Tomorrow(part 1)
by Zach Thompson

Many say that Ric Flair is the man who made pro wrestler an art form. If that is indeed the case, then Toshiaka Kawada is undoubtably the ultimate realist of the medium. To some, he is considered one of the greatest workers of all time, a selfless man who put his health and reputation on the line countless times in order to add an unparralleled level of legitimacy to the sport. To others, he's simply the guy in the black and yellow trunks who always kicks the hell out of Misawa.

And of course, they're right too. Kawada will always be recognized for those three characteristics: his trademark ebony and gold wrestling attire, his insanely stiff kicks, and a legendary feud with Mitsuharu Misawa. In fact, Misawa and Kawada's careers are so tightly knit, it's impossible to tell his story without beginning Misawa's as well. After they completed high school, both attended the same wrestling dojo, where they excelled, and were both quickly accepted to Giant Baba's All Japan Pro-Wrestling. While Kawada performed under his real name, Misawa was granted the honour of donning Satoru Sayama's mask and competing as the second Tiger Mask. Kawada’s style was quick and intense, and his body was taking a beating on a regular basis. Perhaps the worst of these injuries occurred when his two front teeth were knocked out during one bout. There is even some evidence that Kawada is indeed sensitive about his appearence. Former WCW star Tom Zenk insists that while in Japan, Kawada asked to purchase steroids from him, to bulk up his somewhat flabby physique. He is even prone to sometimes where dentures in the front of his mouth when facing stiff opponants, in order to protect his mouth from further disfigurement. The missing teeth are the first of many battle scars along the way in Kawada's violent career.

Both Kawada and Misawa became very popular quickly. Misawa soon unmasked, during a tag team match with Kawada, to wrestle under his real name to move up from the Junior division to Heavyweight. Kawada however had formed a very successful tag team with Genichiro Tenryu, and the two went to the finals of the 1988 Real World Tag League tournament. It was soon after this that All Japan realized the potential in the team of classmates Kawada and Misawa. The duo of Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaka Kawada is truly one of the most legendary to ever come out of All Japan. The two engaged in classic bouts with Steve Williams & Terry Gordy, Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue and Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase. They went on to hold the All Japan World Tag Team titles on two seperate occasions between 1991 and 1992. It was during this time in his team with Misawa that Kawada rose to stardom, becoming one of the most recognizable figures in the world of Japanese wrestling. However, on August 22, 1992, Misawa defeated Stan Hansen to win his first of a record five coveted Triple Crown titles. The move made keeping Misawa and Kawada a team very difficult, and they finally stopped teaming in 1993 with an inevitable feud brewing on the horizon. Kawada would go on to face Misawa in a title match on October 21, 1992. Though the match would be the first in an amazing series of bouts, Kawada lost cleanly to his impending rival.

With Misawa as the Triple Crown champ, Kawada formed an even more successful team with Akira Taue. Kawada and Taue would go on to win the All Japan World Tag Titles themselves on May 20, 1993, defeating Terry Gordy and Steve Williams. They defended the belts against All Japan's top talent, resulting in countless classic bouts, before finally losing them to Stan Hansen and Ted Dibiase. Kawada would even get a rematch with Misawa in July, but once again jobbed cleanly to the champion. At this point, Kawada would finally reach his full potential. He was consistently putting on three-to-five star matches, blending brutal and crushing maneuvors with perfect selling and bumptaking. The result was a form of storytelling that was never matched by any performer, and a workrate that may never be challenged. He also earned a nickname that would stick with him throughout his physically demanding career: Dangerous K.

All Japan realized Kawada was possibly at the peak of his shining career, and they wisely gave him his first Triple Crown title win on October 22, 1994, when he defeated Steve 'Dr. Death' Williams (the man who had beaten Misawa for the title just months earlier). The highlight of this title run was an epic 60-minute draw with the up-and-coming star, Kenta Kobashi. Kawada recognized the amazing talent of Kobashi, and chose to allow a draw rather than a clean defeat. Kawada would continue to enjoy a strong title reign, before being dethroned by the legendary Stan Hansen on March 4, 1995. The bout with Hansen is a true five-star classic, and is considered by many to be one of Kawada's finest moments. Kawada also had clearly no objections to jobbing to the much older Hansen, who was reaching retirement age.

After losing the Triple Crown, Kawada began teaming with Akira Taue again, and they won their second All Japan World Tag Titles by besting rivals Misawa and Kenta Kobashi on June 9, 1995. The match was phenomenal, and it established the full-fledged rivalry between Kawada and Misawa now. Two men, who had been competing with and against each other since they entered the buisiness, each trying to establish himself as the future of All Japan. While on the subject of All Japan, Kawada's loyalty to the promotion, and owner Shohei 'Giant' Baba, cannot be stressed enough. He stuck with the company for his entire career, even when opportunities arose in other federations. As well as a great athlete, Kawada remained a reliable employee.
The feud with Misawa only increased in the following months, quickly becoming the Japanese quivalent to the Ric Flair v.s. Ricky Steamboat matches of the late 1980's. With Misawa regaining the Triple Crown from Stan Hansen on May 26, 1995, the stage was set for yet another title match between him and Kawada. The bout occured on July 24, 1995, with Kawada once again losing. Japanese fans and wrestling insiders were beginning to wonder if Kawada would overcome Misawa and re-capture the Triple Crown titles. While Misawa remained champion, Kawada and Taue's tag team was continuing to dominate All Japan tag division. Their excellent and innovative team work earned them two more Worl Tag Team Title reigns in 1996 and 1997. It was during these title reigns that Kawada's punishing in-ring style was beginning to catch up with him, and serious physical problems were starting to become apparent.

The legendary feud of Kawada and Misawa would peak with two matches in the upcoming years. The first, on June 6, 1997, ended with Kawada coming just inches from defeating Misawa, but eventually being defeated in the end. However, in a climactic and historic bout on May 1, 1998, Kawada would cleanly pin Mitsuharu Misawa following a huge powerbomb to win his second Triple Crown title. The match is widely considered to be the best of their lengthy feud, and also to be the carreer highlight of Kawada. Not only did he overcome his nemesis Misawa, but he regained the Triple Crown in the process. Kawada would enjoy a very short title reign, dropping the belt to Kenta Kobashi a little over a month later. The loss to Kobashi was both a reward for their amazing 60-minute draw years earlier, as well as All Japan not wanting the seriously injured Kawada holding their coveted titles. Nonetheless, Kawada honourably jobbed cleanly to the new star Kobashi.

(continued in part two)

[El Fiasco]

Toshiaka Kawada:
Fighting for Tomorrow(part 2)
by Zach Thompson

Prior to defeating Misawa for the Triple Crown in May, Kawada and Akira Taue captured their fifth World Tag Team Titles, by defeating Kenta Kobashi and Johnny Ace on January 25, 1998. They would hold the titles for nearly a year, dropping them on Januray 7, 1999 to Kobashi and Jun Akiyama. However, days after this title loss, Kawada would add yet another huge victory to his record. On January 22, 1999, Kawada won his third Triple Crown title. What's more, he did it by defeating champion Mitsuharu Misawa for the second time. Kawada's feud with Misawa more or less came to an end with this match, as Kawada nearly crippled Misawa by debuting a new finisher; the Ganso Bomb. The maneuver dropped Misawa onto the crown of his head, totally destroying him as Kawada pinned him for the win. The victory was an enormous one, as Kawada regained the prestigious titles, and defeated his hated foe once and for all.

Unfortuately, All Japan's fears that Kawada was too injured to be a strong Triple Crown champion came into fruition. The day after his huge win over Misawa, Kawada was stripped of the Triple Crown after discovering he had broken his arm during the match. The decision was a crushing one for Kawada, as he began the first of several injury-related hiatus'. Also, with Kawada injured, Misawa appeared to have yet another victory; even if Kawada had two major victories over him, his relative health may allow him to maintain his top spot in All Japan for years to come. Kawada was determined to establish himself as the main star in the promotion, yet Misawa had ousted him once more.

Kawada would eventually return, and in fine form. He played a major part in All Japan's Summer Power Series 1999, a series of big-name matches that played out over the Summer. In an extremely interesting match, Kawada and his formal rival Kenta Kobashi took on Misawa and Kawada's trusted partner Akira Taue. The match was one of the highlights of the festival, and is truly one of the greatest modern tag team matches. The bout ended with Kawada and Kobashi getting the win, allowing Kawada to add one more small notch for himself in his feud with Misawa. Despite all his very serious injuries, Kawada remained a consumate performer, with his style as intense and brutal as ever. Unlike many great workers, such as Jyushin Lyger and Chris Benoit, Kawada's wrestling style was never affected by his physical condition. He always wrestled his best match, and put his body to the test every night he performed.

Perhaps no year put Kawada's body to the test like 2000. With the arrival of the new millenium, Kawada engaged in several important, yet physically draining, matches. He began the year by taking on Vader at the All Japan Excite Series. After a very stiff match, Vader defeated Kawada with a huge lariat clothesline. On a brighter note, Kawada and Taue captured their sixth and final World Tag Team Titles, by winning an eight-team tournament on June 9, 2000. This would be a record setting sixth title reign for the team, though they were forced to vacate the belts when Taue left the federation in June. No team has yet to match their six times as champions. Kawada also fought Misawa once again, with Misawa defeating him after a noticably short match. Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu also defeated Kawada in a great title bout, but once again, it was not the 25-to-45 minute match length fans were accustomed to. It seemed that Kawada may indeed be shortening his match lengths to recover from these serious injuries.

However, Kawada silenced nearly all his critics the following year by putting on what was possibly the greatest match of 2001. At the climax of the huge New Japan v.s. All Japan show, Kawada would face IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kensuke Sasaki in a non-title bout. The match is extremely brutal, easily one of Kawada's most violent. Sasaki, a huge man known for brutalizing opponants, absolutely destroys Kawada with many stiff power moves. In the end though, Kawada comes back to pin Sasaki cleanly in front of thousands of screaming fans. The match made Kawada a star once more, and proved that he could still work long, draining bouts despite his injuries. In fact, the match was so convincing that Sasaki felt the need to forfeit the title, and hold it up in another New Japan v.s. All Japan tournament. Of course, Kawada and Sasaki both made it to the finals, and after yet another brutal match with Sasaki, Kawada did the job and allowed Sasaki to win back his coveted IWGP title. Not only did the match once again establish that Kawada was willing to put over younger, less talented workers, but it also showed his fairness; if New Japan's champion were to lose to an All Japan star, it was only right that the New Japan fighter get revenge.

The matches with Sasaki were neccessary to establish Kawada as one of the top stars in Japan. Just months earlier, the father of All Japan, Shohei 'Giant' Baba, had passed away, leaving the federation in chaos. Misawa was given control of the federation, but soon found the responsibility to be too much, and left to form his own promotion. Named NOAH, Misawa's federation quickly became one of the top promotions in Japan. He crippled All Japan by taking most of their top-name workers; Kenta Kobashi, Akira Taue, Jun Akiyama, Vader, the list went on and on. With most of their stars gone, All Japan relied on Kawada and Genichiro Tenryu to carry the federation until they recovered. Had Kawada left for NOAH, All Japan would have almost certainly folded for good. It was the ultimate sign of Kawada's undying loyalty to Baba and All Japan.

All Japan hoped they had found their saviour when they hired the legendary Keiji Mutoh, aka the Great Muta. Mutoh defected from New Japan to All Japan, bringing with him stars Satoshi Kojima and Kendo Ka Shin. Mutoh was almost immediately given major booking responsibilities, and was working to save the federation from disaster. After defeating Tenryu for the Triple Crown on June 8, 2001, Mutoh began to build up a title match between him and Kawada. The match would finally occur on February 24, 2002, with Kawada capturing the title for a fourth time. Sadly, Kawada's reputation once again got the better of him, and he was forced to vacate the title due to injuries on March 28, 2002. Kawada's injuries were now career-threatening, and his began a length re-hab to hopefully recover from the damage.

Sadly, Kawada's future does not look promising. His unreliable health will probably keep him from ever regaining the Triple Crown, and with NOAH getting stronger every day, he will never likely obtain the stardom of his arch-rival Misawa. He has stated that he is very frustrated with the slow recovery rate of his injuries, but has promised to face Satoshi Kojima once he returns, a match that many would consider to be the future of All Japan(Kojima) facing it's glorious past(Kawada). Hopefully, it will be a classic, and will establish Kawada as a star once more, as his classic battles with Misawa, Kobashi and Sasaki did years before. Kawada coined a motto years ago, and it has since always adorned the back of his ring robe: 'Fighting For Tomorrow'. Truly, no motto is more fitting for Kawada. Even against impossible odds, he has always battled through incredible physical pain to achieve stardom, and to bring accolade to All Japan Pro-Wrestling. He has re-defined the Japanese wrestling 'Fighting Spirit' style with his stiff kicks and punishing move set, but has also proved to be generous by putting over younger talent and taking incredible beatings. Hopefully he can overcome these obstacles once more, and rise to the top spot in wrestling he has always strived for.

(Thats it...thanks for reading all those who had the tolerance!)

[Muiyan]

Wow, that was a great read, El Fiasco!

[Scalian]

Very nice article , Fiasco !!

[ShinzakiFan]

Very good article! Despite being a total newcomer to the world of Puroresu, I found it extremely interesting and easy to follow. But I have a question. Accoring to puroresupower.com, Misawa and Kawada legitimately hate each other. Is that true? If so, when, why and how did this hatred come about?

[El Fiasco]

Well, I know they were both heavily competing to see who would take over All Japan when Baba passed on...of course, Misawa got the job, left to form NOAH, and the rest if history. Other than that, I don't know too much about their legit feud...hopefully one of the more knowledgeable fans here can fill us in so I can add it.

[Muiyan]

Now, i don't claim to be one of the "more knowledgeable fans" here but...

I have read elsewhere (IGN Wrestling board, actually. Before it started to charge me money!) that Misawa hates Kawada because Kawada actually DIDN'T put much effort into house shows, so Misawa thinks Kawada's a lazy bastard.

But if you look at it from Kawada's point of view, it is MISAWA who was given all the spotlight and treated like a king despite both of them working about just as hard, so is there still a reason why Kawada should continue to risk his body day-in and day-out on lil' house shows that don't get much coverage? He could fight the best fight ever in the small shows for all he cares, but it won't get him anywhere closer to Misawa's level of stardom. It's the big shows that matter.

[El Fiasco]

I hate to quote Tom Zenk so much (though he is a funny guy), but Zenk claims that Misawa was given the greater push because the female fans thought he was handsome and Kawada was known for being such an ugly dude...I wouldn't take it too seriously, just an interesting little take on the matter...

[Peru-Yakuza]

Also, Fiasco, you seem to be forgetting that if Kawada did not have a TC reign or even a chance in 1996 was because Baba questioned his loyalty from his appearance in UWFI in September (where he went over Takayama). Kawada had wanted an All-Japan vs. UWFI feud but Baba saw this as disloyalty and kept him in the tag team ranks.

[Hisaharu Tanabe]

Great job, El Fiasco.

That's Toshiaki, not Toshiaka.

Misawa and Kawada were members of the wrestling team in the same high school. I believe they went on to the high school national championship (in different year). Not sure if they attended a wrestling "dojo" after graduating high school. I thought they both joined All Japan immediately after high school, but I can be wrong.

Misawa moved up to the heavyweight division in 86. Remember he wrestled Steamboat for the NWA World Heavyweight title? He didn't unmask until 90.

The Tenryu Alliance included: Tenryu, Ashura Hara, Samson Fuyuki, and Kawada. Fuyuki was more significant and famous as Kawada's tag partner than Tenryu ever was. The team of Kawada and Fuyuki was called "Footloose". I heard they also had a great match in San Antonio against Shawn Michaels & Paul Diamond.

You might wanna mention that Tenryu once asked Baba to push Kawada more because he was doing very well and trying so hard, but Baba refused by saying, "Kawada is too small".

You guys are probably more knowledgeable on the recent stuff than I am, but if I find more additions or corrections, I'll post here.

[bannabop]

May I post this on my site legendsofthering.150m.com?

[Luds]

Nice work El Fiasco

That was a great read!

[Monday Night Jericho]

Great read. One of few complaints I'd have is that while though you did mention many of Kawada's classics, you didn't really mention 6/3/94.

[JustS2pendous]

Very interesting read, it just illustrates what a great career Kawada has had and continues too. A true legend of puroresu.