G9Z Favorites: Toshiaki Kawada

Welcome to the second article in my brand new series called G9Z Favorites!  Occasionally, I will select one wrestler and list some of my favorite matches, moments, memories & more! This will be the first series on the blog primarily run by reader (yes, that means YOU) request!  So if you have a favorite wrestler and want them featured here, you can contact me either via email (g9zwwe@yahoo.com) or on twitter (@g9zwrestling).  This week, we are going to take a look at reader Simon Islam's favorite wrestler Toshiaki Kawada!



Now Toshiaki Kawada has earned himself quite the loyal following over the years, but there may be a few of you who have no idea of who he is. Well we can't have that can we?  For those who're unfamiliar with Kawada's work, why don't we start by running this guy's rap sheet down and letting you know just what he's been up to in this wacky world of professional wrestling....

Name: Toshiaki Kawada

Height: 6'

Weight: 240lb

Age: 49

Billed From: Shimotsuga District, Tochigi, Japan

Debut: 1982

Noteworthy Promotions Worked For: AJPW, NOAH, NJPW, Zero1

Major Championships Won: 5x AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, 9x AJPW Unified World Tag Team Champion, 3x AJPW All-Asia Tag Team Champion, 1x Zero1 World Heavyweight Champion

G9Z Wrestling Awards Won: 1995 Match Of the Year (w/Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi), 3 Five Star Matches

 

 

My Personal Recollection Of Toshiaki Kawada

My first experience viewing puro came in the early 2000s.  I had long been a fan of the wrestling scene in North America, but had little to no exposure to the amazing work being done outside the US.  Eventually, I began to work a sporting goods store and one of my coworkers there happened to be a puro enthusiast.  Needless to say, this meeting would change my life forever. 

The first tapes he showed me were of Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero's work in New Japan, since I was familiar with those wrestlers and already a huge fan of their work.  As he further explained the style there he shifted into the more noteworthy work being done over in AJPW.  The legendary "King's Road" or "Four Corners" era (headlined by Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue) was undoubtedly, the best in-ring era of wrestling anywhere and never again has any promotion been able to match it.  Initially, I was drawn more into Kobashi and Misawa being that they had appeared to be the more popular of the four at the time.  But as I watched more and more Kawada began quietly outperforming both men time and time again.

My personal favorite match of Toshiaki Kawada's was the five star tag battle that pitted he and Taue against Misawa & Kobashi.  I absolutely loved every minute of the Kawada-Misawa rivalry and I still go back and watch many matches involving them on a regular basis.  And while Kawada & Misawa's 1994 MOTYC is also one of my favorite matches ever, it's in this tag match that all the subtle things that make Kawada truly brilliant are all on full display.  In a match that pitted all four of AJPW's elite performers together, it was Kawada who stole the show.  Mostly because his absolute hatred for Misawa is one of the most well told stories ever in pro wrestling.

Kawada would take putting his boot through Misawa's face over sex anyday.

Throughout Kawada's career, he was always overshadowed by Misawa and would often fall just short of victory whenever up against him.  When Kawada finally scored a pinfall victory over him after practically humiliating both he and Kobashi, it was one of the most gut wrenching and yet satisfying moments for me as a wrestling fanatic.  The critic in me can't help but appreciate the brilliance and structure of the storytelling in this match all the while secretly pulling for Kawada each time I view it.  While the fan in me tends to get swept deeply along for the ride and simultaneously loathes Kawada for his lack of respect for two of my favorite wrestlers ever.  Very few matches posses the dynamic and work rate that this match does and it's quite simply, the greatest tag match ever in pro wrestling for me.  In fact the only match that comes close, also involves Kawada, Taue & Misawa.

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of the wrestling scene in Japan and it's largely in part to the work of Kawada, Kobashi & Misawa.  Their run in the 1990s has still maintained it's buzz to this day via word of mouth & here on the Internet, they are widely considered to be three of the top ten best workers ever in the sport.  For me, Kawada shines through as the best overall talent of that era and he's easily one of the more influential wrestlers of all time.