Best of Mitsuharu Misawa Vol 1

Mitsuharu Misawa is one of those blind spots for me, one of those feted guys I can tell is good, but hasn't yet managed to click with me. In a bid to resolve this, I decided to pick up the first volume of IVP Videos' Best of Misawa series, with the idea that seeing where he came from might help make it all click for me. This disc includes some of his Tiger Mask II stuff and some clips of matches against the likes of Curt Hennig and Ted DiBiase. It also includes footage of him taking his mask off in a tag match to shed the Tiger Mask persona. The matches below are the full matches on the disc and honestly, things are starting to come together for me.

Tiger Mask II vs La Fiera

I know this is a Misawa comp, but this bout is all about the greatness of La Fiera. Before the bell, he’s all cocky, promising to rip off Tiger Mask’s mask, but when the bell rings and Mask unleashes a string of kicks, he’s cowering in the ropes. Fiera bumps big for Misawa here, and stooges wonderfully for him on the outside. I love the surprise in his yells as Mask takes him up for a slam. Tiger Mask has some nice fluid offence, but looks a little hesitant in other places, running the ropes quite gingerly. Fiera hits a lovely cross body to the floor to show his offensive chops too, followed by a great frog splash. He soon takes another big bump to the floor though, followed by a huge tope by Mask. Mask hits a springboard crossbody, and I adore the way Fiera is looking away until the last second when the crossbody hits, adds a sense of realism. He tries for a slap, but Tiger Mask ducks and hits the Tiger suplex for a win. Loved this.

Tiger Mask II vs Dynamite Kid

Dynamite is so jacked compared to Misawa here. He just looks like a beast in comparison. It’s hard to shake the notion that Dynamite is just toying with his opponent during the early matwork here, and even when Mask gets a run of offence, it doesn’t feel enough to take DK out. Dynamite had obviously had plenty of experience in fighting the original Tiger Mask, so when Misawa tries a tombstone here, Kid is able to reverse and hit his own quite easily. His power advantage means he’s able to easily plant Tiger with a back suplex from being headlocked. Tiger Mask crashes and burns on a pescado, and it feels like Dynamite could finish this at any time. However, he doesn’t and Misawa is able to hit him with a back suplex on the floor, which causes both to get counted out. This really helped Tiger Mask look tough in just surviving Dynamite here.

Tiger Mask II vs Jumbo Tsuruta

This is for the NWA International Heavyweight title, and Mask is significantly outsized by Jumbo. This necessitates his opening game plan, wearing Jumbo down with a headlock. Jumbo tries shinbreakers and firing Mask into the ropes, but he refuses to let go of the hold. Eventually, Jumbo decides the best way to break it is by folding Tiger Mask up with a big back suplex. A big knee gets 2, and it feels like this burst of offence makes Tiger Mask realise he needs to change tack. A pair of somewhat milky looking kicks send Jumbo to the floor, and Tiger Mask strikes, with two big dives to the outside. A German suplex gets 2 for Tiger Mask, but a frog splash hits only knees. Tiger goes for quick pin attempts, with roll ups and ranas, but gets caught on a second rana and levelled with a stun gun. Jumbo hits a backdrop suplex for two, and another for the win. Really fun cat-and-mouse match, with a really exciting end run once Tiger Mask went for broke.

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jumbo Tsuruta

Curiosuly, this match wasn’t listed as being on this disc, which is odd as it’s the best match on here. Here, Misawa isn’t just trying to survive and get flash pins, he’s hitting shots as big as Jumbo. Here, Tsuruta goes on the offensive early with a big boot and clothesline, but gets sent to the floor, where Misawa follows him with a dropkick from the apron. Jumbo look shaken, and seems to change the pace, as they work holds on the mat, only with Misawa peppering a few slaps in on the breaks. Jumbo goes on the offensive again, but Misawa is able to stay in it, and you get a real sense of him trying to chop down this big tree, hitting missile dropkicks to down the big guy. Misawa gets stun gunned off a crossbody in a nice callback to the previous match, and I love how Jumbo’s size means even a simple kneedrop looks brutal. Jumbo hits a massive top rope leaping knee, but gets sent outside on a forearm strike and Misawa goes for broke, with a huge dive to the floor. Inside a bridging cradle gets a close 2 and the crowd really seem to believe Misawa can win. Has to be said, the crowd are HOT all match. Backdrop suplex attempt by Jumbo sees Misawa push off the top turnbuckle with his feet to land on top. Having endured 2 big lariats earlier, Misawa uses a flipping headbutt from the top to take out Jumbo’s arm, prompting Jumbo to hurl himself at the ropes for a big knee, but miss, and the end feels nigh. Jumbo uses on last effort to land on top on a Misawa backdrop suplex, but Misawa rolls through and cradles for the win. Just a massive war of attrition, felt like a real breakthrough victory for Misawa.

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Terry Gordy

After the sheer emotional rollercoaster of the last match, this feels a bit of a let down in comparison, good as it is. The early stages see Gordy grinding down Misawa on the mat, dropping knees on him. It takes Misawa ages to get started, and even when he busts Gordy open with an enzuigiri, he blows his advantage by trying to Tiger Driver him on the floor, which Gordy escapes. Gordy always seems to have something extra in his locker, like he’s prepared when a move doesn’t work. He tries to powerbomb Misawa on the floor, but when he’s clearly not getting him up, he pushes Misawa away and hits a big clothesline. He does this throughout the match, which allows him to press his advantage. When his Rock-level Sharpshooter gets broken by a rope break, he drags Misawa to the middle of the ring to apply it again. Misawa is worn down, and only being close to the ropes stops him being pinned by a powerbomb. Misawa hits some spinkicks and a sudden Tiger Driver for two, and rolls through a Gordy crossbody for another two, in a callback to his Jumbo victory. Misawa is finally in control and, though a German suplex only gets two, a huge forearm smash in enough to just about keep Gordy down for the win.