3/29 Nagoya Aichi-ken Taiikukan From AJ Pro Wrestling 30 4/5/98
This is the best in ring feud of all-time. Most wrestlers will never even approach this level, but for Misawa and Kawada, this appeared to be the second "worst" match they've had together in the 1990's. However, we all know that in a Misawa vs. Kawada match there is rarely anything that doesn't further the match in some way. Only a little more than half of this match aired, so you just have to guess to fill in missing pieces. There's no way of knowing whether you are right or wrong; the match just isn't the same in this form.
This had all the elements that make matches between these two great, and the psychology and build were far stronger than what's unfortunately become the norm in AJ these days. The main reasons I thought this was a little down from normal were that it wasn't quite as intense, the heat was down, and Misawa toned down his offense some because he was banged up.
It was, in a way, what it had to be. They were set to meet in the biggest match in the history of the company just over a month later, so that was the important match. The job of their requisite 30:00 draw was to build anticipation for that match. It did, in a way, but it also gave you an empty feeling because this wasn't the memorable bout these two have every year in the league portion. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you couldn't expect them to put everything into this match because they had to save something for the Tokyo Dome, but at the same time this was lacking just a bit too much of their magic.
Part of the point of this match was to show that they needed a no time limit match at the Tokyo Dome, which would have been an excellent stipulation if it was Kawada vs. Kobashi given their two 60:00 draws in title matches. However, Misawa & Kawada have never done a 60:00 draw, so why should a fan think they need more than an hour? Anyway, they didn't break as many finishers as they normally would, instead opting for more building. This match showed that these two are so even that they can't even wear each other down enough to execute all their big moves in this amount of time.
"Let's face it, this match was not the typical greatness we are all used to seeing from two of the greatest workers ever. Although this match in itself didn't have the typical work and psychology, it did further the storylines leading to their most important encounter and AJ's biggest show on 5/1. This match may have been below par for these two, but Misawa and Kawada's 'below par' is most workers 'match of a lifetime," wrote Hadi.
Kawada's strategy in this match was excellent. The powerbomb is the only move he's beaten Misawa with, but he knew Misawa would try to avoid that at all costs, so instead he tried to give Misawa a taste of his own medicine. Kawada always loses to Misawa because he gets knocked out, so Kawada tried to knock Misawa out. He focused his attack on Misawa's head, but at the same time all his big potential knockout moves like the jumping high kick and Dangerous backdrop were also furthering the requisite bad neck storyline. This strategy was really the difference between this match and the two big Akiyama matches of similar quality from this time period, the Champion Carnival final against Misawa and his July challenge against Kobashi. Kawada has the arsenal to back up a head/neck attack, while Jun has no finishers to go to. Thus, as excellent as Jun's all out knee attack was, all the very cool and effective spots to the knee were just somewhat pointless wear down moves that he used before he tried to finish Misawa and Kobashi off by dropping them on their heads with his trusty exploder.
This match basically followed the predictable formula. They began with parity spots. Kawada hit the first big move, not surprisingly showing he wasn't going to pity his injured rival, viciously dropping Misawa on his bad neck with a suichoku rakka shiki no brainbuster. Unlike 6/6/97, he didn't follow with a sankakujime (triangle choke), instead opting to kick Misawa some more.
They jumped to the 17-minute-mark where Misawa was getting pummeled, so you
figure he'd been getting the worse of it for a while. He made his comeback turning
Kawada's deadly powerbomb into his corbata, and began working
Kawada's knee over. This was a strategy from Misawa we hadn't seen in a
while, but it was one of the things, along with the great build, that made this
match reminiscent of their far superior 6/3/94 match. Unfortunately, for no
apparent reason, Misawa left this strategy in the midst. 
Later on Kawada tried his Dangerous backdrop, but Misawa blocked it with elbows. However, Kawada laid Misawa out with his devastating jumping high kick. They put over the toll of the match really well here, which should come as no surprise since this is the two best sellers in the world that we are talking about. Anyway, on a few occasions including after the aforementioned jumping high kick, Kawada lost good opportunities to pin Misawa because he was so spent that by the time he made it over to Misawa, Misawa was just able to kick out.
As always, this was a war and it was stiff as hell. One spot that I can't recall seeing Kawada use on Misawa before was high kicking him over the top rope to the floor. Back in the ring, Misawa & Kawada exchanged blows, but Kawada won by going to the neck with chops and a kakato otoshi (heel kick). He did his deadly diving kneedrop right to Misawa's neck. Even though it wasn't enough to win Kawada the match, all of this was perfect strategy. Misawa caught Kawada in a German suplex hold, which was the finish of their 6/6/97 all- time classic, but Kawada kicked out at 1. Even though they were tired, these men always prove they don't know the definition of giving up. In the last minute, Misawa failed to knock Kawada out with his elbows. Kawada hit an explosive jumping high kick at the bell, leaving us with the impression that perhaps he was moments away from the win.
It's too bad that they wasted time that could have been devoted to this great match by airing a match that had Masao Inoue and everyone's favorite wannabe shooter Yoshihiro Takayama. As is always the case with a Misawa vs. Kawada match, it gets better with the repeated viewing. 30:00 (15:54 aired). ****1/4