"Misawa was naturally tough and it showed. And his fans loved him for it. They also loved his passion and the emotional ride on which he would take them. That's what pro wrestling is, selling emotion."
- Jim Ross
What you loved:
- All-Time Great - To put it into numbers, he has 24 5-star matches, is an 8-time World Champion, and 3-time Wrestler of the Year (Observer). He was able to master multiple styles from high-flyer, power moves, and near the end when his body was no longer in it's prime, ring psychology. He was the babyface warrior that was able to sell peril, and make it seem like he was fighting for his life every single match.
- Innovator - Aside from having an incredible array of moves, he innovated the Tiger Driver and Emerald Fusion.
- Stiff Style - All his matches were so believable, punishment was both dished out and received.
- Kobashi Matches - These two had an insane amount of legendary matches. Just head to YouTube and I'll see you in a week.
- Longevity - For 28 years he put his body on the line to entertain the fans.
Best comment comes via alexdgreenfield:
"I only discovered Misawa after his death, and this bums me out the most. Very much a "watch what’s on TV" kind of fan until I got to WWE, I never tape traded when I was younger. Indeed, I don’t think I knew what All Japan/NOAH even were until Court Bauer turned me onto them. For most of my life I would have told you that Ric Flair, Bret Hart, and Shawn Michaels were the best wrestlers I’d ever seen in the ring. Oh how very wrong I was."
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What you loathed:
- R.I.P. - Pushing his body to it's limits, at 46 Misawa literally died doing what he loved. It's unfortunate he is no long around to train the next generation, but the way he passed on was almost poetic.
- U.S. Exposure - Unless tape trading was a hobby of yours, it was tough seeing him during the 90's. Some of you voiced how you regretted just recently learning about Misawa. Luckily we have YouTube now, and access to his work is easier than ever.
- AJPW Departure: Via Wiki: "Following the death of AJPW head booker Giant Baba, Misawa inherited the position of AJPW president. After disagreements with widow Motoko Baba, and his removal by a board of executives in 2000, Misawa left All Japan Pro Wrestling in May 2000; followed by all but two natives (Toshiaki Kawada and Masanobu Fuchi) and two non-natives (Stan Hansen and Maunakea Mossman) to form Pro Wrestling Noah."
Best comment comes via Jimmy_MacUK:
"I don’t ‘loathe’ anything. It’s a shame more people outside Japan aren’t familiar with his work, but that’s no reason to mark the guy down. In the Japanese equivalent of cSs, they probably say the same about people like Shawn Michaels. His departure from AJPW was a bit messy. The manner in which he died is also very sad, but at least it wasn’t the result of years of steroid or painkiller abuse, or brain damage. An example of somebody who literally left it all in the ring. RIP Misawa-san."
On to the poll! With 114 votes, Mistsuharu Misawa's average score is 4.4.
Thanks, Cagesiders! Tomorrow's pick, as champion, was always on the clock.
Until then!