#202: Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Takashi Sugiura, NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 3 (1/4/2009).
This is an Interpromotional Tag Team Showdown between New Japan and Pro Wrestling NOAH. This is also the one and only Wrestle Kingdom appearance for the legendary Emerald Emperor Mitsuharu Misawa. This match also took place just months before Misawa’s tragic passing in June of 2009.
Goto and Sugiura start things out, and they trade forearms right away. Have these two had a singles match before? If not, make it happen! Hard strikes from both men. Huge belly to belly by Sugiura, and Goto clotheslines him to the floor. He knocks Misawa off the apron, and then hits a senton to the floor. Goto with a Senton? Never seen that before. Goto brings Sugiura back into the ring, and slams him into the turnbuckle, where he tags in Nakamura.
Misawa tags in, and we get the Emerald Warrior against the future King of Strong Style. Big chant for Misawa, as they lock hands. Nakamura takes the front face lock, and Misawa forces him into the ropes. Misawa with a trip, and he begins to twist at the educated foot of Nakamura. Nakamura gets on the offensive, and both men return to their feet. Misawa with the side headlock, and now both men shoulder each other. Misawa with some nice forearms, and Nakamura responds with a single leg dropkick.
He kicks at Misawa, and hits some elbows to the head. Misawa with his trademark elbows, and we get a hard exchange in the middle! Misawa wins on that exchange, and he applies a chin lock next. Nakamura gets to the ropes, and Misawa tags in Sugiura. He and Nakamura throw elbows, before Takashi kicks him in the midsection. I’m just going to type Takashi, because it’s easier on my fingers. Takashi with a snap mare into a chin lock next.
Goto breaks that up, and he and Takahsi get into a slap exchange, and Goto loses out. Takashi drives his boot into the gut of Nakamura, as Misawa tags back in. Another elbow exchange, with Nakamura throwing in some boots for extra measure. He hits a spinning axe kick to Misawa, and tags in Goto, who explodes with elbows in the corner. He and Takashi get into it as well, with Goto hitting clotheslines to both men in the corner.
Top rope elbow to Misawa gets a nearfall. Goto with a back suplex, which considering this time period, is eerie to see. German Suplex as well into a bridge, and Goto gets a nearfall off of that. Goto with a lot of elbows, and Misawa only hits two to drop him. Takashi tags in, and knocks Nakamura off the apron. Inverted Suplex to the ropes to Goto, and Takashi boots Nakamura off the apron again. He suplexes Goto, and Goto kicks out.
Release belly to belly suplex, and Goto kicks out again. He hits a nice gut wrench suplex. Goto misses a clothesline twice off the ropes, but he’s able to hit it the third time. Nakamura tags in, and dropkicks Misawa off the apron. He suplexes Takashi, and forearms him to the corner. Big boot out of the corner, and Takashi just lifts him and tosses him into the turnbuckle. Misawa and Takashi hit back elbows into Nakamura, and Misawa connects with a frog splash.
Takashi with the Ankle Lock next. Misawa holds off Goto on the outside. Takashi grapevines the leg now! Misawa and Goto exchange elbows on the floor. Nakamura desperately makes it to the ropes to break the hold. Takashi with a German Suplex, into a Tiger Suplex for a nearfall. Goto with the Shouten Kai to Takashi, and here’s Misawa with the Emerald Flowsion to Goto! Nakamura grabs Misawa and hits the sit out Death Valley Driver. All four men are down. Nakamura and Takashi throw elbows in the ring. Now they slap each other, and Nakamura hits a closed fist punch to the jaw! Takashi with a huge knee to the face! Olympic Slam by Takashi, and Nakamura just barely kicks out. Misawa knees Goto in the chest on the floor. Takashi goes for another Olympic Slam, and transitions to a German Suplex. He blocks a Nakamura kick, and goes for a clothesline, but Nakamura counters it into a rolling armbar! Takashi can’t hold out, and he taps out, giving New Japan the win.
Fun little match. Japan does tag team matches with nothing at stake almost better than anyone in the world. The action here was good, and the fans were into it. The selling point for me was Mitsuharu Misawa, and despite his age and limitations at this point, he still performed well. Seeing him mix it up with Shinsuke Nakamura and Hirooki Goto was awesome, and I do wish he could’ve shared the ring with them when they were even better years later.
Takashi Sugiura was a badass here as well, as he wasn’t afraid to trade strikes with two men in New Japan known for being strikers. I did some research just now, and he has had many singles matches with Hirooki Goto since this, and he had a G1 match with Shinsuke Nakamura later in 2009. Gonna have to check those out for sure! All in all, not a bad exhibition match. Everyone got to shine, the strike exchanges were nice, and it came off as an enjoyable showcase for the fans.