20 AJPW Matches you must see before you die

16. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace – March 4, 1995

Watching this match, it’s astonishing to see that Johnny Ace was actually very good in the ring. He held his own with both Kobashi and Misawa, arguably two of the greatest in-ring workers in wrestling history.

Then there’s ‘Dr. Death’ Steve Williams, who was a phenomenal worker in his own right but also a heat magnet, taunting his opponents and hitting so hard that you couldn’t help but cheer his opponents.

Even without understanding any Japanese, you could tell that Williams was desperate to fight Misawa, and went to great lengths to show he could work a main-event and keep the audience engaged.

The match flowed so well that you could barely tell it’s more than 30 minutes long. There weren’t that that many wacky technical exchanges or super-dangerous head-spikes. Instead, this match felt like a classic tag team match with several momentum shifts and dramatic near-fall sequences.

And that’s what makes it so great. It’s a perfect example of AJPW having arguably the best tag team matches in all of wrestling history.