5 Wrestling Matches That Will (Briefly) Help You Forget That Donald Trump Is President
4. (AJPW New Year Giant Series '97)
Rivalries play a major role in pro wrestling's lore, but only a few ever span more than two decades.
From 1990 to 2009, Japanese heavyweights Kenta Kobashi and Mitsuharu Misawa crossed paths across two Japan-based promotions. The majority of their more than 200 meetings took place in All Japan Pro Wrestling, including a classic match on January 20, 1997 in Osaka.
On Day 14 of AJPW's New Year Giant Series '97, Kobashi defended his Triple Crown Championship – which he held for 180 consecutive days – against Misawa at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium.
The match was as physical as one could expect. Kobashi connected with numerous chest-splitting chops and tried to break the right arm of Misawa, who entered the match with a favorable record in singles matches against Kobashi. Misawa supplied some hard strikes of his own, leveling Kobashi with devastating elbows to the head.
In 42 minutes and 6 seconds, Misawa added another victory in their storied feud, landing a Tiger Suplex on Kobashi and finishing with a Misawa Elbow Strike to pick up the win and the Triple Crown title.
So don't dwell on the Trump's inauguration. Relax your mind and enjoy some classic Puroresu that took place 20 years earlier to the day.