10 Best Wrestling Rivalries That Kept It All In The Ring
1. Mitsuharu Misawa Vs. Toshiaki Kawada
Few professional wrestling, rivalries regardless of style or location, have ever churned out as many high quality matches as Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada. For many, it represents the sport’s absolute peak as a storytelling medium, with Misawa, AJPW’s ace, fending off constant pressure from Kawada, a ruthless killer with an offensive arsenal custom built to cripple the opposition.
Starting their careers in opposing stables, Kawada and Misawa eventually formed a team, with Mitsuharu’s first AJPW Triple Crown victory coming while he and ‘Dangerous K’ were World Tag Team Champions. Animosity didn’t bloom until Misawa bested his former partner in a brutal, spiteful clash in July 1993, and in June 1994, when Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega were just 6 and 10 years old respectively, they produced the sport’s first six star match.
Much like Kenta Kobashi, Kawada often found it hard going against Misawa, and it took him until May 1998 before he’d finally best him for the Triple Crown. It was one of the final singles matches between the two, and while Misawa eventually won the feud by defeating Kawada in 2005, they left an impeccable body of work behind, with their 1994 clash standing as one of the most critically acclaimed bouts of all time.