10 Best Wrestling Tag Team Matches Ever

7. Jun Akiyama & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Holy Demon Army (AJPW Real World Tag League - 6 Dec 1996)

Though Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, Akira Taue, and Toshiaki Kawada comprised All Japan's legendary Four Pillars of Heaven, Jun Akiyama was the honourary fifth. Blooded in under Giant Baba's tutelage, he was to take their mantle once their bodies could no longer withstand the hell travelling the King's road put them through and while things never panned out for Akiyama as a true ace, he forged a long, prosperous career of his own, rife with colossal moments (pinning Misawa to become NOAH's GHC Heavyweight Champion in 2001, for one) and acclaimed bouts.

This was one of Uncle Jun's earliest triumphs. Here, he was an up-and-comer gunning to be treated with the same respect as the men he shared the ring with, much of which meant getting his *ss handed to him. Though his saved Misawa several times, Jun took a pounding. The second half was particularly one-sided, with Taue and Kawada obliterating their never-say-die opponents, and though much of this was about asserting the idea that Akiyama still had a ways to go, he levelled-up here.

It'd be remiss not to mention Taue's aggression here, as the least-celebrated pillar entered one of his career's most self-possessed performances. Him literally stepping on Misawa's face after tagging in is worth the effort alone.