12 Wrestling Rivalries That Were Too Real To Be Fake

All Japan Pro Wrestling's 1990s run is often considered, in terms of in-ring work, the greatest era for any pro wrestling company ever. Two of the men most responsible for the string of five-star matches the promotion put out were perennial champion Mitsuharu Misawa and his chief rival, Toshiaki Kawada - part of the so-called "Four Pillars of Heaven".

For all their great work together, though, there was a definite tension between the two legends.

Misawa and Kawada were actually high school friends with dreams of getting into pro wrestling, but when they made it, Misawa found success first.

He was given the ultra-successful gimmick of Tiger Mask when All Japan purchased the rights to the character, while Kawada wrestled in Canada and detested the experience. When Kawada returned to Japan they teamed up, but Misawa was still the clear breakout star and Kawada resented it.

When they broke out as singles, Kawada became Misawa's top rival. The two had many singles matches throughout the '90s - some of which are considered among the best bouts in the sport's history - with Misawa usually coming out on top.

In 1999, Misawa took over as booker for All Japan and in 2000, conflicts with owner Motoko Baba led to Misawa - and almost every other Japanese wrestler on the roster - leaving to form Pro Wrestling NOAH. Kawada stayed behind.

Misawa tragically died after an in-ring accident in 2009. Kawada wrestled on NOAH's memorial show for the legend.