Really wish Kojima and Dr. Death had more matches, that's a saga I'd love to have seen more of. Everyone knows Doc is my #1 favorite, and Kojima always reminded me of a real-life Naruto, especially when he started wearing his orange-white jacket and mask, haha. 😄 Doc worked all the Japanese greats in singles, so why not Kojima in a Budokan main event?
It seemed like AJPW was heading into that Kojima vs. Doc direction from November 2002 to January 2003 (they had several tag-team matches against each other), but then AJPW got sold, with Dr. Death leaving when Mrs. Baba left in the middle of that January. 🙁 There goes a dream match. I remember in a radio interview too Doc saying he liked working with Kojima at this time.
In the early 2000s, Dr. Death got in much better shape than his WWF days, doing a lot of cardio and shredding off the fat he got from sitting home from his WWF injury (you can't do cardio with a torn hamstring). His work in the early 2000s AJPW was very good, but I think he should've dyed his hair black more often with a haircut to look younger. If he stayed in the WWF, I think Vince McMahon would tell him that, lol. 😋 IICR, I may be wrong but that happened with Marc Mero too with Vince, who was just 2 months younger than Dr. Death.
I remember well on an old AJPW tape, Dr. Death in a babyface promo mentioned Kojima as a name he wanted to go fight in singles, after taking care of the other Japanese guys, primarily the recent AJPW and Zero-1 debuts. The point was that as an AJPW loyalist, Doc wanted to get even with Keiji Muto's people (they were in a strong grudge feud with crazy ass "Attitude Era style" promos) and also get revenge on the NJPW guys for invading AJPW. A Japanese fan also told me how in the Muto feud, Muto with his NJPW money in storyline paid off 1 of the commentators to say bad things about Dr. Death, as well as pay the referee to "screwjob" the finish on the "Summer Action Series 2001" PPV main event (Japan's SummerSlam) against Doc and in favor of Muto for the AJPW Triple Crown:
This Doc & Hines vs. Kojima & Tenzan match (April 2001) was one of the earliest signs of the "Pro Wrestling Love" era, the Doc vs. Muto crash TV swearing tirade the true turning point (July 2001), and Muto's full debut in January 2002 in AJPW the "official" starting point.
The "Pro Wrestling Love" spanned over 12 years from 2001 to 2013, perhaps the longest era of any wrestling company. I'd break it down in these 3 phases, going by pure memory so I might forget something or someone. 🙃
1️⃣ 2001 - mid 2003, the golden years of the "Pro Wrestling Love" era. Think of it like Japan's equivalent of the early Ruthless Aggression era, but with better writing, names you recognized, old-school Russoism, and especially traditional WWF MSG-style wrestling & big stadium/traveling TV show feel. What I wish the WWE had at this point. Older guys were used very well (Doc, Muto, Bart Gunn, Earthquake, etc.), younger stars like Kojima and Taiyo Kea were built, and a great midcard (Arashi, Jerry Tuite, Mike Awesome, Hi-69, the comedy guys, etc.) but the company was already in trouble behind the scenes no matter how good the show did.
2️⃣ late 2003 - 2006, Japan's "WWF 1996" but with Ruthless Aggression era paint. Lot of very weird gimmicks, but overall treating the main event seriously. You tuned in to see Umaga and the RO&D guys, Kawada, Kojima, Muto, etc. but turned the channel for the weird 1996-ish stuff. Like the Super Love Machines (like a weird blend of Jim Neidhart "Who?" and Sal Sincere), that dude mumbling in a cage, the imposter Hulk Hogan & Stan Hansen, etc. New midcard gaijins taken directly from Sunday Night Heat releases with no proper build unfortunately, and new native wrestlers taken directly from the indies with no real build either. Ratings went down a lot & NJPW was close to buying AJPW, like WCW was to WWF in 1996. Decent PPV attendance & buyrate, but low ticket sales & diminishing TV ratings everywhere else.
3️⃣ 2007-2013, lost years like the WWE PG era, but taking place in ROH-sized venues. Kawada aged & became past his prime, with Joe Doering (greatly underrated) and Keiji Muto being the top stars. This was also in AJPW when you saw Tanahashi and Kenny Omega slowly but surely becoming big. The era ended in July 2013, when they got rid of the "Pro Wrestling Love" name & Keiji Muto leaving.
So you can say Dr. Death and Kenny Omega are in the same era, that's a joke I tell any new watcher of old Japanese wrestling. 😂