a successful defense of the All Asia Tag Team Championship against Davey Boy Smith and Johnny Smith, Misawa and Kobashi vacated the titles, foreshadowing Misawa's main-event push. Feud with Jumbo Tsuruta and first Triple Crown victory (1990–1993) The tour built up to the Misawa-Tsuruta match through a series of six-man tags in which Misawa and fellow young stars, later to be known under the faction name of the Super Generation Army (, Chosedaigun), wrestled Tsuruta's stable. During the third of these matches, at Korakuen Hall on May 26, Tsuruta bullied Misawa's partners, Kobashi and Akira Taue, by knocking them off the apron unprovoked. However, when he tapped the active Misawa's shoulder minutes later, Misawa retaliated with an elbow strike that downed Tsuruta for several minutes. On June 8, Misawa would face Tsuruta for the main event at Budokan. Baba was convinced in consultation with wrestling journalist Tarzan Yamamoto that Misawa had to defeat Tsuruta by pinfall. According to a now-famous backstage story which has been recounted several times by Meltzer, Baba's decision to put Misawa over came during the event itself as, in the culmination of a trend that had been observed at house shows leading to this, Baba arrived at the venue to fans chanting "Misawa" outside, and noticed a significant boost in Misawa merchandise sales. Misawa defeated Tsuruta in a 24-minute match. This show had drawn about 500 people shy of a sellout, which was a rare attendance figure for All Japan. However, the momentum of Misawa's push led All Japan to sell out every event they held in Tokyo after this until early 1996. This victory also marked the beginning of a feud between the Super Generation Army, with Misawa, Kawada, Kobashi, and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, and the Tsuruta-gun stable, a mix of veterans and younger talent. Akira Taue was initially among Misawa's allies, but he soon defected to Tsuruta-gun. On July 27, Misawa made his first challenge for the vacant Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship in July, losing to Stan Hansen. Misawa lost to Tsuruta in a rematch on September 1, which determined the number one contender for the Triple Crown. Misawa teamed with Kawada to place third in the WSTDL, beating Tsuruta and Taue on the final day. In a match against Taue on January 26, 1991, Misawa won by debuting the Tiger Driver '91, a variation of his Tiger Driver (sitout double underhook powerbomb) wherein he