Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

Search the Community

Showing results for tags 'Masato Tanaka'.

  • Search By Tags

    Type tags separated by commas.
  • Search By Author

Content Type


Forums

  • Pro Wrestling
    • Pro Wrestling
    • Puroresu History
    • The Microscope
    • Publications and Podcasts
    • Greatest Wrestler Ever
    • Armchair Booking
    • Newsletter recaps
    • Village Green Preservation Society
    • Pro Wrestling Mostly
  • PWO Database Plus
    • The Matches
    • Shows & Full Releases
    • Wrestlers & Other Personalities
    • The Rivalries
    • The Companies
    • The Towns
    • The Championships
    • Interviews & Promos
    • The Merchandise
    • The Media
    • The Exploratory
    • The Years
    • The Days
  • DVDVR Project Backup Forum
    • 1980s Lucha
    • 1980s Puerto Rico
    • 1980s Portland
  • New Millenium Blues
    • NMB Wrestling Archive
  • Administrative
    • Site Feedback
    • Forums Feedback
    • PWOFSD
  • Wrestling Playlists
    • The Playlists
    • Playlists Talk

Blogs

  • World's Worst Blog
  • Bix's Blog
  • Straight Shootin'
  • wildpegasus' Blog
  • smkelly's Blog
  • Floyd's Blog O' Wrasslin'
  • Great Lucha
  • Tim's Blog of reviews
  • goc's Blog without a flashy name
  • The Ghost of Whipper Billy Watson
  • Thoughts and Opinions on Pro Wrestling
  • MJH's Blog
  • Pizza & Piledrivers
  • Born Again Wrestling Fan
  • MikeCampbell's Blog
  • Definitive 2000-2009
  • Badlittlekitten's blathering
  • Mr Wrestling X on WWE
  • [drokk] Ditch's Best of Japan 2000-2009
  • The Footsteps of Giants
  • Numbers
  • kevinmcfl's Blog
  • The Thread Killer's Blog
  • WWE 2K Games Wishlist Blog
  • G. Badger's Puro + More
  • Pro Wrestling Blogly
  • Wrestling Obsession
  • Ten Years On: WWE 2009
  • Alex's Wrasslin Blog
  • Wrestling I Like (or Dislike)
  • Deep Dive Hull

Find results in...

Find results that contain...


Date Created

  • Start

    End


Last Updated

  • Start

    End


Filter by number of...

Joined

  • Start

    End


Group


Website URL


Skype


Twitter


Instagram


Location

  1. Hi, not taking a break from 2013 AJPW but wanted to share something in the meantime. This is a review of ZERO1 07/31/08 & 08/03/08 from Samurai TV. Its the last 2 days of their Fire Festival which is their Champion Carnival or G1Climax. A side project that I'm working on is checking out Zero One, Zero1, Zero- One Max and every iteration of that company. Its not going to be a deep dive since there's no ready made compilation that I'm aware of. In fact there's not a ton out there in general...at least hype or talk save a few early matches or cross over matches. The dvds are out there but you're trusting your instincts on which shows to check out. I decided to go with a selection of mainly Fire Fests since it features the most well-known stars of the company as well as others from outside organizations. From there its a scavenger hunt on different comps and what's available online. Its nice though because it reminds me of my early days of hunting for puro and being happy with what I could find. Let's get going! Shinjiro Otani v Masaaki Mochizuki 7/31/08 - Dynamic all action match with some really fantastic sequences and exchanges. This was a blast to watch. Its been awhile since I've seen some Otani. Slight clipping but very good stuff. Manabu Nakanishi v Takao Omori 7/31/08 - Yeah here we go, two dudes just clubbing the heck outta each other. Manabu throws Omori through a door from the Torture Rack position. Lots a lariats - very good stuff. Slight clipping Kohei Sato v Togi Makabe 7/31/08 - Quick violent stuff and a fantastic finish. Manage is very underrated but he does take some getting used to. My 2010 NJ project CA couple years ago made me a believer. Masato Tanaka v Ryoji Sai 7/31/08 - This was a great match IF you gloss over the excellent leg work Tanaka did. I was on my way to saying Sai put on a Kawada worthy sell job but then he proceeded to blow it off at every chance he got including after a missed double stomp. So I can't say this was anything other than a good match that could have been great. When a guy just sells his ass off and then acts like nothing's wrong that's silly and I don't want silly wrestling. But maybe fast forward those bits and you'll really enjoy the hard hitting action. I don't know maybe I'll rewatch with lowered standards? Masato Tanaka v Takao Omori v Manabu Nakanishi 8/3/08 *3 Way Match* - A really fast paced and effectively built 3 man match to determine who was going to the finals. Nice sequences and spots...yeah I thought this was great stuff for 7+ minutes. -Spoiler alert for the Tournament Finals Matchup - Masato Tanaka v Togi Makabe 8/3/08 *Fire Festival Tournament Finals Match* - Makabe is the violent cheating outsider and Tanaka is the home promotion hero. Can he withstand the punishment the bigger and younger NJ villain can dish out? What about his trusty chain and flunky Honma? If anyone can Dangan can! Seriously, this was some classic shit if you're an ECW/FMW fan from way back like me. Brawling, blood, hard hits, table spots, fake outs, fighting spirit... But this wasn't just a bunch of those things thrown in a blender. No, it was built very well in an old school type of way and that made everything that much better and more meaningful. I loved this battle. ----- This was a very good start. The finals were totally my cup of tea despite not being a traditional macho he-man slugfest like the Strong BJW guys do or a fireworks show. It was a more Southern brawl (with heel cheating) than a late 00's puro match. It had a couple hardcore spots but in the ways of later ECW/FMW plus it was intense and hard hitting as you wanted for 2008. Glad I took a chance on this one! Thanks for reading! I hope that you will enjoy this side project and we'll both find out more about Zero-One.
  2. This post came about by accident but it's been a fun one. KAI is one of my favorite new guys from watching 2010's AJPW. So here we're going to take a look at some of his bigger matches while in W-1. His arc here probably reflects his booking had Muto & his loyal pals not left and formed Wrestle-1. Anyhow all but the last match are readily available on the 'tube. Let's take a look vs Seiya Sanada (09/08/13): I think this might be clipped a few minutes based on the time they give at the end...hmm couldn't see a clip in the match anywhere. Regardless a very good match between the junior heavyweight styled heavyweights. My preference is with KAI who is much more like Misawa in that he backs up his fancier moves with very hard strikes. Sanada & he are similar in that they rely upon their big moves and aren't very adroit at filling the time in between. Kuroda from FMW is like this. They are fantastic complimentary players... excellent tag teamers and if they have a good opponent they can have a quality singles match. Sometimes give the right circumstance, a great or even classic one. As it stands, this is a pretty good 'round 10 minute match (or what's shown) with 2 guys doing their thing. Nothing wrong there vs Masakatsu Funaki (02/15/14): First 3-4 minutes Funaki blisters KAI with stiff as a starched shirt kicks to the legs and chest. Then absolutely blasts his arm and goes for the submission. KAI finds and opening, knocks the Pancrase legend to the floor and annihilates him with a fast as fuck tope! From there it is on like Donkey Kong. They just pound away at each other with hard slaps, elbows and kicks. They mix in the throws as well which all look fantastic. It's an under 10 minute match which plays to Funaki's style. KAI does a great job matching the stiffness and the intensity that the legend brings while still representing pro wrestling style. It reminds me a bit of late 80's NJPW UWF vs NJ...which Funaki was a part of :-) Anyhow Great match! If this were a TV match, you & your friends be super stoked to talk about it the next day at lunch! vs Manabu Soya (05/04/14): Hell yes, more Soya! This is pretty intense stuff. KAI who is clearly coming into his own is able to get the advantage on the muscular caveman. Eventually that caveman has got to eat and locks KAI into a vicious Boston crab...like Boston crab that is folding up KAI. Holy cow! Then things really get good as the two guys start laying into each other. That's Soya's strength as he's kinda W-1's version of Daisuke Sekimoto. KAI as I've mentioned is down to throw some strikes. It's what locks this in as a great 15 minute match. I mean those lariats...man, it's been awhile since I've seen some Kensuke style lariats. But KAI's kicks to the head are no joke either. It is absolutely what I wanted out of a KAI vs Manabu Soya match. vs Yuji Hino (05/22/14): Man! KAI vs another gorilla and you know what? It's another great match! Hino is like Juggernaut or Rhino if you read comics. And that is what makes him a great character wrestler. He's got this full speed ahead unstoppable brute thing going for him. That really makes KAI shine as the babyface because he gets wrecked here. Chest scar opened up, bruised pecs, just looks demolished. He keeps fighting though. Like Soya or maybe even moreso he can't lift this human tank up without a struggle. So his high damage moves are not as easy to pull off. So we get the most unique match so far. That said its mainly macho he-man chops, elbows so if you're not interested then, you might not enjoy it. It's Yuji Hino so you know that going in though right? Under 15 minute match. Masato Tanaka vs KAI (11/01/14): A good kinda by the book 2010's match that really turned up the heat for the last 3-4 minutes. The last 3 minutes are exactly what I wanted for the whole match. The match is only 12ish minutes so it's something that they could have done. Instead we get too many elbow or chop trading segments. This is disappointing considering Tanaka brings much more to the table than Hino for instance. He eventually gets there but I would have much rather see them exchange holds or done a more intense brawling type feeling out opening. If this had a more spirited beginning then settled down into a good middle and finally ramped up the great finish then this would have been a very good match maybe borderline great. The pedestrian start just set a dull tone unfortunately. KAI vs Masato Tanaka (02/13/15): I just happen to have the rematch on DVD so I watched this right afterwards. And Tanaka is a pro, a vet and a great wrestler...he fixed most of what didn't work and made this a very good match. Perhaps a great one at 12 minutes. There's a little bit of a story. They play off the previous match. The strike exchanges have a purpose or a direction and are kept to a minimum. Instead they focus on their spots that worked from the above fight, added a couple new ones and kept the length the same. It's a tuned up version of the November match. Perhaps a little too similar if you've watched them minutes apart like me. But if you've got to watch one, have it be this one! If you're interested then you got to check out a match or two. KAI definitely reminds me of a younger Tanaka in the sense of his big heart, his toughness and his ability to go from 0-60mph in 3 seconds. I know in his matches vs Tanaka were just a few years earlier they would have been **** great bouts. Check that last one might actually be a **** (It was kinda unfair of me to immediately watch the rematch). Anyhow, check out some KAI in W-1! Thanks for reading folks! I appreciate it!
  3. I'm doing a mixed up March type thing so I'll be getting back to JWP 1991 next week. For this week, I wanted to follow up on another little project Muto's AJPW. This covers 2001-2011. As you may know, I did a look at AJPW in 2011 sometime ago and was really impressed. It's not the Baba era but has its charm and quality wrestling. That along with post Muto AJPW made me question my preconceived notions about the 2000's All Japan. Generally speaking, I think most people skip over it entirely except for a couple matches like Hashimoto vs Kawada in 2004. I guess I'm speaking for myself...until now. So I have a very cherry picked list to see if there's something there that I'm missing. Make no mistake, the majority of the under card matches are crappy looking... heck even upper card matches don't look great either. 2001-2004 which I'm glancing at this post is really asking for cherry picking. The company at this point really looked to be relying on the draws of Kawada, Muto and guys he brought with him like Kojima and Kaz Hayashi as well as Tenryu and the big beefy guys he brought with him (who we won't see any of here). Then of course inter promo stuff with Zero One (essentially Muto working with other NJ defectors Hashimoto & Otani). Other than that the rest of roster were journey men wrestlers from the US & Japan, friends of Muto like AKIRA, and guys past their prime like John Tenta, Mike Rotundo and in some ways Dr. Death Steve Williams. Anyhow, I'm trying to use the Gaora YouTube page as much as I can but not everything I am looking for is on there. I'll share the links for Gaora where I can so you can enjoy as well. Let's go! Toshiaki Kawada vs. Keiji Muto (04/14/2001): This was a great match that built off of Kawada attacking Muto's neck and Muto going after K's knees and arm. They didn't do anything earth-shattering but dammit it worked. This was a keep it simple stupid big match. If you're watching this in comparison to AJPW from a year earlier then I can see being let down. But in 2023, this stands on its own two feet. There's a great story, excellent selling, and explosive, meaningful action. Honestly, I really dug the neck out of this match. It was so easy to watch. A very good beginning! Genichiro Tenryu vs. Keiji Mutoh (06/08/2001) Absolutely great match that played to both guys' strengths and weaknesses. Choice highspots, surprises and competitive spirit - it again was simple but effective heavyweight big match wrestling. I think this may have been better than the Kawada match above due to the familiarity between Tenryu & Muto. Keiji Mutoh vs. Toshiaki Kawada (02/24/2002) What makes this match work as it goes on it Muto's legitimate knee problems. So we've got two guys with leg problems (and are getting older). That said, they are more familiar now and go for a more complex match and it works fantastically. They go for it and it is a classic! It's not as brutally stiff at every turn from Kawada but it shows that he's way more than stiff kicks and chops. Muto does his thing kinda like Flair but like Flair if given an excellent opponent, you get an excellent match. That's been the case so far but here they go that extra mile. Both put on an excellent performance. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Satoshi Kojima (07/17/2002) : This is one that's gotten talk in the past. A battle between youth and age. Fire vs experience. I loved it! I'm A fan of both guys so watching them go toe to toe for a half hour or so was a real treat. The fans were loving this as well. Nowadays or in the last decade you'd see stuff like this but it would be about machismo and/or hulking up but here they really sold the toll the fight was having on them. Again, Tenryu had his leg kicked in and can't bounce back from that. Kojima has been in some tough fights but these big time matches against living legends is how he's going to get him name in the record books. He's got to get chopped, punched, kicked, dropped on his head...and still get up and get angry. With all of that baked in along with WAR style that Tenryu brings and demands of his opponents, this is a classic match to me. Taiyo Kea & Satoshi Kojima vs Masato Tanaka & Shinjiro Otani (12/06/02): RWTL final match I believe. It's a really good match but I'm not too strong on the outcome. I think Kea got hurt legitimately during the early portions and it was almost a 2 on one fight. I don't think they were going for this as the story or as some homage to the 1988 RWTL final. Because the outcome didn't really make 100% sense however I do think the closing portion was extremely badass. I mean Kojima vs Tanaka is worth your time and its only about 20 minutes long as Gaora shows a bunch of pre and post match fluff. Toshiaki Kawada & Masanobu Fuchi vs Keiji Muto & Satoshi Kojima (04/12/03): Kawada's return match after the 02/2002 match above. His knee got injured again then. So you know that's fair game in this matchup. The fans even boo Muto when he goes after it. But this is not the story of the match as they don't really belabor that point. This is a nice change of pace. The knee is bugging him but not taking him out completely so you're rooting for him to stay in the fight. You're really rooting for Masa Fuchi too..don't ever count out Fuchi Dammit! Lots of great action with excellent timing and selling. This was a great match... near classic stuff to be honest. Slight joined in progress and perhaps one small clip in the Gaora footage below. Shinya Hashimoto VS Satoshi Kojima (06/13/2003): What an absolutely stiff match Hashimoto fought. You could hear his kesagiri chops! He even chopped Kojima's arm so hard you could hear it! Koji was no slouch either but man alive Hash was just laying it in. And it was a simple match that didn't have a big story within the match but was elevated by Shinya's intensity and Koji knowing he had to match it or get destroyed. It is weird seeing basically two NJ wrestlers fighting for the AJPW Triple Crown. But these two really embody the physicality of AJPW. A great match! One I don't recall hearing about. Toshiaki Kawada vs. Takao Omori (07/18/04): A really neat story match as Kawada hurts his own knee on a knee drop. What's interesting beyond that is Omori doesn't make this a Muto match and go ape shit after the leg. He instead sees it as an opportunity to beat Kawada on his own terms. Omori knows (in a way) that Kawada's kicks are hurting him with each one he throws. If Takao can punish the leg and even force Kawada to use the kicks, it will give him time find an opportunity unload his Ax Bomber lariat and Ax Guillotine Driver. This was Kawada wanting to tell a story, Omori was eager to tell that as well. Kawada sold the story just about all of the way to the end even collapsing on a kenka kick doing a back & forth segment. In some ways you couldn't tell this was 2004 or that Omori was with Zero One. It was a real turn back the clock AJ fight that built wonderfully into a nearly classic match. I've heard its better than the more talked about Misawa vs Kojima match from the same show. This has been pretty awesome so far. I do understand why people may have been disappointed at the time. It is more like NJPW of the 90's than AJPW. But that makes sense doesn't it? I would maybe say it's a bit of a hybrid. Like every promotion in the early 2000's, it was a transitional period of time. That is apparent here but the known quantities, your stars can still be depended on. Kawada, Muto, Kojima, Tenryu still bring the goods. And I'm no Muto devotee. Probably should have opened up with that but if there's any skepticism in my reviews, I wanted to say that Next time, I'll be looking at 2005-2010.
  4. Here we go with the final entry in my FMW 1999 project. Let's see what we've got! Darkside Hayabusa & Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Hisakatsu Oya vs Koji Nakagawa & Yukihiro Kanemura & Hido (08/20/99): jip. This looked to be like a graveyard match or something as there were big banners up, a coffin and wooden grave markers (which were used as weapons). This was fun! Hayabusa is sporting a different mask here which shows some of his face plus his hair is bleached orange. Both were ways to get fans accustomed to his new look down the road (I don't like the H look). Mr. Gannosuke vs. Masato Tanaka (08/20/99): Awesome gimmick match with Fuyuki as the guest referee. So basically a heel referee match which makes Tanaka chances slim to none. If you know Dangan then you know that's not going to stop him from trying. Gannosuke has got to use his technical skills along with his rough housing (what a skill set!) to chip away at Tanaka. Then Fuyuki can bend the rules a little to get him closer to victory. I thought I would not like this as this era of FMW with the more American entertainment style isn't my taste. This doesn't go over the line though and kinda reminds me of TNA in a good way. There's a gimmick of a heel ref but it doesn't kill the excitement of the actual wrestling. It's a great match...maybe a near classic. And if I was watching this in real time, I could see going higher. But in 2023, "great match...maybe a near classic" sounds about right. Hayabusa vs Yukihiro Kanemura (08/23/99): Saw this in highlights but looked pretty sweet! Kanemura dove off the wall and over the stairs in Korakuen onto Hayabusa & drove him through a table. Not to be out done, Hayabusa did a springboard leg drop to Kanemura who was laying across a table on the floor at ring side. Hayabusa vs Mr. Gannosuke (08/25/99): Very good match but I wish it would have built up more logically. They went from mat work into big moves with little build.. but it works in this setting as they add surprises and variation along the way. There's a lot AFTER the match so I think that's why this wasn't as developed as it should have been. Remember though this is very much the Fuyuki Entertainment style FMW at the time. They're a bit closer to ECW than AJPW now. That's a bunch of criticism from me yet I did like the match. I saw this probably 15 years ago and read my review from then and I gave it the same rating. It's a very good match but having seen WAY more FMW, I know they're capable of much more. Btw this is Hayabusa's last match as Hayabusa (for a time). He becomes the unmasked H and Gannosuke becomes "Hayabusa" with a mask for awhile but sheds it, leaves Team No Respect... I'm getting ahead of myself. ----- The Gladiator (Mike Awesome) vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 09/04/99): Finally got to see this and it was really good stuff. I think these two had really good chemistry and unfortunately could have done a nice little program or feud. I think they left a lot on the table. I saw their match in NOAH and I think that they went bigger despite being older and more busted up. But this match was all Awesome/Gladiator and Kobashi was very gracious to let Mike drop so many bombs. If you're a a fan of both wrestlers, you need to see this. Heck if you just want a point of reference for how big Awesome was this is worth a gander. Dude is bigger than Kobashi. I really wish he would have stayed in Japan. Mike Awesome vs Taz vs Masato Tanaka (ECW Anarchy Rules '99): 3 way dance for the ECW title. Taz is taken care of rather quickly but he does get in some high impact offense at the start. He doesn't stand a chance with both Awesome and Tanaka attacking him though. Then the rest of the fight is Tanaka and Awesome reintroducing themselves to the ECW fans. They do their standard stuff but have a couple new moves they've picked up, most notably Dangan's Diamond Dust. It pretty good stuff overall. I think all together with Taz being on his way out, having in impromptu 3 way dance with Paul Heyman intervening & dropping F bombs, big time moves like Taz's suplexes, Awesome's power bomb variations and dives, and Tanaka's toughness & innovative offense, this was very sweet at the time. None of this stuff was being done by the big two in 1999. Always loved the ECW PPV canvases ----- Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka (ECW November to Remember '99): At the end Joey Styles says "this might have been the greatest ECW World Heavyweight title match we've ever seen. " Announcers are prone to hyperbole and hyping, Joey Styles especially, but he makes a good point. This was a great match. Yes, it was a collection of brutal spots but it no one was even coming close to these anywhere else. Sure earlier ECW had matches with crazier spots but the matches themselves stunk like crap in many (not all) cases. Few if any were able to put on a match like these two. I think this may be the definitive Awesome vs Tanaka ECW match. I don't know if it's their greatest but it hits everything you want in their encounters and it provides twists/surprises/teases. They were doing what people loved about the Jerry Lynn/RVD or Tajiri/Super Crazy feuds but at an extreme level, no pun intended. This felt like a heavyweight title match in ECW should. I'm very lucky that I got to see this live on PPV (and taped it) as it lived up to the hype which could not be said for many PPV big matches. In fact his PPV was probably the best later ECW PPVs with a Tajiri/Super Crazy/Jerry Lynn 3 way dance, Sabu vs Chris Candido, RVD vs Taz in his final ECW match, and Impact Players + Rhino vs Dreamer, Sandman & Raven as the main event. Kodo Fuyuki vs. Masato Tanaka (11/23/99): Great match, great throw back to the Onita days with this electric cage match too. They do the cage spots but don't make the whole thing about them. In fact the actual wrestling is quite good with Fuyuki showing us his AJPW/SWS/WAR self is still in there. He and Tanaka really lay in their shots. So we get the best kind of death match, one that focuses on the wrestling and uses the gimmick to enhance what they are doing. I'm not a big fan of Fuyuki in FMW but as a fan of Fuyuki's prior I'd recommend this. Tanaka is fantastic and is having an amazing 1999. H & Mr. Gannosuke vs. Masato Tanaka & Tetsuhiro Kuroda (12/12/99): This is another one I saw from 15 years ago. Based on my old review, I wasn't sure if I wanted to watch it again. I'm glad that I did as my opinion has improved. I thought this was a great match. I appreciate the early work Kuroda and Tanaka did on Gannosuke's leg. It neutralized him and forced H (Hayabusa) to make the save. I think if they would have gone with a 2 on 1 story, this would have been a classic. As it was we got a traditional tag match with some great action with very believable near falls. We get a pretty awesome finish too. Not a fan of the H outfit (Hayabusa has platinum blonde hair, leggings and daisy duke shorts) but Ezaki kicks butt whatever the gimmick. 1999 was a big transition year for FMW. Fuyuki took charge behind the scenes and is having the company be more like the very popular American style. I've skipped past some of worst stuff that I remember like the Fireworks in the butt wager match (which I guess Gannosuke & Hayabusa had done to them as young boys in the FMW dojo) as well as the Shawn Michaels guest ref match. What I did watch really dodged most of that crap and allowed me to watch some really great wrestling. 1998 was a fantastic in ring year for FMW but to my surprise, so was 1999. '99 was an amazing year for tag team wrestling. I was happy to include the ECW and AJPW matches as well. I think there's a Awesome vs Tanaka match that people really like from 12/23/99 but I might cover that down the road or as a bonus to this post. Anyhow, very fun project and perhaps as far into FMW that I want to dig. I think I'd much rather go back to 95-97. But I've got some other stuff lined up for March. Hope you enjoyed this or got a couple things to check out. There's got be be something here that you will dig. Thanks for reading!
  5. Back with Part 2 of FMW in 1999. Got some cool pics (too many actually...maybe I'll post those later). All grainy & shit like we watched our Japanese wrestling back in the day son! This time it is all tag and 6 man wrestling. Fans of this stuff, you are going to find out about some good stuff. Let's go! Gannosuke/Kanemura/Oya/Hosaka/Hido vs. Ishikawa/Ikeda/Yone/Usuda/Hijikata (05/05/99): Big cross promotion elimination match for the anniversary show! BattlArts vs Team No Respect/Gannosuke Outlaws. This was a very good elimination match and had some good stuff but personally I'd love to see a tag or even 6 man match instead. We get tastes Oya vs Ishikawa or Gannosuke vs Ikeda but I wish there was more. Really exciting stuff though. BAHU has it in the top 20 matches of FMW and I think folks like elimination matches more than me so, check it out if you're interested! Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki vs Masato Tanaka & Tetsuhiro Kuroda (05/05/99): This is the tag team match-up you want to see for 1999. It is a fantastic match too! Shinzaki is electric here. I'm not sure why but everything he was doing seemed to be really on point and !are things special. Otherwise they seemed to use the amazing 03/19 match as their outline. I think I would have thought this was a near classic had I'd seen this 2 months later rather than 2 days. All that said, this was a great match! This had all the stuff any wrestling fan would like in 1999 - tag team moves, big moves off the top and over the top, great near falls. I read on BAHU's site that this was not the main event (there actually a few more) and the winner of the match would fight again that night so that makes sense why this wasn't an classic. That said, this is absolutely a blast and worth your time. The bird man flying off into oblivion ----- Hayabusa & Tetsuhiro Kuroda v Mohammed Yone & Alexander Otsuka (BattlArts 05/14/99): Saw this about 10 years ago and my opinion of it has improved. This is a great match! We get really good mat wrestling, way more than we get in FMW usually but, maybe not enough to be a BattlArts match. Instead we get a really sweet hybrid (which is kinda what Batt-batt and early FMW was about) and this is awesome. I thought this was just a blast seeing these guys gel so well! (oh Hayabusa has aligned with Kuroda, Tanaka and since Gannosuke Outlaws has disbanded and Hosaka and It's are now back with FMW. Fuyuki and all of the heels are under one umbrella). ----- Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki v Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori (All Japan 06/04/99): Hells yeah! What a great match! They bring so much variety to the table. This was so cool because they needed to use a ton of aerial stuff and their quickness to combat the beast Takayama. Omori is pretty frigging big too so they had their work cut out for them. Tons of excitement and surprises in this one. I think calling this a near classic especially in regards to the Hayabusa/Shinzaki team is appropriate. Their 1999 stuff is awesome! A well paced and nicely laid out fight. Definitely wish we got more Hayabusa and Jinsei in AJPW. Perhaps the best flying knee drop off the top I've seen ----- Hayabusa & Masato Tanaka & Tetsuhiro Kuroda v Mr. Gannosuke & Yukihiro Kanemura & Hido (06/15/99): Back in FMW, we get a 6 man match where the loser has to eat dog food. That part isn't important but there's some stakes here with FMW vs No Respect. And from the amazing opening sequences, this match does not stop. Bell to bell action. We get a little bit more hard core wrestling than we're seen in awhile as a ladder is in play as well. Tons of great interactions and spots. Tons of fun & a great match. The cream of the crop for FMW 1999 has been excellent. Enjoyed the AJ and BattlArts stuff as well. This was a real treat for me as I'm such a tag fan. If everything goes according to plan, I should wrap up 1999 FMW next week. Find something you like and enjoy! Thanks for reading folks
  6. I'm very excited to be watching more FMW after a long time away (Kudo stuff excluded!). I'm not limiting myself to just FMW but am including interesting stuff from ECW and AJPW as well. I'm going off my DVDs so there's a bunch of pics. They're grainy but you get that old school VHS video quality vibe like you're watching these in '98. Hope you dig 'em. Let's jump on in! Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki vs Yukihiro Kanemura & Hido (01/06/98): Oh yeah, this was just a blast! You kinda get everything you want here in one 14 minute match. It's like a Dean Malenko Nitro match from like '96 It is just 4 pros having a very good wrestling match. It tells a little story (or continues one), has some drama with the heels hitting nut shots, using chairs and making blind tags, you've got your baby faces shining with their cool moves, its a good start! ----- Hayabusa, Masato Tanaka & Hisakatsu Oya vs. Mr. Gannosuke & Yukihiro Kanemura & Hido (01/16/98) highlights only but this looked like a lot of fun. Two guys going to a Bruce Springsteen concert in 1986 and a guy in his pajamas ----- Hayabusa & Masato Tanaka vs. Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Koji Nakagawa (02/06/98) highlights but looked cool. I'm not sure Nakagawa had a snowball's chance at this point. I know later when he betrayed FMW, he got a pin over 'busa. Hayabusa vs. Jado (03/16/98) : Good match, we got Hayabusa doing his big moves, Jado and his pals doing some heeling, and a really sick power bomb from the apron through a table. I mean no one sold anything but was Hayabusa's 2nd match of the night so it's all good. Hayabusa vs. The Gladiator (Mike Awesome) (03/17/98): I wouldn't have laid it out this way but this was a very good battle between the two most flashy wrestlers. It did not disappoint one bit. There were some really great moments here and nice surprises. Really high impact stuff throughout. I thought the selling was pretty good as well. Nothing fantastic but both guys really sold the pain and struggle they were going through in this big stakes match. I think if you want to see a Gladiator vs Hayabusa match this is an excellent one to go with. Taste the Radness ----- Hayabusa, Giant Baba & Kentaro Shiga vs Jinsei Shinzaki, Jun Izumida & Giant Kimala (AJPW 05/01/98): Tokyo Dome match, in the ring with Giant Baba, that ain't too shabby! We get a couple clips here in my version (probably a TV edition) but I think a good portion of the match is shown. This thing is FUN. Baba vs Jinsei is great, Hayabusa is on point, Izumida is channeling Shinzaki and Kimala, and Kimala is a blast. So much fun, the wrestling is really good, the fans are loving Hayabusa & Jinsei... yeah this is one of those random 6 mans that you want to see ----- Mike Awesome & Justin Credible vs Masato Tanaka & Jerry Lynn (ECW Hardcore TV 07/18/98): This is a weird pairing that I don't know if there's any kayfabe reason. I guess it makes Awesome a heel for willing to team with the slimy Credible. And anybody who wanted to think Japanese=Bad guy would be discouraged by Tanaka being with the New F'n Show. All that said, this is a really good all action tag match. Of course Tanaka vs Awesome is the big attraction (this was their first appearance at the ECW Arena) but Credible did a nice job chicken-shitting with Tanaka that they told a really fun story. Jerry Lynn and Awesome worked well together but there was not much there beyond doing their athletic stuff...no little story or anything. Awesome and Tanaka had a match at the Hammerstein before this I believe but, I think this was a truer introduction to ECW fans than that singles match. This definitely could have taken place in an FMW ring. Bonus: They take this match on tour for a few nights in a row and I might like the Ft. Lauderdale fan cam 07/24/98 better. It felt like the ironed out some kinks, incorporated Jason & Chastity at ring side and gelled. Justin and the ref argue over how many brain cells he has left. ----- Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka (ECW Heatwave '98 08/02/98): They were a little nervous at the very beginning but once they got in the groove, they did not let up! The early portion saw a back and forth match but eventually Mike got the upper hand and starting dropping bombs and crushing Tanaka's skull with chair shots. Dangan does not stay down though! There's a great twist here and an excellent finish. It's a great match. From what I can tell, they don't face each other in singles competition on TV or PPV in the States until the next summer. Wow! What a tease! When they return in '99 is when everyone remembers them in ECW but this stuff in '98 is excellent. Tanaka in '98 is fantastic and Awesome is on a bit of a tear too. This is worlds better than the Hayabusa/Shinzaki vs RVD/Sabu match from Heatwave '98 (that's a fun but disjointed type of match). ----- Hayabusa v Rey Bucanero, Jr. (Battlarts 11/23/98): This is kind of a fun squash match. I think Rey does like 1 or 2 cool moves. It's all Hayabusa doing signature moves. Hayabusa v Hisakatsu Oya (FMW 12/13/98): I think there was a period where they were friendly and not rivals. Well that time is over! We get a clipped match but it's not a hyper clip/only big moves type deal. We actually get a good portion of the match and from what is shown this looks pretty good. I have this on two different compilations and I actually watched it twice in a row to double check that they were the same. And it was super fun both times ----- This has been a blast to watch! I'm going to keep going with stuff from 1999. Also very glad to be chipping away at my mountain of un-watched DVDs. I'm sure some of these are online so go check a few out! Thanks for reading everyone!
  7. Tanaka still looks like FMW Tanaka here. Saito has blonde hair. So when they face off, it looks like Tanaka is workintg against an uncool looking erzatz of Mr. Gannosuke. Odd. Also odd to see Tanaka be a dick, as he always was a perenial babyface. He does it quite well though, as he should since the first half of the match is mostly him and Ohtani, who's used to being a dick and loves to slap people around, doing heelish stuff like they are the Fabulous Ones or something. They do get heat although the home team is also a bunch of dicks. Akiyama does no sell a ton at first, like "I'm not selling that second rate promotion weak shit", and he doesn't make a lot of effort to put the opposition over. Honestly, I'd go so far to say he was the worst of the four here, as Saito is getting used to get his ass kicked now and does it well. It's like Akiyama was a bit disinterested to make this compelling honestly. There's a ludicrous no-selling exchange with him and Ohtani early which doesn't look very good, but apart from that he was still at least (and at best) *good*. Maybe the fact he didn't work on top kinda took its toll on his motivation. Anyway, after an okay "let's heel up" period, the finishing stretch finaly gets things going and Tanaka finally shines doing what he does. Heavyweight Ohtani still can deliver a terrific top rope dropkick on the back of your head too. NOAH's booking really was putting emphasis on Saito, as he's the one who gets to shine at the end. Very good match in the end.
  8. I've been in a bit of a down period with wrestling the last month or so. I got a Highspots Best of 2003 compilation off eBay a little while ago and I thought it might be the thing to get me back into things. It starts out with matches from the January 10th show. A couple of them are ones that I always wanted to see but never got around to. Looks like a good place to start. KENTA & Takashi Sugiura vs Takuma Sano & Kotaro Suzuki - Man alive this was a Jr. tag fireworks display. Kotaro just set the tone early showing Tiger Mask like speed & agility. Sugiura was the powerhouse while KENTA & Sano were the violent artists. 14 minutes of Jr. action without being contrived or "out of order." There is a difference between this and what was going on in the U.S. at the time. Guys would catch up but this was crisp, clean and engaging Jr. tag wrestling. The finish was the only flaw of this great match. Even then, it doesn't diminish the work. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka - This is a WAR lover's match. More potatoes than Idaho. Some might more moves but this burns bright with inter-promotional hate. That coupled with a brutal finish makes this a classic tag match in my book! Mitsuharu Misawa & Masahiro Chono vs Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue - So I thought the above match was the final but no! We have this dream bout with NJ's Chono getting in the mix. His interactions with Kenta & Taue were like a Fire Pro match come to life. Its different than what came before it and was very much a big time main event style match where you get what you came for. The tanks aren't emptied out but you're still grinning at the end. It's been awhile since I've seen Misawa, Kobashi & Taue so this was a treat. I feel very comfortable calling it a near classic match... ----- Its no secret that I'm a big fan of tag matches and these were totally up my alley. Each was different stylistically yet each was dynamic and engaging. I'm sure these are available online somewhere or maybe you have them on DVD or saved somewhere on a computer, take the time and check these out. If you're a newer fan, its some great stuff from the not too distant past. If you were watching NOAH take shape 20 years ago (holy cow!), these matches will take you back in time to a period of excitement and possibility. Thanks for reading!
  9. Masato Tanaka vs. Daisuke Sekimoto - BJW - 02/01/2006 I guess it's apt that the only place I can find this match, without looking deeper, is a porn site. It's rare I have to watch wrestling while going incognito yet here we are. All for a young Daisuke Sekimoto, who looks the exact same in 2006 as he does now in 2021. Ditto with Tanaka, really, although he's a bit thicker. This is a proto-strong division style match with a lot of heavy strikes and bomb throwing. It's not long before some of the more dangerous bumps come into play. Sekimoto reverses a suplex on the apron to hit one of his own, then Sekimoto later gets planted with a friend tornado ddt in the crowd onto a pile of chairs. The match seemed to reset itself with Tanaka working the leg before getting into the meat of the match. The closing stretch was typical Masato Tanaka Kings Road inspired wrestling done poorly. Nearfalls and not much selling but the crowd was into the action and Sekimoto got a rub going 50/50 with an indie legend. **1/2
  10. So AEW did their barbwire explosion match and it was a bust. I kinda saw that one coming. If you've seen any recent Onita explosion stuff its not really the same quality of boom-boom explosions from the 90's. Its more sparkles on speed than scary !BANG! type stuff. I also heard that they didn't time the match properly and the had to stall for 4 minutes for the finale. That sounds worse than the big explosion not working. But for real...it was not going to be early 90's FMW explosion stuff...people had to know that in 2021. Those ones looked damn near illegal...even for Japan. That's my G. Badger hot take that no one asked for Anyhow lets get on to the Frontier Martial Arts wrestling! We go to May of 1998. Jado & Gedo vs Hayabusa & Masato Tanaka (05/05): This was the match you expected from all four guys. It was all action with Gedo & Jado being the heels to the max and our heros have to overcome their cheating ways. It feature a bunch of great exchanges and really would be on my Top 100 FMW list. It was a ton of fun. A great match to me! Masato Tanaka vs Hayabusa (05/19): Bahu's top singles match of FMW so I had high expectations. But man, I was disappointed. It was not as good as their 03/13 classic. It wanted to be consciously epic by having a load of false finishes but, it just does not work in 2021. I don't think it works in 1998 to be honest because the lay out was all wrong. It starts with a wonderful opening exchange then gets to the wrestling to injure a limb type stuff but, that goes nowhere because it leads right to the false finish portion. This is the MIDDLE of the match mind you because then we get to the strike exchange and 2-3 move sequences. These things are the logical escalation when mat wrestling/joint locks aren't working. A guy gets angry and starts throwing bones. The short sequences work because they have enough energy/stamina to still counter/parry/reverse. This does NOT make sense after getting dropped on your head a half doesn't times. Maybe one or two strike exchanges that are out of desperation OR going for a knockout blow. But that should be the finish. Even if they kept the layout, it could have been shaved down to 20 minutes (five minutes from the middle) and it would have been very good to great. It was good on the things mentioned above and maybe you would like it more than me so, I can't trash it. But, their match from earlier in the year is the classic to me. Hayabusa/Tanaka vs W*ing Kanemura & Kodo Fuyuki (05/27): Thank goodness another great all action tag match with a tried and true structure to cleanse my palette. This is sort of the big stakes version of the Jado & Gedo match. It was a near classic to me as FMW seemed to have their tag matches down like 88-90 AJPW...I would give Fuyuki some credit there as he was right in the thick of many of those bouts. Ricky Fuji vs Gedo (05/27): Another face/heel match but, this was not as crazy or anything. Fuji is a midcard star so this pretty much what you get. Tetushiro Kuroda vs Masato Tanaka (06/19): This was like 95-96 Kobashi vs Misawa in that it pits lariat against elbow. Plus they laid a good foundation with arm work then escalated in the fast paced action with counters, reversals, and improvisations. Although Kuroda & Tanaka have about the same experience, Kuroda is the up and comer at this point so, again the Kobashi/Misawa analogy works to some extent. That being said, these two's chemistry is just as good as Hayabusa/Tanaka IMO. This was Classic stuff. Hayabusa, Daisuke Ikeda, H. Oya & Ricky Fuji vs Fuyuki, Nakagawa, Kanemura & Gedo (06/19): Multi-man matches are usually pretty good and this is no different. At the very least, you get a little bit of everything here and that's pretty much the best way I can sum up this bout. It went on after the above singles match since it was Team No Respect vs Team FMW. Tetsuhiro Kuroda vs Hideki Hosaka (07/10): Dull-ish start as Hosaka wanted to work the arm and Kuroda wasn't having that. After that though things got entertaining and they traded moves and it was good opening match and was only 10 minutes. W*ing Kanemura vs The Gladiator (Mike Awesome) (07/10): Of all of the matches I've seen so far, this one is most like a "FMW match." It is very reliant upon the table & chair spots and other highspots as opposed to the more NJ Jrs./AJPW athletic matches we've seen. As a Mike Awesome fan, I'm going to say this is because of Mike Awesome (RIP). This is what he does and this is what you're getting in a bout with him especially a singles bout with a bigger name opponent like W*ING. His 6 man and tag matches are more dynamic and brawling but, in these big encounters you'd better believe his opponent is getting bombed through a table to the floor. That all said, this is no problem to me! I'm game for all types of wrestling and if you're going to do that kind of match then these two are some of the best at this time. Pretty good match and much better than their 12/11/96 match IMO. Hayabusa, Daisuke Ikeda, H. Oya & Ricky Fuji vs Fuyuki, Nakagawa, Jado & Gedo (Elimination Match) (07/10): This was the fancier and longer verion of the 06/19 match. It was a good match but honestly nothing tremendously distinguishable from that match. I didn't keep notes on this one so, that perhaps is my fault for having these blur together. I tend to enjoy elimination bouts so, I would say check it out. Its not some 80's NJPW level stuff but, its fun and now that I remember it - it has a surprising finish. This was not a mind meltingly awesome of an installment as FMW '98 #1 but, if you're a Masato Tanaka fan then, you really ought to check the matches out. The two great tag matches with Hayabusa and the classic with Kuroda are totally worth your time. Then you have an old school spot match with Kanemura & Awesome that will still impress you. Search Bahu FMW and you will find a wealth of FMW stuff online. Thanks for reading! Sorry for any delay too - I've been watching odds &ends stuff and pulled my old copy of Fire Pro Returns out. I've been messing around with playing my edits of FMW and BJW guys Keep staying safe!
  11. Glad to be back watching FMW I think it is one of those promotions that might get lost in the sands of time. So, I'm always eager to bring it back to the surface in my little way. Just for reference:I'm using BAHU's best of 1998 matches and the FMW commercial tape Story of F vol. 3 - Best Bouts as my guide here. Do see my earlier posts using the FMW tags or just go back a couple pages for the big list of matches. If there's anything else I come across, I'm going to include that too. Honestly, I just want a reason to get back watching Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling! Masato Tanaka vs Mr. Gannosuke (01/06) - This was a fast paced and intense battle between foes. Gannosuke stabbing Tanaka was sickening (and great)! Everything looked especially vicious in this match - lariats, chair shots, DDTs, you name it. Some might find fault with prolonged or deep selling but, I think it can be explained away by two guys really wanting to murderize each other. I think everything show really reflects that psychology. This was a classic match to me. I was kinda on that fence like ****1/4+ area but, intensity and pace really go along way for me. I'm not one to have to tick off the "how did long did he sell it" when watching wrestling anymore. Its nice to see long term selling and really can elevate a match but, isn't necessary. That is something to keep in mind when going through all of these FMW matches actually. Hayabusa vs Masato Tanaka (03/13) - This match is notable as it takes place in the black ZEN FMW ring which if I understand it all was Onita's stable and freelance group/promotion. I'm thinking like Kensuke Office/Diamond Ring was to NOAH. This is also notable as there were zero weapons or tables used. This was a fantastic clean wrestling match of the company's top stars. It easily could have taken place in an NJ or AJ ring and you would not have known the difference. This was 30 minutes of each guy giving it their all whether it be strikes, joint locks, or slams. I would have liked to see the arm/leg work factor into the finish or be given some more attention later but, like above I'm not going to gripe. They didn't blow it off - it just wasn't the story they were telling. It was very reminiscent of later NJPW Jrs. in that regard but also going for longer bouts like AJPW was doing. So, in this "pure" FMW match they weren't going for one or the other but, simply showing that they could do that too. Like, "we can take the barbwire, explosions, chair shots BUT can also wrestle long well executed bouts. We're not Garbage Wrestling." I think this is sort of the same idea behind BJW Strong Style. I thought this was another classic match -great action, great execution, great intensity...it was fantastic. Jinsei Shinzaki vs Mr. Gannosuke (04/21) - Jinsei is getting crafty against his nemesis by waiting to jump Gannouske as he exits the dressing room. It backfires as W*ING Kanemura is there for back-up and turns into a 2 on 1. Kanemura heads to the back after awhile since it's only a matter of time before Mister finished the Monk off. Or is it? Jinsei has to be legit hurt or dazed after the beating he took so, his fight to come back feels very real. I mean he's bleeding from the back of his head! Every bit of offense he can pull to slow down Gannosuke feels meaningful. Maybe I'm over-rating this but, it felt like another classic match. Much more on the story being told than just the action/intensity aspect. This was a top tier Jinsei singles match. You don't need to know too much about their past matches - just watch how Gannosuke mocks the praying powerbomb *all of the time* and you can understand why Shinzaki want to keep fighting. Atsushi Onita vs Kodo Fuyuki (04/30) - Battle of the FMW leaders. This is a lumberjack match but, I don't recall that playing a big part in this. It was a good match but, I didn't think it was great. I appreciate Fuyuki as a wrestler much more than Onita. This is especially true following him from AJPW to SWS then WAR. He may not have been clocking classics like his contemporaries Misawa & Kawada but, the man put on great matches in that late 80's Tenryu vibe. W*ING Kanemura vs Jinsei Shinzaki (04/30) Revenge on the monk perhaps? Team No Respect in full effect - lewd hand gestures & spitting on Jinsei for instance. They even had their own rudo referee! Anyhow, this is a 12 minute 3 act match capped off by a cool finish. There may be more nuances that I'm missing to make this a great match or a classic but, its quick, fun wrestling. Fans of either guy would be glad to check this out! Hayabusa vs Mr. Gannosuke (04/30) - Damn! What a match! Hayabusa was hitting everything on point but, what made this something special was Gannosuke's Kawada-level selling of the leg. He had to be legitimately hurt, right? But he wasn't out of the fight. He was dodging and blocking moves and went for the patented Gannosuke Clutch early on to try and wrap things up. He was more crafty than normal due to this injury. That's what really makes me appreciate Gannosuke more than I already do. He had the wherewithal to incorporate this pain/limitation into the match rather than hide it. Any complaints of sloppiness or botching that others may mention (there's one particular superplex type move) I think are unfounded. THIS is an instance of deep selling to where even IF it was a screw up, it appeared organic and natural with the ebb & flow of the match. The whole point of selling is to get across the point that the two or more wrestlers are engaged in a legitimate athletic competition which has legitimate consequences. And the point of doing that is to get the audience invested and engaged in what they're watching and they'll want to see more (and spend more). Well, this match did all of that perfectly. And to go back to my point about deep selling elevating a match - this is a prime example. That along with the excitement, the history of the competitors makes this is an all time classic FMW bout. Man, I hope you get a chance to check these matches out. I'm planning on two more installments of FMW 1998 to do alongside my FIP Fridays just in case you're wondering. Thank you as always for reading! I really appreciate it!
  12. One day I will get around to seeing all of the great FMW matches, I swear! The following entry is my attempt to cover FMW 1996 as best I can by searching for vids on the 'tube. From my experience, FMW videos tend to get taken down with some regularity or let's say there aren't a plethora of videos available like old AJPW or even W*ING. So what I found and what I wanted to watch from '96 focuses on the later part of the year, August to December. The first collection of stuff is from the Commercial tape Funk Masters of Wrestling which is August & September. This is a really good tape. I just want to say that from the start. This video captures that late 90's harcore wrestling style that FMW and ECW championed. BAHU is the master of FMW and I'm going to put his top 100 FMW rankings next to the applicable matches for reference. Our opinions differ on a couple matches but, I think that's good. You're getting 2 opinions on a match then with that you can decide for yourself if you want to see the bout. Sound good? I'll just review that bouts that I found worthwhile. (I'm also going to abbreviate names where I can) W*ing Kanemura, Bad Boy Hido & Hideki Hosaka vs Masato Tanaka, Nanjyo Hayato & Tetsuhiro Kuroda (Barbwire Street fight): JIP & clipped. This is edited but, this is a sweet way to start off the tape. Double & triple team moves, ladder stuff, and of course guys are tasting the wire. I can't say this is a great match but, its a blast to watch! Tanaka, Kuroda & Koji Nakagawa vs Kanemura, Hido & Hosaka (Exploding Barbwire match 09/01)(BAHU RATING: #42): Fourteen plus minutes of brutal, dramatic deathmatch wrestling. The fighting was top notch and the barbwire and bomb spots were extremely meaningful in terms of the drama. Seriously, this was one of the best FMW matches and best deathmatches that I've seen. Classic match and a must-see for Masato Tanaka fans. Terry Funk, Gladiator & Horace Boulder vs Tanaka, Kuroda & Nakagawa: JIP. This was a very good 6 man tornado tag match that had some nice double teams, saves, and all of that other good stuff you want in an FMW bout. Tanaka takes some real sickening bumps...one is probably the most dangerous Awesome bombs I've seen. This match, although partial, really encapsulates everything weird and exciting about the garbage wrestling scene of the late 90s. (Also see: Super Leather, Headhunters, & Oya vs Hayabusa, Tanaka, Kuroda, & Nakagawa's Barbwire bat & Money on a Pole elimination tornado tag match from this tape as well. FMW had successfully perfected the W*ING/IWA Japan style at this point.) Terry Funk & Gladiator vs Hayabusa & Tanaka (BAHU RATING: #48): The story of Funk in FMW at this point (from what I can gather) is he's reformed the J-Tex Corp with Victor Quinones. Gladiator and other gaijin wrestlers (along with Oya) have joined the Funkster to take over and control Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling. Hayabusa and Tanaka aren't going to go along with that and have to fight for their promotion. This was the 2nd best match of the tape and was shown in full. There were lots of saves and exciting comebacks. It was scratching a greatness but, I only felt it was a very good match. It just seemed to lack enough of Tanaka's explosive offense for my taste...that's not to say he doesn't explode here! Still, we get all kinds of excitement post-match so, you really should check this out. This was a very good tape especially with the classic 6 man deathmatch that all FMW/ECW fans need to see. I'll pick up with the Nov & Dec commercial tape next time. Thanks for reading!
  13. BattlARTS vs. ZERO1 feud continues. And this was a real good match! I mean, that shouldn't come as a surprise, but I was expecting something fishy to happen here. But nope, they get to do their thing for 15+ minutes. Plenty of hate, stiff shots and neat moments, of course. There was lots of back and forth, altough nothing egregious. I guess this was the Z1 guys giving a shot at working a BattlARTS style rhythm. No shootstyle matwork besides a few counters, but lots of nice snug work. Tanaka was pretty efficient working with the BattlARTS dudes and Ohtani kept the crowd into it with his charisma.
  14. Here is my list of the best matches that I watched this year. Again, this isn't a MOTY list but, is more of a year in review for me AND a guide for folks looking for wresting to check out. So first is my January to May list: Inoki/Sakaguchi vs Thesz/Gotch (NJ 1973) Strong BJW vs SUWAMA/T. Soya (AJ 11/26/11) Onita/Tarzan Goto vs M. Kurisu/Dragon Master [Kendo Nagasaki] (FMW 04/01/90) Jun Kasai vs Takeshi Iizuka (TAKA Prod. 01/28/18) Roderick Strong vs Kyle O'Reilly (ROH 02/21/15) Briscoe Bros. vs Mike Bennett/Matt Taven (ROH 02/21/15) Tomasso Ciampa vs Johnny Gargano (NXT: New Orleans) Kurt Angle/Ronda Rousey vs Triple H/Stephanie McMahon (WWE WrestleMania) Shinjiro Otani vs Masato Tanaka (Z-1 07/31/02) Masato Tanaka vs Yuji Nagata (NJ 03/19/11) Chris Hero vs Big Van Walter (wXw 2010 16 Carat Gold Final) Masato Tanaka vs Daisuke Sekimoto (Z-1 08/02/15) Shuji Ishikawa vs SHINGO (AJ 04/29/18) June 1st to Dec 31st Naomichi Marufuji vs Jun Akiyama (AJ 04/25/18 CC) Sakuraba vs Nakamura (NJ 01/04/13 WK7) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Masato Tanaka (NJ 08/15/09 G1) Nakamura, M. Tanaka, Takahashi & Naito vs H. Tanahashi, Makabe, Nagata & W. Inoue (NJ 12/04/10) KENTA vs Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH 01/22/06) (I left off 10/29/06 because everyone already knows of that) KENTA vs Kenta Kobashi (NOAH 03/05/06) Misawa vs Takeshi Morishima (NOAH 03/05/06) Misawa vs Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH 12/02/06) Choshu, Koshinaka, Hoshino, Sasaki & Kobayashi vs Super Strong Machine, Hamaguchi, Kurisu, Tatsu Goto & Hiro Saito (NJ 06/26/90 2/3 Falls) Hase & Sasaki vs Koshinaka & Iizuka (NJ 12/13/90) BxB Hulk & YAMATO vs Ben-K & Big R Shimuzu (DG 07/22/18) BxB Hulk vs Shingo Takagi (DG 12/28/14) Shingo Takagi vs YAMATO (DG Kobe Wrestle Fest 2016) reDRagon vs The Briscoes (ROH 05/11/13 11th Anniv. Show) Eddie Edwards vs Matt Taven (ROH 06/01/13) Eddie Edwards vs Kyle O'Reilly (ROH 07/12/13) Michael Elgin, Jay Lethal, Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander vs Adam Cole, Matt Taven & reDRagon (ROH 10/26/13 Glory by Honor XII) see: https://forums.prowrestlingonly.com/blogs/entry/693-enter-the-redragon-part-4/ Kevin Steen & the Young Bucks vs Michael Elgin & the Briscoes (ROH 03/07/14 Raising the Bar Nt. 1) * not yet reviewed* There's a month worth of classic wrestling right there. I'm really not sure what the Best Match I watched is...damn. I go through and think of different reasons I like one over another. OR there's some that I cannot recall as clearly as others. A few of these are known as great or classic matches already so, I won't pick those. I mean, hopefully many of these are matches you've only heard a little about...or maybe nothing at all. That's really what I want to do - expose people to different stuff and let them know that there is really awesome wrestling to be found where others may have said it does not exist. So with that I'm going to pick Eddie Edwards vs Kyle O'Reilly (ROH 07/12/13) as the Best Match Watched. Frankly, I'm pretty strong on that point even without those qualifiers. Some may not like it just because of the participants or the company. OK that's fine. Others may see it derivative or formulaic but, I disagree. I feel it builds off of classic styles and encounters while adding its own flair. Plus it tells a great story, is excellently performed, intense as hell, and I just love that finish. It's really quite perfect in my book Recency bias is totally acknowledged. Before I move on, I'm going to hype up Masato Tanaka here Shinjiro Otani vs Masato Tanaka (Z-1 07/31/02), Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Masato Tanaka (NJ 08/15/09 G1), Nakamura, M. Tanaka, Takahashi & Naito vs H. Tanahashi, Makabe, Nagata & W. Inoue (NJ 12/04/10), Masato Tanaka vs Yuji Nagata (NJ 03/19/11). DAMN SON! Now let's see who gets cheers and jeers: Standout Wrestler: Daisuke Sekimoto, Atsushi Onita, Masato Tanaka, Shingo Takagi, Naomichi Marufuji, Eddie Edwards, Jay Lethal, The Briscoes, reDRagon, Roderick Strong, The Young Bucks The Winner: Tanaka had the early part of the year for sure. Eddie Edwards has the very end with his re-invigoration of the GHC belt and 2013 ROH matches. The winner is Naomichi Marufuji though. The 09-10 NJ Jr. stuff was pretty great but, along with Shingo, he stole the show at the 2018 Champion Carnival. What put him over the top was his 2006 in NOAH. From his start with KENTA in the 01/22 to the amazing title fight vs Misawa, 2006 was Marufuji's. He may not have the quantity of classic matches that Tanaka accrued this year but, he had his share along with a bevy a great ones with a variety of opponents in different promotions and years. Probably not a popular pick again but, I know what I saw and the dude killed it. Surprise of the Year: Early FMW Onita, SHINGO & Marufuji and the 2018 Champion Carnival, 2010's ROH, Yoshi Yatsu in 87-89 AJPW, WWE 205 Live, digging WWE Women's division. Finding out the greatness of YAMATO, Matt Taven & Togi Makabe. Akira Taue still had it in 2006 as he knew how to play his older broken down/comedy character but still be aggressive and serious when called upon (similar to 1989 Giant Baba). Realizing that '89-90 JCP/NWA Muta was awesome especially when considering his 90's NJ stuff. Weekly ROH TV reminding me of WCW Worldwide in a good way. The Winner: The Maufuji pick is kind of the Surpise of the Year because I really did not think that going into this post. But, overall - I'm going to say Early FMW & Onita. Onita and FMW were some of my first experiences with Japanese wrestling but, to circle back around 20 years and find something really awesome was a heck of a surprise. Not only were the matches a blast (no pun intended) but, finding out about the history was really interesting as well. The late 80's and early 90's are a really neat time & place to visit in Japanese wrestling and FMW at that time should not be missed. Favorite Project: FMW 89-92, Post ECW Tanaka, Hayabusa in AJPW, NOAH 2006, reDRagon/2013-14 ROH, and NJ vs CHAOS in 2010 The WInner: CHAOS vs NJ because I never heard anyone talk about it despite it scratching that old school night in-night out feud itch. It was so much fun to watch these house show matches that felt like Jumbo vs Misawa, or M-Pro vs Kaientai DX.I gained a lot of respect for Tanahashi here and found something from the NJ 2010's that I could wholly dig! Disappointment of the Year: Munenori Sawa in wXw 2010 could have been better, Brock vs Roman at WM, Nakamura...Ballshot Expert, Kobashi vs Marufuji '06, American Wolves vs reDRagon not living up to its potential save Edwards vs O'Reilly The Loser: Wolves vs DRagon because it was THE reason the Wolves re-united and reDRagon was formed but, it felt too much like WWE or TNA than ROH. Or at least the ROH I was used to. It was inconsistent and did not feels as big & epic as ROH was making it out to be. ReDRagon would go on to be so much better without the Wolves feud. Never got around to: Getting deeper into FMW past 92- the two big Youtube channels that had a ton of FMW footy were removed so that was a big blow to that project. 2010's NJ Jr project- I wanted to look into the phenomena that got the NJ hype train going - Apollo 55 & Golden Lovers. This is something I do want to get around to soon. Looking forward to watching in 2019: David Starr, Jonathan Gresham, getting back to 2010's AJPW, 88-90 NJ/AJPW (my massive DVD set is still waiting), more ROH & PWG from 3-5 years ago Also, want to check out early 80's Gran Hamada pretty soon here. Thanks for reading! I hope I gave you some ideas! Happy New Year
×
×
  • Create New...