[2000-03-01-Michinoku Pro] CIMA & Sumo Fuji & Judo Suwa & Yoshikazu Taru vs Tiger Mask & Masaaki Mochizuki & Magnum Tokyo & Minoru Fujita

[soup23]

Crazy Max are still the biggest bullies in the Japanese schoolyard. This starts with a brutal beatdown on Tokyo including him bleeding which really added a wrinkle into everything and got over the violence. Magnum is able to tag out and TM comes in. A really good exchange with him and Taru culminating in a back kick right to Taru’s face. Then Fujita and CIMA come in and have an even better sequence than that before. One thing I appreciated about breaking up the tropes was Fujita came in again and they teased doing the pairings and stuff until Crazy Max has had enough of that and uses their number advantage to take back over. Magnum is really selling the damage and has wrapped a towel over his head. Magnum’s pride gets the best of him as he comes back in but gets worked over by the CM stable. A quick flurry and he is able to make another big tag to Fujita. This starts the match into the finishing stretch. Big dives for the faces which I appreciate because them getting the shine is a face move and not really needed for the CM stable. Fuji and Mochi continue to battle and it continues to entertain me every single time. That gives way to Magnum and CIMA. I again keep waiting for Magnum to suck but much like HHH, it hasn’t happened so far. In fact, he was for sure the leader of the face side for me in this match just from the sympathy he built up from the blood. Heat is a little off in this match as in Korakuen, it could possibly be a MOTYC for me. TARU’s kicks looked brutal here and even TM is showing some surprising fire getting a nearfall on a Tiger Suplex that needs a Fuji save. Big tombstone to Fuji and a dive for Fujita and now TARU has to save him. Great stuff and shows Crazy Max sticking together even though shit is going awry. Just when the faces look like it is in the bag, CIMA hits his palm strike and a huge lariat from Fuji gets 1, 2, …. NO! I bit big time on that one. A chokeslam from Fuji and Crazy Max prevails again. What a great fucking match to start the month. The long term critic in me could say that this makes Crazy Max look just a tad strong again but knowing that M2K is coming as a way to counteract that has me really excited and it has been a hell of a ride getting to that point. ****1/4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Loss]

I liked how they built so much heat on Magnum Tokyo and beat him to a bloody pulp, even if I do think it's time for Crazy Max to start seeing at least some occasional comeuppance. That's probably unfair since this was outside their home promotion. Still, this was a pretty cool massacre, and I'm really enjoying following all of these guys. I thought they did maybe one or two too many false finishes at the end, but this was still an excellent match. ****

[Moonsault Marvin]

Crazy Max got the jump on Magnum, and Sumo Fuji viciously bit his head to draw blood. This turned into a fast paced match full of action. I liked that they had partners break up the pins instead of just kicking out after the big moves. Good match.

[Laney]

Crazy Max does a great job of just being assholes and really dominating the beginning of this one. Of course this breaks down to balls to the wall fast-paced action with everyone getting in some offense. Mochizuki really stood out in this one while Taru was the lame duck in this one for me. The vicious bloody attack on Tokyo stands out as the highlight in this one, and Tanaka does a good job taking punishment as well.

 

****

[Tim Evans]

Tokyo takes an old school horsemen type beating even bleeding. Crazy Max is a nice heel group but these babyfaces aren't doing a good job fighting back besides Tokyo and maybe Mochizuki. The crowd was at least into this. Match was good thanks to the opening beatdown.

[ohtani's jacket]

This was a solid rudos bout. I'm still waiting for a match that kickstarts my interest in this crew but I thought Crazy Max gave a strong team performance. Magnum Tokyo held up his end on the babyface side though his bladejob was more or less pointless given how much energy he had during the stretch run. Mochizuki added some fire with his kicks but I thought Tiger Mask was actively bad at times. That turnbuckle spot stuck out like a sore thumb. In fact, it was more like a poke in the eye. Fujita at least came across as a poor man's Yakushiji. Still, Crazy Max worked well together and complemented one another with their different styles. Sumo Fuji is a fun worker to watch. He's definitely on my short list of favourite guys to watch right now.

[cramerjason87]

The beat down segment at the beginning of the match was very good. The intensity dropped when the face team got on offense. Fun finishing sequence. Decent match but felt long.

[Robert S]

I did not realize at the time how well put together the Crazy Max team was. You have SUWA the heat machine, Fuji who wrestles big, CIMA who can do fast complicated sequences with the best of them and at the same time have the aura of a star, plus there was, well, TARU, who looks cool wearing shades carying a baseball bat.

[Lee Benaka]

I have not seen most of these wrestlers before. I thought it was a fun match overall with some very nice moves throughout. The heel beat down to start had that annoying feature of the faces milling around on the apron and then repeatedly falling to the floor repeatedly when one of the heels nails each of them. Tiger Mask's botch was tough, but there was some nice mask-ripping to make up for it. The end sequence with the near falls and finally a pin from the "strong guy" was entertaining and effective. Maybe a bit lopsided in favor of the heels overall though, as has been mentioned. ***1/2

[Edwin]

Despite some Toryumon guys previous involvement in Michinoku Pro, this is them putting on a showcase match for the Tohoku Michinoku Pro fans. Think of it as the Dragon Gate showcase matches during that one WrestleMania weekend some years ago in ROH or the Michinoku Pro showcase matches in ECW from that house show and the Barely Legal PPV.

 

Out of all the Toryumon guys, TARU is the worse in these matches. He benefits the most being a rudo segundo interfering than being an actual participant in the matches. Plus SUWA is everything he wishes to be.

 

That heel beatdown on Magnum with the exposed turnbuckle and him getting juice was a new piece to their previous matches. It's all pointing towards a marquee CIMA vs. Magnum singles.

 

I didn't think it went on too long and didn't think they really went overboard with the false finishes and I actually liked Fuji getting the pin once he hit that long delayed chokeslam on Fujita. Also this being a showcase match, yet they still held back a bit in the finishing stretch compared to some of the other multi man matches.

 

****

[tbrett]

After watching a bunch of these matches they are all blending together without much changing between them.  Of course you could say that about any style but for some reason I find myself loosing g interest in the matches about 7 minutes in.  I think I am taking a break from these matches unless they are considered an all time classic.

 

***

[TravJ1979]

Much, much better is to come from the Toryumon crew.  This never got out of 2nd gear.