[1996-03-16-Michinoku Pro] Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask IV & Shiryu vs Super Delphin & Taka Michinoku & Gran Naniwa

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Great intro to Michinoku Pro on this set! There are quite a few matches that are better, but this is a good way to get familiar with some of the big players. No Togo and no Yakushiji, but most of the rest of the best guys are here. This style is so much fun to watch, and it's been a long time since I've really watched it, so while I never forgot how good it is, my appreciation is definitely renewed. The crowd is pretty quiet early on and once the fans figure out the style, the building is super-heated. There is a great moment where Super Delphin is trying to do a dive and Taka is standing on the apron in his way and he does this dramatic "Move!" gesture that gets a huge laugh. Delphin also does a Rick Rude-like atomic drop sell and takes a bump into the crowd at one point where he has a humorous interaction with a female fan. There is an incredible dive train, with Sasuke, Tiger Mask and Shiryu all doing a different style and all looking great. Shiryu in particular gets some amazing hang time. Delphin and Shiryu are in there for quite a while and deliver some of the best nearfalls you'll ever see. All the athleticism and showmanship mix together so well, and I start to wonder if this is the greatest wrestling style there is. What makes this style great is not just the pacing though, it's also that the wrestlers are really in tune with their audience and know when to pause for dramatic effect. Can't wait to watch more, including some of the bigger matches that I haven't seen.

[Bix]

When were the turns that set up the peak period with Sasuke Seikigun vs Kaientai Deluxe? I thought they had happened by this point.

[Tim Cooke]

The turns happened in May-June of 1996.

[Ditch]

"Delphin also does a Rick Rude-like atomic drop sell and takes a bump into the crowd at one point where he has a humorous interaction with a female fan."

 

That was a trademark spot in various Sasuke vs Delfin 6-man tags going back to '93, which this match was essentially the finalie of.

[Tim Evans]

This is my MOTY so far. Shiryu's dives were just crazy. Especially the second to last one where it looks like he's going to land straight on his head. Just a great match for all the reasons Loss said. Naniwa's crab outfit ruled.

[KB8]

I watched this about 6 months ago and thought it excellent. My thoughts haven't changed from then:

 

3/16 tag was terrific, probably the best M-Pro 6-man I've seen up to that point. The early section with guys pairing off probably could've had some time trimmed, but it was all at least sold stuff and it really kicked into high gear when it needed to. Shiryu was awesome; the whole match he seemed like a guy that just couldn't be bothered teaming with a couple partners like Sasuke and Tiger Mask, but the crowd were nuts for him. They do a dive train late on and his tope was the best of a strong bunch. TAKA also looked incredible and, assuming I continue watching the set and don't take a multi-year break from it like I'm prone to doing, I'm looking forward to him joining up with Togo and pals, because at this stage I don't remember how it happened at all.

[Zenjo]

Quite a lengthy 6 man. At times it had a chilled out vibe, yet was also frenetic in parts. It felt inconsequential. They needed to have heel & face factions, that was a key ingredient of the 10 mans. The first 80% was okay before the stretch picked up a lot. It turned watchable into decent. I'm looking forward to seeing whether the famous matches later in the year hold up for me.

[ohtani's jacket]

There was a lot to like about this one as at times it more closely reassembled a lucha trios than anything I've seen from MPro, but it lost its shape a bit after the initial round of exchanges and the second half felt uneven. Good finishing stretch, though. Shiryu's dives were mental.

[PeteF3]

When were the turns that set up the peak period with Sasuke Seikigun vs Kaientai Deluxe? I thought they had happened by this point.

 

They seem to be teasing a Shiryu turn in this very match--he kicks Naniwa in the groin at one point, sparking a disagreement with Sasuke and a near-walkout.

 

Anyway, if there's a theme to the first couple weeks of March '96, it seems to be "back to basics." We got a heavily matwork-intensive JWP match, a big lucha clusterfuck with more matwork than flying, and this--each guy pairs off and they work holds instead of going into high-flying or shtick. I get that there's lots of build to flying in Japanese juniors wrestling, but the matwork seemed longer and more intense here than in most Michinoku Pro bouts. Then we get some intrigue with Shiryu, a nice FIP segment on Tiger Mask, some incredible dives including Shiryu's incredible somersault topes, and some incredible reversals and near-falls. Delfin continually trying to drop bombs on Shiryu only for him to flip out or counter every time was an amazing sequence. Then the tight camera shots really add to the closing stretch, as guys are flying in from off-screen to make last-second saves. One last dive train later and Tiger Mask puts Taka away with the tiger suplex. This was fucking spectacular and the lucha elimination match has a very short run as #2 running MOTY, I'm afraid. Maybe the only thing holding this back from the #1 spot is TM's FIP segment ended just a little too cleanly, with TM channelling Sayama by popping back up and no-selling most of his beating when it was time to go back on offense. I enjoyed the spotfesty opener at Wrestle Kingdom 9, but even if the action was a bit more advanced, it couldn't compare to this in terms of combining amazing athletecism with great character work.

[soup23]

This was awesome too and up there with the 2/94 six man as my current favorite M-Pro match. This showed a lot of the mat work facets that will play heavily into M-Pro future as we get later into the decade. Of course, the ending is spectacular with moves galore and a dive train that was exhilarating. Tiger Mask being this young looked like he had a lot of momentum going toward him and hit mostly everything with grace. Him getting the pin was a triumphant moment. ****1/4

[tim]

March is on fire right now. First real MPro match in a year that's pretty big for them. This match was awesome, great action that built up to an especially hot ending. There's two particularly big dive sections, one in the middle of the match and the other setting up the ending. There's a really great Shiryu/Delfin exchange toward the end where Shiryu keeps countering Delfin's big moves. The ending is a crazy run of believable nearfalls and big moves. Huge dive train from the faces leads to Tiger Mask getting the pin with the Tiger suplex, which had nicely been teased earlier in the match. Everyone looked good in this match and it ended on a real high note.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Great Sasuke, Tiger Mask IV & Shiryu vs Super Delphin, Taka Michinoku, Gran Naniwa - M-Pro 3/16/96

 

I have seen a couple M-Pro here and there but this is my first time in the past five years really sitting down & watching it. This seems like a good introductory match to the style & the key players. I thought Tiger Mask IV & Taka Michinoku looked the best out of the bunch. Great execution, good spots and great pacing, Tiger Mask IV is a good Sayama tribute and I like Sayama more than most. There were some great legsweeps from TM IV and he was positioned very strongly in this match. He cleared the ring the first times in there and hit a dive on Taka. I thought Taka had great zip on all his offense. I can see why the WWF wanted to make him their Rey Mysterio. I was surprised Sasuke took as much of a beating as he did. He did not "win" any of his segments. I always forget Delphin is a heel. He is so colorful. A great heel. He cheats. Good stooging especially off the atomic drop. I liked that sequence where he didn't do a dive because Taka was in the way. Very cheeky. M-Pro reminds me a lot of today's wrestling not much struggle and very exhibition-y but they make for it being cheeky, entertaining and having a touch of personality. Shiryu had some good dives but didn't much else. He ballshotted Naniwa which confused me until I read this was foreshadowing. Naniwa was cute not much else.

 

I liked Sasuke's drop kick nailing Taka out of the sky. I really liked the heels had to double team TM IV to get him into the heat segment. TM IV was the offensive star of the faces so I liked it took two men to get the advantage on him. The classic M-Produce train was awesome. The Taka/TM IV segment at the end was awesome! Taka drop kicks Sasuke out. TM IV nails him with a kick wants the Tiger Suplex can't get it. TOMBSTONE/HEADBUTT combo! 1-2-No! TM up top Taka launches a ground to air missile drop kick that takes TM out of the sky. MICHINOKU DRIVER! 1-2-No! Shiryu saves. Taka hits his INSANE springboard top rope Asai Moonsault. Incredible sequence. I thought Delphin/Shiryu nearfall sequence at the end was too much and didn't have much struggle. The ending is pretty remarkable. Sasuke hits a Crucifix Powerbomb on Taka. Sasuke & Shiryu do two incredible dives. TM IV polishes Taka off with a Tiger Suplex.

 

I came away wanting to see Taka Michinoku vs Tiger Mask IV in a singles match. I feel like they have classic them. I thought they were the all stars of this match and the match was clearly built around them. They hit it out of the park. I'm surprised how much of an ass kicking Sasuke took. The style overall is very fun. It is clearly influential on today's style but this had more character work and a lot more fun moments to it. Looking forward to more matches, Tiger Mask IV & Taka killed it! ****