Dylan Waco Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 So the ECW project really gave me a new found appreciation for Tajiri. He had been one of my favorite wrestlers back in 99 and 00 but I had forgotten how great he was and he is a guy that really holds up on rewatch. In fact if anything he appears better in the rear view. So in this thread I'll review his matches from a variety of places including but not restricted to ECW and the WWE. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypvQlwWmFHc Eddie Guerrero and Tajiri vs Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas - Ladder Match This was Eddie/Tajiri's first time as a team and they win the tag belts here in a pretty insane car crash style ladder match. I wouldn't call this a pure spotfest as their was some thought put into structuring this, but this was really all about the lunatic bumps and spots. Every guy takes at least one bump that makes you cringe and Tajiri's is a jaw first bump onto a ladder rung that looks absolutely horrifying. Haas takes an insane bump off the ladder to the floor and Eddie gets crumpled up nastily off of a powerslam onto a ladder from Shelton. Not all the spots in this came off clean but I sort of like that in matches like this as it fits the theme of a totally out of control setting. Finish with Eddie taking out both of the WGTT and Tajiri misting Benjamin as he makes a last gasp to save the titles was cool and Eddie handing the belt to Tajiri atop the ladder was a touching moment in a pretty brutal setting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndhCO0jW6vE Eddie Guerrero and Tajiri vs Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas 5/22/2003 This was really a hell of a match though Eddie is the real star of it. Tajiri gets in some pretty neat looking grappling early and gets worked over some as well, but the bulk of this is Eddie as FIP, teasing comebacks and some smartly worked spots built around Tajiri saving Eddie. One thing that really stood out about this was how well Eddie was able to play plucky underdog. He does all sorts of Luchaesque highspots in this, uses a frogsplash as a hope spot (Haas gets his knees up), takes some really sick looking bumps on throws and take downs, et. Tajiri for his part has some great moments sneaking in with kicks to make the save and his flurry of offense off the hot tag was pretty great. I should also mention that the spot that set up Eddie's FIP was a rare case of a complicated sequence that came off really organic and looked like a string of believable counters, rather than a floor exercise routine in the Olympics. The nutty over the top hip toss spot that got Haas to the floor and sets up the finish was really awesome looking to. You can bitch about the ref not selling the chairshot finish, but this was "lie, cheat, steal" era and it fit the motif well. Tajiri's facial expressions were great as always. This really was an awesome tv match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLIK Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 So in this thread I'll review his matches from a variety of places including but not restricted to ECW and the WWE. If you're open to taking request i'd love to see a reviews for these 2 BJW 6/3/97 (5 Way Tag to crown the 1st BJW tag champs) Kengo Kimura & Takashi Ishikawa vs Shoji Nakamaki & Takashi Okano vs Kendo Nagasaki & Satoru Shiga vs Yoshihiro Tajiri & Yuichi Taniguchi vs Jado & Gedo Tajiri is one of the guys who really stands out in this one with a good performance http://board.deathvalleydriver.com/index.php?showtopic=53842 and SMASH 4/23/2010 Tajiri vs Eugene No clue if it's online still or i'd post a link I enjoyed this one as a really good mix of mat work, comedy & serious wrestling and thought it was maybe the best Eugene (working under that gimmick) match i've seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted February 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 I am absolutely open to requests. I am DL'ing the BJPW match now and will dig into some SMASH as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cm funk Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 The Eddie/Tajiri v. WGTT match from SD was I think my dad's favorite post-90's match, or at least the only one he visibly marked out over and couldn't stop talking about This is a great thread idea, I might actually watch a few old Tajiri matches and give my thoughts. Tajiri was so much fun in ECW and the early part of his WWE run before they lost interest in pushing him. He's probably the guy who got over the most with my casual fan friends in the late 90's when I was trying to get them to watch ECW. Awesome wrestler, awesome mannerisms and facial expressions, just awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted February 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC-ReAD_7IE Tajiri v. Eugene - SMASH 4/23/2010 The pre-match vignette with Eugene working a stereotypical Japanese tourist gimmick, in Japan as an American tourist was great. Fun match. I could see some people not liking the combo of "serious" athletic spots and Eugene schtick, but I think that sort of stuff fits in a promotion like SMASH which is basically a weird mismatch of "sports entertainment" elements. It also doesn't hurt that the athletic spots looked really slick. Tajiri's mockery of opponents is always fun and it amused me at points here, though I wish it would have been turned up a bit. I did enjoy the finish a great deal though. Worth watching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted February 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=tajiri...amp;FORM=LKVR38 Tajiri v. Super Crazy - Mexican Death Match ECW 1/15/00 You could certainly find fault with this match and if you are totally averse to ECW stylistically it may be a waste of time to watch it. For my eyes it's one of the best matches of 2000. Tajiri/Crazy matches are remembered as the forerunners to the spot heavy style that would dominate the initial super indies in the period that followed the death of ECW. They certainly had their matches that were like that and this was by no means low on spots, but there was a lot more going on here, including a great performance from Tajiri who was just out of control as a heel at this point. He is literally spitting on the crowd, spitting Crazy's BLOOD on the crowd and heaving shit into the crowd. Of course this is an ECW Arena crowd so they turn him face as soon as he does a spot that mark out for, but I still admire that sort of lunacy, especially for a guy working an evil/shifty/vicious Asian stereotype gimmick. This is a match with several prop spots, but I thought they were all well set up, well delivered and to a large degree unique. One touch I really liked is that Tajiri taking too long setting up the tables allowed Crazy recovery time to avoid the insane chair slide across the table spot and later to get in a really sick looking blindside flying dropkick in the set up to the finish. Speaking of which the finish is really great as both guys set up tables. Tajiri stabs Crazy in the head with a spike used in putting up the ring. Crazy comes back and goes for a powerbomb through a table, but Tajiri blocks it with the mist and tries to counter only for Crazy to hit a twisting powerbomb through the other table in an almost desperate last ditch - and successful - attempt to win. This match also features the most well timed and believable tarantula spot I can recall seeing. Really a good mix of blood feud, big spots and a nice finish. There aren't too many matches I have watched more than this over the last few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 The issue I have with Tajiri vs Crazy matches in 99/00 is that there are so many that they kinda blends with each others. That said, they actually did a pretty good job reactualizing themselves all things considered. There's a case for Yoshihiro Tajiri being a top 10 wrestler in the world in 1999/2000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cm funk Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=tajiri...amp;FORM=LKVR38 Tajiri v. Super Crazy - Mexican Death Match ECW 1/15/00 You could certainly find fault with this match and if you are totally averse to ECW stylistically it may be a waste of time to watch it. For my eyes it's one of the best matches of 2000. Tajiri/Crazy matches are remembered as the forerunners to the spot heavy style that would dominate the initial super indies in the period that followed the death of ECW. They certainly had their matches that were like that and this was by no means low on spots, but there was a lot more going on here, including a great performance from Tajiri who was just out of control as a heel at this point. He is literally spitting on the crowd, spitting Crazy's BLOOD on the crowd and heaving shit into the crowd. Of course this is an ECW Arena crowd so they turn him face as soon as he does a spot that mark out for, but I still admire that sort of lunacy, especially for a guy working an evil/shifty/vicious Asian stereotype gimmick. This is a match with several prop spots, but I thought they were all well set up, well delivered and to a large degree unique. One touch I really liked is that Tajiri taking too long setting up the tables allowed Crazy recovery time to avoid the insane chair slide across the table spot and later to get in a really sick looking blindside flying dropkick in the set up to the finish. Speaking of which the finish is really great as both guys set up tables. Tajiri stabs Crazy in the head with a spike used in putting up the ring. Crazy comes back and goes for a powerbomb through a table, but Tajiri blocks it with the mist and tries to counter only for Crazy to hit a twisting powerbomb through the other table in an almost desperate last ditch - and successful - attempt to win. This match also features the most well timed and believable tarantula spot I can recall seeing. Really a good mix of blood feud, big spots and a nice finish. There aren't too many matches I have watched more than this over the last few years. I f'n love this match. Perfect ECW psychology, right down to the dueling tables at the end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchistxx Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Eddie Guerrero and Tajiri vs Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas 5/22/2003 This was a fantastic series as I recall. Pretty sure there was a 2/3 Falls match to end the feud at some point as well which is well worth watching. Smackdown around that period was awesome in general actually, great balance between the wrestling (Guerrero, Benoit, Lesnar, Mysterio etc) and the goofy storylines (Undertaker, Zach Gowen). Vengeance 2003 is one of the best PPVs they ever did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB8 Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Also echoing the love for that tag. Really awesome stuff. I remember Eddie reversing a leg sweep into a hurricanrana, which is a spot that's always stuck with me (since it blew my mind). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Not a match recommendation or anything, but with SMASH pro-wrestling closing, what are the odds that we'll see Tajiri on American TV again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted February 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 The issue I have with Tajiri vs Crazy matches in 99/00 is that there are so many that they kinda blends with each others. That said, they actually did a pretty good job reactualizing themselves all things considered. There's a case for Yoshihiro Tajiri being a top 10 wrestler in the world in 1999/2000. I actually think it's amazing how much they DON'T blend together considering how often he would work the same guys. There is much more variation between matches with Crazy and Guido than I expected going into watching the footage. And I think Tajiri was the best wrestler in the World in both 99 and 00. It is theoretically possible that some of the BattlArts guys were better (I haven't watched that stuff in years) and I like GAEA at the time. But there is no one from any of the major promotions I would rate over him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLIK Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Not a match recommendation or anything, but with SMASH pro-wrestling closing, what are the odds that we'll see Tajiri on American TV again? Well, he was one of the names that poped up in rumors about that all Cruiserweight show the WWE might put on their network but i'm not putting much stock in that ever actually seeing the light of day. If I had to guess i'd bet on him just staying in Japan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted February 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Not a match recommendation or anything, but with SMASH pro-wrestling closing, what are the odds that we'll see Tajiri on American TV again? Rumor is that Tajiri has been contacted by the WWE about being a part of their new cruiserweight only show which allegedly is going to launch on the new network. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Tajiri is already past 40. Which seems crazy, but he started in his mid 20's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted February 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKoWnajwfDY Tajiri v. Minoru Tanaka - Big Japan 2/3/98 This was not really all that good but it was interesting to watch. This is about a year before Tajiri started his ECW run and the match was probably more of a spotfest than the vast majority of his ECW matches. It did have an underlying theme though with Tanaka targeting the arm early and Tajiri working for bigger bombs to even the score. They did a good job teasing the importance of the dragon suplex that would eventually end the match as well. Tajiri had sick kicks even then and his big spots looked really good. Tanaka was a guy who would be a huge favorite of certain segments of fans a year or so after this, but he actually worked a lot looser here than I was expecting and was much less convincing than Tajiri. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCBOb0K1TTI Tajiri v. Ohtani - BOSJ 5/20/97 Wow this was way better than I was expecting. Peak Ohtani is one of my all time favorites as he was the absolutely king of the dick back heels. This is almost the perfect scenario as you have King of Dicks Ohtani, coming off one of the all time great years in junior heavyweight wrestling v. minor league upstart kid who is just hoping to represent himself and his company well. Ohtani of course has no use for this match or this shit kid and tries to embarrass him and snuff him out early, grinding his forearm into his face, face washing him in the corner and mocking the whole proceeding like it is a complete waste of his time on every level. Tajiri eventually comes back by attacking Ohtani's knees with kicks and they do some really nice spots with Ohtani selling annoyance more than frustration at Tajiri's pluckiness. Every time Tajiri looks to be making a comeback he gets fucking wrecked by Ohtani, including an absolutely vicious pair of Ohtani springboard staples that Tajiri takes as well as any body ever has. Just as you start to get the feeling this i going to be a match about Tajiri's "fighting spirit," he counters an Ohtani corner charge with a kick to the knee, takes his head off with a kick and then hits a sit down powerbomb/rolling cradle combo for a near fall. Both guys get back to their feet and go into a brief strike exchange before Tajiri slips in a flash dragon suplex for the surprise win which Ohtani promptly sells like the greatest tragedy/crime in World history. This felt like Lebron going to a local Akron court and getting beat in a game of 21 by a street baller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victator Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC-ReAD_7IE Tajiri v. Eugene - SMASH 4/23/2010 The pre-match vignette with Eugene working a stereotypical Japanese tourist gimmick, in Japan as an American tourist was great. Fun match. I could see some people not liking the combo of "serious" athletic spots and Eugene schtick, but I think that sort of stuff fits in a promotion like SMASH which is basically a weird mismatch of "sports entertainment" elements. It also doesn't hurt that the athletic spots looked really slick. Tajiri's mockery of opponents is always fun and it amused me at points here, though I wish it would have been turned up a bit. I did enjoy the finish a great deal though. Worth watching. I like how Eugene has turned into Bobcat Goldwaith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Tajiri v. Ohtani - BOSJ 5/20/97 Wow this was way better than I was expecting. Peak Ohtani is one of my all time favorites as he was the absolutely king of the dick back heels. This is almost the perfect scenario as you have King of Dicks Ohtani, coming off one of the all time great years in junior heavyweight wrestling v. minor league upstart kid who is just hoping to represent himself and his company well. Ohtani of course has no use for this match or this shit kid and tries to embarrass him and snuff him out early, grinding his forearm into his face, face washing him in the corner and mocking the whole proceeding like it is a complete waste of his time on every level. Tajiri eventually comes back by attacking Ohtani's knees with kicks and they do some really nice spots with Ohtani selling annoyance more than frustration at Tajiri's pluckiness. Every time Tajiri looks to be making a comeback he gets fucking wrecked by Ohtani, including an absolutely vicious pair of Ohtani springboard staples that Tajiri takes as well as any body ever has. Just as you start to get the feeling this i going to be a match about Tajiri's "fighting spirit," he counters an Ohtani corner charge with a kick to the knee, takes his head off with a kick and then hits a sit down powerbomb/rolling cradle combo for a near fall. Both guys get back to their feet and go into a brief strike exchange before Tajiri slips in a flash dragon suplex for the surprise win which Ohtani promptly sells like the greatest tragedy/crime in World history. This felt like Lebron going to a local Akron court and getting beat in a game of 21 by a street baller. Love this match . It was one of the first puro tapes I picked up when I first started buying tapes but I never heard anyone give it strong praise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLIK Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Hm weird, i'd always assumed Ohtani vs Tajiri was a pretty famous match and that most everyone had seen it by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted February 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 I think I have seen it before but if so it was years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Evans Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Have you seen this Dylan? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6ft-k-bePk A Mexican death match between Super Crazy and Tajiri that actually took place in Mexico. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCBOb0K1TTI Tajiri v. Ohtani - BOSJ 5/20/97 Loved this match too. Right there in the peak of Ohtani. It's really amazing that the worm turned on Ohtani in just a few months when he got the IWGP Jr. Title. It's not like he fell off the cliff to utter suck... but he was so perfect in his 1995 - early 1997 roles, be it dicking it up here or being an underdog to guys like Liger and Dragon. They also has a solid short match at the Dome earlier in the year. The Dome often was a poor setting for junior matches, but they did a pretty good job. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted February 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS5cOf2GP5E...156C25FF6793A23 Tajiri v. Christian - RAW 2001 This is a short tv match, but we got some cool shit out of it while it lasted. I have no memory of Tajiri being the U.S. champ. The highlight of this was Christian chopping Tajiri, who then walked out of the corner, hit a nasty reverse back kick to Christian's head and then clutched his chest with a goofball expression on his face. Tajiri accidentally misting Charles Robinson was pretty amusing to. Basically just a match to further the Edge v. Christian feud. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6ft-k-bePk Tajiri v. Super Crazy - Mexican Death Match 3/30/01 This is only two months after ECW went out of business so it's kind of interesting to see how the match develops. There is some inopportune clipping in this that keeps us from getting a complete picture, but Tajiri is pretty great in this. I like how they had one really flashy sequence (which looked really) great and then Tajiri immediately caves in Crazy's head with a kick after an attempted "respect" handshake. Crazy had pretty shitty selling at points, but I didn't mind too much because Tajiri's heeling was quality and he was really vicious in general. Crazy fighting back to the apron with a chair only for Tajiri to flip kick the chair into his head in the most cavalier fashion imaginable was the highlight of the match. Well that and Tajiri just pelting him in the face with one of his title belts and heaving it over his shoulder in disgust. Finish felt rushed and Crazy pretty much solidified himself as the definitive least of the ECW workrate trio here, but this is a cool find that I have definitely never seen before. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPWs0KDZ6Qs Tajiri v. Little Guido - Hardcore Heaven 99 This is what I wrote about this for the ECW Set nomination process: "Jesus this was good. Pre-match Tajiri comes to the ring and Guido taunts him by slapping him in the face and begging Tajiri to tag him. That sort of sets the tone for this as they work a weird cross of BattleARTS and highspot heavy junior wrestling but it really clicks. The early matwork is fairly flashy for the time period and really rugged with some cool counters and escapes. Guido targets the arm and keeps coming back to it throughout the match, including a really cool cutoff spot off of a Tajiri dive attempt. There is also a great spot where Guido hits a dropkick to the arm knocking Tajiri to the floor and then Tajiri just sidesteps a plancha for one of many awesome Guido bumps. Tons of great spots in this including an insane faceplant on the ramp by Guido, a really sweet tarantula out of a sunset flip attempt, and an awesome Guido full nelson into armbar mat sequence that was really impressive. Even Big Sal was good in this as he was used sparingly, but set up an effective segment where Guido built heat on Tajiri leading to his big offensive barrage of brutal kicks and a brainbuster for the finish. Strong match. Unless I'm missing something this didn't get a single vote at SC which surprises me. I've seen a few matches between these two guys but I don't think I've seen a single one better than this. Easy nomination." This was actually one of the first things I watched for that project and by the end it still stood out as one of the better matches I had watched. Rewatching it now I don't have a great deal to add other than to say that it might be my US MOTY for 99. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Cooke Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Had never seen the Ohtani/Tajiri match either. Excellent. Flash pins don't always need to come from roll up's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLIK Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Completely off topic, it took me forever to figure out that was Terry Funk & The Funkmaster's of Wrestling in Dylan's profile pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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