[1997-03-16-Michinoku Pro] Taka Michinoku & Mens Teoh & Masayoshi Motegi & Dick Togo & Shoichi Funaki vs Great Sasuke & Super Delphin & Gran Naniwa & Gran Hamada & Masato Yakushiji

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Childs]

These matches are always fun to watch with their blend of comedy, crazy spots and generally intense finishes. But there was a "been there, done that" feeling after all the great M-Pro from '96. I hate to say that given the energy of the match and the durability of the formulas. Still a nice element to mix into the flow of a yearbook.

[Loss]

Really? You know, I was initially worried about the same thing, especially when I saw that this was 27 minutes of disc space. But I really, really liked this match because it did feel different. It was much grittier and storyline-driven than any of the 1996 matches that I recall. The pace is a little slower than usual, and KDX are a little meaner than usual, and it makes this match feel fresh and different. This had the vibe of a New Japan tag involving Liger and Otani, except that Liger and Otani were nowhere to be found. The long heel dominance gave this some focus and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the match, and the final stretches was one of the better and more exciting final stretches of an MPro match that I can recall.

 

WCW missed the boat by not signing all of these guys. They wouldn't have been given the time they needed to have great matches and Sonny Onoo probably would have been their manager, but we would have had a few treasures pop up and the B-shows would have had been as fun as hell.

[FLIK]

WCW missed the boat by not signing all of these guys.

Years & years ago Sheldon Goldberg wrote a big article detailing how he put the deal together to get the MPro guys over to the US & then they allegedly screwed him on money. If i'm remembering correctly he mentions that he offered to get them a WCW meeting but he said Sasuke didn't want to go because he had heat with Ultimo over something at the time....

[goodhelmet]

Dylan, KrisZ and I watched the two handhelds and the Barely Legal match in preparation for the ECW set and I didn't get a "been there, done that" vibe at all. We cut the handhelds for time constraints and there were enough M-Pro matches on the set. However, as long as there are matches in between the M-Pro Ten man tags, I could watch these guys go anytime a match pops up. Especially Dick Togo... I always love his stuf in these tags.

[soup23]

I thought this tag was great. Loads of fun but also told a compelling story and mixed in highspots, brawling, and chain wrestling. Yaku was the stand out as he took a beating and Togo was great as always. I need to watch the 1996 tags again but this felt like upper tier stuff for the group to me.

[Kevin Ridge]

TAKA and crew are wearing their BWO shirts which is great continuity of them bringing the gimmick over to Japan. Togo launches Yakushiji with a German. I do love those combination tag team moves by Kaientai with added poses. Great stuff from TAKA. The moves come fast towards the end with all the dives and pinning attempts. Enjoyed it a lot but I too want to go back and revisit the 96 stuff.

[PeteF3]

I didn't think this was quite as good as the two best matches from '96 but I could watch this group go all day. Motegi brings things down a little from when Shiryu was in, and the ending was a little sudden, but otherwise this was gold. As Loss mentioned there were some grittier and more intense parts to this, especially the brawling in the back of the arena. And Motegi at least contributed that awesome rolling surfboard, an amazing spot that I don't think I've ever seen before. TAKA is the standout worker of the match, being at the center of numerous awesome tandem moves and contributing a spectacular running springboard moonsault to the floor at the closing stretch. TAKA was a complete waste in the WWF, that much is clear.

[Zenjo]

MPro at it's best, before Kaientai headed west. This holds comparison with the other 10 mans apart from These Days. 100mph action throughout, with enough variety to keep things interesting. Plenty of fun Lucharesu action with high flying in plentiful supply. Quick tags, double team moves and heelishness abound. There was also outside brawling and short periods of rudo domination to provide spice. At the end it seemed like it was about to build up to a crescendo. But then it ended too early. Oh well. If they'd have taken it on, then the level could've gone up a notch and left something memorable. Still very good.