[1997-04-13-ECW-Barely Legal] Taka Michinoku & Mens Teioh & Dick Togo vs Great Sasuke & Gran Hamada & Masato Yakushiji

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

A very good match, miles better than anything else happening in ECW so far this year, but by the standards of normal MPro matches, it's a little lacking. It's enjoyable for sure, but chances are you've seen most of this done equally well or better in other matches. Still, as a showcase match, it works very well.

[Tim Cooke]

This has always been overrated. Their 1/14/97 trios in MPro, 2/9/97 8 man in BattlArts, and 11/26/97 trios in All Japan Woman are better touring matches. ECW has been the one constant awful so far in this yearbook.

[Childs]

Yeah, this was an overly spotty mess compared to the best MPro stuff. But it was fun to see them do it in a different setting, and a lot of the spots still looked amazing.

[Dylan Waco]

I think both of the ECW fancams with the Min Pro guys were considerably better than this

[soup23]

I thought this was very good even if it didn't reach the great level of other stuff. Interested to see the other touring matches if this is on the low end. I again found it amusing that Styles talks about WCW calling Ultimo Ultimate all the while mispronouncing Sasuke's name. The crowd was fairly respectful but I wouldnt say they were extremely hot for this match.

[Kevin Ridge]

A bit of a rushjob for these guys compared to their other matches. We get a power ranger chant for Yakushiji. Fans love the action though. Thought this made a great addition to show where you were going to get those typical ECW brawls.

[Robert S]

That ring was very bouncy. It also was strange to see these six to completely screw up a spot: TAKA and Teioh tried to double armdrag Sasuke into Togo's arms for a powerbomb (which, I guess, Sasuke was supposed to counter with a hurrancanrana) which completely failed. They tried to redo the spot and even that didn't look very good.

[peachchaos]

This was championed as a near-classic for years. It's a pretty good showcase, but there's a few blown spots. A hot crowd eats it all up.

 

The match from a few months earlier on Hardcore TV was probably better, but this was still a big moment for both promotions and smart marks everywhere.

 

TAKA and Sausuke show up in WWF a few months later, begging the question of why Paul didn't just use the other guys at some point. I know Hamada and Nainiwa come back, but the real money was on K-BWO.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Not to be a dick, but Gran Hamada is in this match not Naniwa.

Michinoku Pro is not style I have delved into too much, but I have watched enough to know this is not the best match of the style. I was just listening to a Steve Austin show where he was talking about rings and how the footage and feel of the ring can cause mishaps until you get adjusted. So I would imagine the uncharacteristic blown spots are due to not being comfortable with the new setting. If I ever met a big time Japanese pro wrestler, the first thing I am asking them (after thanking them for being fucking awesome unless it is Tenzan then I am just skipping to straight to the question), what do you think of the American style and American crowds like? Because based on Ultimo Dragon's performances in WCW and this performance they must think all we care about is spots, spots, spots. I guess following the Eliminators that only reinforced their view of America. I just feel Dragon and M-Pro really dumbed down their style because in their mind American crowds only pop for highspots. I wonder if I am right is all.

Also, it was pretty cool of the ECW crowd to throw streamers in the ring. For such an "irreverent" audience, they tended to cheer faces, boo heels, respect other styles of wrestling. I feel like fans of wrestling nowadays are just plain rude and spoiled. At this point in my life, I am not embarrassed by the product, I am more embarrassed by the current fans (not you guys of course. You guys are the bestest!).

[(BP)]

I really wish they had kept bringing the Michinoku Pro guys in for the following ppvs. They were fun and it broke up the monotony.

[PeteF3]

Good match--some ugly spots like that triple power bomb attempt. Plus Sasuke was working with a broken orbital bone and it showed, as he was really working at half-speed until the very end stretch. This doesn't quite have as good of a build to the big nutso final run as the best MPro matches, but there are some tremendous spots as you'd expect and it's fun to see these guys in a different setting. Kind of criminal what the WWF ended up doing with them. I continue to be higher than most on virtually everything ECW is putting out so far this year.

[Zenjo]

There certainly aren't many ECW matches that I like. This was one of them. There weren't any ECW wrestlers involved and the crowd wasn't as awful as usual. I wouldn't say that the workers did much to adapt. They just did the MPro style which has a lot of international appeal. There's a natural heel/face dynamic, high workrate, plenty of highspots and its fun. Yakushiji is the lowest profile guy here, but his aerial ability stood out. Dick is the coolest MF'er around. Relentless action, it felt longer than it was. Lots of entertainment in the early going, then it had the typical 6 man dip. They got back on track before overcooking the finish. Good stuff overall.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Re-reading my review, I agree a lot with what I said but I liked the match better this time having watched a lot more M-Pro.

bWo Japan (Taka Michinoku, MENS Teioh, Dick Togo) vs Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, Masato Yakushiji - ECW Barely Legal 1997

 

Very good touring match that I assumed help greatly in getting them a partnership with the WWF in the summer of 1997, which also ended up killing the promotion well that and Sasuke basically retiring. Sasuke has not looked his best in these American outings. He was willing to take a beating, but something felt off. He was not being his daredevil self. I thought Gran Hamada was good. There are times when he can be a mini-Tenryu and be all ornery and pissed off and other times he fades into the background, more of the latter here. The young Yakushiji actually carried the babyface side he was both the best face in peril and the best flier in the match. The crowd really popped for his highspots especially his great armdrags. Kaientai is badass as always. Taka Michinoku has so much charisma. Flipping off the crowd was great. bWo Japan just made so much sense I am glad they did it. So many good Kaientai double & triple teams and the ECW faithful was popping for all of them. The Mutants could be sick fucks, but they were mostly respectful of international styles so kudos to them. The classic Kaientai poses were great. Shieldbomb on Yakushiji. I really like this idea of the Shield watching old Kaientai matches and aspiring to be like them. They fuck up Shieldbomb with Sasuke. Sasuke hits his classic Asai Moonsault. Taka gets his CRAZY springboard splash. The finish stretch is good. Nothing too big until then end when Taka hits a springboard dropkick that even Ohtani would be jealous of on Sasuke and nails a Michinku Driver. 1-2-NO! Now we run through Sasuke's stuff, quebrada, HUGE Crucifix Powerbomb and finally Tiger Suplex. Lets be honest it was a total spotfest, it lacked a lot of structure that the other M-Pro matches had, but they were trying to get over with a new crowd and they did so by throwing out a ton of spots and they were great. Even it is not the best of M-Pro, you can appreciate by watching other M-Pro. ***1/2

[WingedEagle]

Watching live as a 16 year old this was literally like nothing I'd ever seen before. It ain't that now but is still a special match and memory. Gran Hamada remains one of the great, unsung heroes of the mat and this match rocked if falling well short of a MOTYC.