[2000-05-14-ECW-Hardcore Heaven] Masato Tanaka vs Balls Mahoney

[soup23]

A really fun opener to start the PPV out. The crowd was energetic and this carried a pace interspersed with violence to keep the tempo up. Some stuff like Tanaka being able to kick out of the chair shot onslaught of Balls made him look strong. I do really like Balls' punches and think he is underrated as a worker around this era. His matches rarely go too long and he is able to convey a sense of violence to everything. This made me excited for the rest of the PPV. ***

[Laney]

This was a very good PPV opener and quite a surprising performance by Balls here. It's kind of surprising how much punishment Balls takes here and keeps kicking out as I felt that Balls and Tanaka were on completely different levels. I think this has to be one of the best performances of Mahoney's career.

 

***1/4

[BigVanCrush]

One of the best opening matches I've ever seen. They don't get a ton of time but Balls puts on a hell of a performance here and Tanaka is his usual, reliable self. I was shocked at Balls kicking out of one Rolling Elbow and the Diamond Dust, but it does show that he'd grown tougher since their series in 1998. Some ungodly chair shots in this one. Great goddamn match. ****