FMW TOKYO KOMAZAWA PARK TV SPECIAL

Taped 12/11/96

1. Super Leather & Cryptkeeper vs Dragon W*INGer & Hideki Hosaka

Leather kicked the ref before the bell for no apparent reason. Leather gave Hosaka a few chops but Hosaka armdragged him twice. Leather bailed out of the ring but Hosaka hit a tope suicida. Hosaka hiptossed Leather and dropkicked him. Cryptkeeper and Winger did a criss cross and Cryptkeeper gave Winger what looked like a Japanese armdrag. They did another criss cross and Winger dropkicked Cryptkeeper out of the ring. Winger gave Cryptkeeper a running clothesline in the corner but missed a second and Cryptkeeper gave him a released German suplex. Cryptkeeper shouldertackled Winger and tagged Leather. Leather gave Winger a couple weak kneedrops and a couple elbowsmashes. He legdropped Winger for a near fall and vertical suplexed him. Leather gave Winger a second rope kneedrop for a near fall and a Russian legsweep. Leather kneedropped Winger again for a near fall. Cryptkeeper gave Winger an inverted suplex for a near fall and a piledriver for another near fall. Leather pummeled Winger but Winger countered a powerbomb with a huracanrana. Winger dropkicked Leather and he and Hosaka clotheslined Leather out of the ring. Winger hit an Asai moonsault on Leather as Hosaka gave Cryptkeeper a huracanrana and a dropkick. Hosaka hit a tope suicida on Cryptkeeper. Hosaka and Winger double suplexed Leather for a near fall. Winger moonsaulted Leather for a near fall. Leather countered a German suplex and pummeled Winger. Cryptkeeper caught Winger and DDTd him. Cryptkeeper gave Winger la magistral for a near fall and powerslammed him. Cryptkeeper powerbombed Winger for a near fall. Cryptkeeper and Leather gave Hosaka a powerbomb/neckbreaker combo for a near fall. Cryptkeeper gave Winger a rocker dropper and Leather followed with a weak top rope dropkick. Leather side suplexed Winger for a near fall and superplexed him for another near fall. Leather tombstoned Winger for a near fall and pinned him at 11:49 after a brainbuster. The work wasn’t bad, but everything they did was done with little enthusiasm or intensity. Fans were also really quiet except for a few spots which garnered only polite responses. A flat opener. *

2. FMW World Independent and Brass Knuckles Title Unification Match: Gladiator vs W*ING Kanemura

Gladiator overpowered Kanemura early. Gladiator grabbed a headlock and knocked Kanemura for a loop with a tackle. Gladiator clotheslined Kanemura out of the ring. He went for his tope suicida, Kanemura jumped to the apron but Gladiator met him with a clothesline. Gladiator stumbled going for a springboard plancha and trapped his leg in the ropes. Kanemura then hit his trapped left leg with several chairshots. Kanemura brought a couple chairs into the ring and hit Gladiator’s leg with more chairshots. Kanemura placed a chair on Gladiator’s injured leg and legdropped it. Kanemura placed Gladiator on the top rope and hit his leg with another chairshot. Kanemura applied a leg grapevine on Gladiator. Kanemura placed Gladiator on a table at ringside and drove him through it with a top rope splash. Kanemura hit Gladiator with a piece of the table. Back in the ring Gladiator fought back with punches but Kanemura dropkicked his left knee. Kanemura draped Gladiator’s leg over the ring apron and hit it with a table piece. Kanemura smashed the table piece over Gladiator’s head and gained a near fall. Kanemura jumped off the top rope but ran into a clothesline from Gladiator. Gladiator hit Kanemura with a table at ringside and set up the table. In the ring Gladiator hit Kanemura in the head with a chair for a near fall. Gladiator went for an Awesome bomb but Kanemura blocked it. Kanemura charged but Gladiator caught him and gave him a stun gun. Gladiator then gave Kanemura an Awesome bomb over the top rope through the table at ringside in a crazy spot since Kanemura nearly landed head-first on the concrete. Gladiator jumped off the apron and clotheslined Kanemura. Gladiator propped what was left of the table against the ropes in the ring, then drove Kanemura head-first into the table. Kanemura tried to fight back but Gladiator hit him in the head with a table piece. Gladiator top rope splashed Kanemura for a heated near fall. Kanemura caught Gladiator on the top rope but Gladiator recovered. Kanemura held his own and belly to belly superplexed Gladiator for a near fall. Kanemura gave Gladiator a Michinoku driver and a top rope legdrop for a near fall. Gladiator countered a powerbomb with a backdrop but Kanemura held on and sunset flipped him for a near fall. Kanemura gained a near fall with la magistral but ran into a boot. Kanemura countered a German suplex with a low mule kick and rolled up Gladiator for a near fall. Kanemura ran into a high kick and Gladiator gave him a sit-out Awesome bomb for a near fall. Gladiator gave Kanemura a running Awesome bomb for a near fall. Kanemura countered a second Awesome bomb but Gladiator gave him a short lariat and broke a table piece over his head. Gladiator then gave Kanemura a second sit-out Awesome bomb and pinned him at 17:14 to win both titles. This was a pleasant surprise, and turned into a very good match. The storyline of Gladiator’s injured leg carried the first half well, while both men looked great chipping in their big moves and near falls in the second half. Some may complain that the leg injury didn’t mean squat later in the match, but any kind of noticeable psychology in an FMW hardcore match has to be a plus. ***1/2

3. Hayabusa vs Great Sasuke

Hayabusa took Sasuke down early and applied an armbar and a wristlock. Sasuke countered with an armdrag. He took down Hayabusa and worked on his leg. Hayabusa countered with an armbar but Sasuke took him down again by his legs. Sasuke headbutted Hayabusa and kicked his back. Sasuke suplexed Hayabusa and applied a hammerlock. They did a criss cross and Hayabusa spin kicked Sasuke out of the ring. Hayabusa then hit a somersault plancha and followed with a springboard spin kick on Sasuke. Hayabusa gave Sasuke a standing moonsault for a near fall but Sasuke fought back with a handspring elbow that knocked him out of the ring. Sasuke hit an Asai moonsault but Hayabusa held up a chair that Sasuke crashed into. Hayabusa then hit an Asai moonsault of his own and gained a near fall with a slingshot legdrop. Sasuke ran into a kick and Hayabusa gave him a falcon arrow for a near fall. Hayabusa legdropped Sasuke twice and gave him a fisherman buster. Hayabusa hit a firebird splash for a near fall as heat picked up. Hayabusa gave Sasuke a spinning falcon arrow for a near fall. He slammed Sasuke but Sasuke knocked him off the top rope to the floor with a dropkick. Sasuke then hit a spectacular space flying tiger press on Hayabusa and an in-ring quebrada for a near fall. Sasuke German suplexed Hayabusa for a near fall and applied an octopus submission (similar to an abdominal stretch). Sasuke tiger suplexed Hayabusa for a near fall and powerbombed him for a heated near fall. Sasuke charged the corner but Hayabusa dumped him to the apron. Sasuke caught Hayabusa with a kick and went for a top rope dropkick but Hayabusa also dropkicked him in mid-air. Sasuke gave Hayabusa a huracanrana for a near fall. Hayabusa caught Sasuke on the top rope and gave him a top rope falcon arrow for the pin at 19:12 (12:05 aired). My guess is that the match wasn’t as good in complete form as it appeared on TV because fans were almost silent during the build. The early work was solid, but bland. It seemed like fans looked at both as highspot machines and expected nothing else from them, so when they did matwork fans didn’t get into it. When they started exchanging big moves and near falls, fan heat picked up. Both men looked great in hitting their spots so this turned into a very enjoyable match in the final minutes. Not as strong a match as Hayabusa and Sasuke were capable of, though. ***

4. Onita’s Return/Pogo’s “Retirement”: Atsushi Onita, Mr. Pogo, Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Masato Tanaka vs Terry Funk, Hisakatsu Oya & The Headhunters (A & B) w/Victor Quinones

I’m not even going to try to capture every detail of this match since so much was happening from start to finish, so this review will contain a smaller percentage of details covered than most other matches I touch upon. A wild 8-way fight broke out all over the place before the bell, with the early notable highlight being Onita and Funk exchanging blows in the ring. Onita threw Funk out of the ring and hit him with a chair. Onita piledrove Funk through a table at ringside. Pogo got the better of Oya with some weak looking chops and rammed him into some chairs at ringside. Onita continued to dominate Funk in the ring and bulldogged him. Oya rammed Pogo into the ringpost as one of the Headhunters steamrolled through Tanaka in the ring. A bloody Tanaka clotheslined Headhunter A and hit a plancha. Pogo fought back against Oya and repeatedly hit him with his boot. Funk attacked Onita with punches but Onita fought back with a DDT. Onita broke a chair over Funk’s head at ringside while Pogo applied a dragon sleeper on Oya in the ring. Onita hit a Headhunter with a chair. Funk kicked Onita from behind and hit his leg with a chair twice. Kuroda intervened but Funk headbutted him and applied a spinning toehold on Onita. Funk DDTd Onita as Oya attacked Pogo at ringside. Funk gave Onita a rolling cradle. The Headhunters slammed Kuroda and gave him a big splash/legdrop combo. HH-A placed Kuroda on a table and HH-B drove Kuroda through the table with a heavy (350ish lbs) top rope splash for a near fall. Funk choked Onita with a chain as each Headhunter gave him a corner splash/clothesline. Funk attacked Onita with this weird machete/knife with multiple points and sliced up his back. Onita tried to fight back with headbutts but Funk stood his ground and attacked him with the machete again. Pogo intervened but Oya attacked him and held him at bay. Onita fought back and attacked Funk with a piece of the broken table. Onita also hit HH-A and Oya with the table piece. Pogo then went after one of the Headhunters with the machete and choked him with a chain. Tanaka attacked the other Headhunter with running elbows as Pogo hung HH-A over the top rope with the chain. Tanaka gained a near fall on HH-B. Oya hit Kuroda, Tanaka and Onita with a chair but Tanaka countered a back suplex by falling on Oya. Tanaka gave Oya a roaring elbow for a near fall but Oya then fought back with a backdrop driver for a near fall of his own. Oya back suplexed Onita and Funk poured lighter fluid over Onita’s body. Pogo went after Funk before he could torch Onita with a fireball. Onita DDTd Oya and powerbombed him for a near fall. Kuroda dropkicked HH-A out of the ring but Quinones hit Kuroda with a chair while he was on the top rope. HH-A superplexed Kuroda and HH-B followed with a top rope headbutt for a near fall. A bunch of chairs were thrown into the ring. HH-A powerbombed Kuroda onto the pile of chairs for a near fall. Funk piledrove Onita on the chairs and then gave him a spike piledriver on the chairs with Oya’s help for a near fall. Pogo attacked Funk and Oya with a barbed wire baseball bat and Onita top rope splashed Oya for a near fall. Tanaka powerbombed Oya for a heated near fall but HH-A caught him with a lariat for a near fall. HH-A gave Tanaka a tiger driver for a near fall. He slammed Tanaka and top rope splashed him for a near fall. HH-A missed a moonsault on Tanaka and Tanaka elbowed him. Onita hit HH-A with a chair and Tanaka back suplexed him for the pin at 23:04 (20:09 aired). Amazing postmatch scene with lots of chaos and then quite the intriguing “celebration” with Onita and Pogo. As for the match itself, it wasn’t great because a match with 8 men can be a bit of a clustermess at times and of course Pogo and Onita were in there. Overall, though it was very enjoyable, moreso than the rating would indicate, and is one of those matches that would probably rate about a full star higher as a live experience. Everyone generally worked hard, and Tanaka turned out to be the star work-wise, which is no surprise. Great fan heat and chaos throughout. **3/4

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