FMW JULY 1995 COMMERCIAL TAPE
Running Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
This was one of FMW’s commercially released tapes, which at this time would come out once every six weeks or so. It was also the second tape of the (first) post-Onita era. The tape includes two shows, their 7/18/95 show in Korakuen Hall and their 7/30/95 event. From this tape, one could draw two conclusions. First, FMW was in a rebuilding mode and struggled to find its new identity. Hayabusa was their new golden boy, and while he was a spectacular worker, he wasn’t very polished and lacked the type of charisma one would want from Onita’s successor. Mr. Pogo was still around, but became more of a semi-main eventer with Onita gone- although that may have been a good thing because his work was terrible by this point. I remember someone saying that FMW “wobbled” back and forth between flying and garbage wrestling at this time, and while that might be an exaggeration, it is partially true since Hayabusa, unlike many others in FMW, wasn’t a garbage wrestler by trade. However, one could also conclude that FMW had a solid talent base, perhaps even stronger than when Onita was around. Besides the spectacular work of Hayabusa, you had very underrated workers like Kanemura and Oya, an emerging young talent in Masato Tanaka, and a women’s division that could crank out some good matches when it wanted to. You also had the Gladiator, Mike Awesome. While he was far from great this time (more like inconsistent), he was developing a very solid moveset, possessed very good agility for his then-large frame, and could have great matches when the time called for one. The work on this tape ranged from poor (Matsunaga vs Pogo) to solid to very good in brief spurts. Not a great tape, and one I wouldn’t recommend to those except for diehard FMW tape collectors because there are many better tapes that FMW has put out. Not a bad tape, though.
The tape started out with a lengthy feature on Hayabusa, which was mainly a monologue as clips and imaged played in the background. Mainly meant to establish Hayabusa as the focal point of the tape and the promotion.
-7/18/95-
1. Tetsuhiro Kuroda vs Hiyato Nanjyo
There was no heat early as the work and offense weren’t spectacular. Hiyato threw several decent roundhouse kicks and gained a near fall after a bulldog. Kuroda fought back with a lariat and gained a near fall with a dropkick. Hiyato knocked Kuroda out of the ring with a spin kick and hit an Asai moonsault. Hiyato gained a near fall with a moonsault. He missed a twisting splash and Kuroda made him submit at 10:01 with a half crab (5:58 aired). Generally a boring match except for a few moves by Hiyato. *1/4
2. Bad Nurse Nakamura vs Miwa Sato
Miwa attacked Nakamura before the bell but Nakamura quickly recovered. Sato gained a near fall with a double arm DDT. Sato hit a plancha on Nakamura and a top rope dropkick for a near fall. Nakamura did a poor rolling cradle for a near fall. Sato gained a near fall with a crucifix. Nakamura gained a near fall with a Takako panic and another with a German suplex. Nakamura pinned Sato at 7:06 with another German suplex (4:13 aired). Fast-paced, but simple work without much focus. *1/2
3. Young Of Independent League Match: Hideki Hosaka vs W*ING Kanemura
The work was nothing special early as they traded basic offense. Hosaka gained a near fall with a powerslam of sorts. Hosaka powerbombed Kanemura but missed a moonsault. Kanemura DDTd Hosaka but Hosaka recovered and gave him a top rope huracanrana. Hosaka gained a near fall with a huracanrana. Hosaka gave Kanemura a lariat and pinned him at 10:02 for the upset (4:56 aired). This was a very flat match until the last minute or two. *1/2
4. Young Of Independent League Match: Masato Tanaka vs Koji Nakagawa
Tanaka dominated Nakagawa early and looked good doing mainly simple offense but with his trademark intensity. Nakagawa caught Tanaka off-guard with a Fujiwara armbar and dominated Tanaka also with simple offense, but in blander fashion without much intensity. Tanaka gained a near fall with a sunset flip. Nakagawa continuously went back to working on Tanaka’s right arm. Tanaka fought back with a dropkick in the corner but missed a corner splash. Nakagawa gained a near fall after a suplex and applied a sharpshooter. Nakagawa back suplexed Tanaka and gained a near fall after a top rope shouldertackle. Tanaka countered a tiger suplex with an elbow. Tanaka gained a near fall after several elbows, a lariat and another near fall with a top rope headbutt. Tanaka gained a near fall with a short powerbomb. Nakagawa gained a heated near fall with a German suplex. Tanaka scored with an elbow and pinned Nakagawa at 11:49 (8:37 aired). This turned into a good match down the stretch. **1/2
5. Horace Boulder & Ricky Fuji vs Hido & Super Leather
There was a wild fight both in and out of the ring early. Boulder dropped a table on Leather and Fuji hit a tope suicida on Hido. Hido hit a plancha on Fuji and Boulder even hit a tope on Leather. Boulder gained a near fall on Leather with a back suplex. The match was rather dull as Leather was in for a long time, mainly being dominated by Boulder and Fuji. Leather slammed Boulder through a table at ringside. Fuji gained a near fall on Hido with a spin kick. Boulder attacked Hido’s arm with a chair and also hit Leather with the chair. Fuji worked on Hido’s arm. Hido back suplexed Boulder twice for a near fall. Leather gained a near fall on Boulder with a double arm suplex. Leather and Boulder brawled outside the ring as Hido piledrove Fuji for a near fall. Hido gained a near fall on Fuji with a moonsault but Fuji made Hido submit at 13:11 with a Fujiwara armbar (9:58 aired). Some good moments, but many lackluster ones and overall a bit disjointed. *3/4
6. Megumi Kudo vs Shark Tsuchiya
Kudo came out in an elaborate costume with one side of her face painted black. Despite Kudo’s intensity, Tsuchiya dominated her early in heelish fashion. Kudo no-sold Tsuchiya’s punches but Tsuchiya grounded her with a lariat. Kudo fought back with a spinning savate kick and a bulldog. Kudo took the fight outside the ring, where Tsuchiya regained the advantage. Kudo recovered and did Shinzaki’s ropewalk spot into a huracanrana off the top rope. Kudo hit a tope suicida but Tsuchiya fought back with a German suplex for a near fall. Tsuchiya gained a near fall with a back suplex and another with a powerbomb. Tsuchiya attacked Kudo with a pole wrapped in barbed wire but Kudo blew mist in her eyes and attacked Tsuchiya with the pole. Kudo gained a near fall with a DDT and another with a tiger driver. Kudo gained a near fall with a second tiger driver but Nurse Nakamura interfered and she & Tsuchiya assaulted Kudo with a chain. Tsuchiya hit a lariat with the chain in hand for a near fall. Kudo German suplexed Tsuchiya and pinned her at 9:24 (7:22 aired). For Tsuchiya’s involvement, a fine match- not too long, good action towards the end, and Kudo could strut her stuff without carrying things too much. **1/2
7. Gladiator & Hisakatsu Oya vs Hayabusa & Katsutoshi Niyama
Pretty bland early with Oya and Niyama exchanging offense. Gladiator dominated Hayabusa early with moves such as a lariat and a belly to belly suplex. Gladiator gained a near fall on Hayabusa with a big splash. Hayabusa fought back against Oya with a suplex but Oya quickly recovered and applied a leglock. Hayabusa countered with a leglock of his own but Gladiator interfered and he & Oya maintained the advantage on Hayabusa. Gladiator applied a half crab on Hayabusa but Niyama hit a lariat on Gladiator. Oya gained a near fall on Hayabusa with a neckbreaker but Hayabusa fought back with a spin kick. Niyama gained a near fall on Oya with a spin kick and another with a top rope headbutt. Niyama gained a near fall on Oya with a suplex as the crowd continued to be quiet. Hayabusa gave Oya a handspring elbow for a pop and hit an Orihara moonsault from inside the ring for another pop. Hayabusa gave Oya a somersault senton and a standing moonsault. He powerslammed Oya but missed a shooting star press. Gladiator belly to belly superplexed Hayabusa and gave him a top rope splash for a near fall. Gladiator gained a near fall on Hayabusa with an Awesome bomb. Oya attempted a back suplex but Hayabusa fell on top of him. Niyama gave both opponents urunages and powerslammed Oya for a near fall. Niyama gained a near fall on Oya with a back suplex and another with a top rope spin kick. Hayabusa gained a near fall on Gladiator with a German suplex. Hayabusa powerbombed Gladiator and moonsaulted him for a near fall. Gladiator gained a near fall on Hayabusa with a running Awesome bomb. Hayabusa pinned Gladiator at 14:52 with a huracanrana. Very good action and heat in the last five minutes made this a good match. ***
8. Lights Out No DQ All Weapons Legal Death Match: Mr. Pogo vs Mitsuhiro Matsunaga
They actually did turn off all the lights except for a spotlight that followed the action. Pogo hit Matsunaga with a chair as they brawled into the crowd. Pogo continued to dominate Matsunaga as the fight returned to the ring and used a barbed wire bat. Matsunaga fought back in another brawl into the crowd. Pogo used a sickle, which somehow glowed in the dark, to slice Matsunaga’s head open. Sometimes the action wasn’t visible when the spotlight wasn’t used. Matsunaga went after Pogo with a flaming barbed wire bat and gained a near fall. Pogo fought back and used his sickle. I think Pogo even used shears or tongs of some sort. Pogo choked Matsunaga at ringside and poured gasoline on him. Pogo threw a fireball, Matsunaga briefly caught on fire and the ref declared a KO win for Pogo at 12:51 (8:41 aired). Matsunaga’s pants caught on fire and he had to swiftly remove them to avoid severe damage. An unnecessary, ridiculous idea of a match. Granted, these two suck, but making it so you couldn’t even see what they were doing much of the time made it even worse. DUD
-7/30/95-
9. Hido & Hideki Hosaka vs Koji Nakagawa & Tetsuhiro Kuroda
Hosaka hit Nakagawa with a spin kick early and Hido hit Nakagawa with a chair. Hosaka gave Nakagawa a huracanrana for a near fall but Nakagawa countered and gained a near fall of his own. Nakagawa gained a near fall on Hido with a top rope shouldertackle. Time expired at 20:00 (1:02 aired). Looked like a decent match with strong heat in the end. NR
10. World Independent Jr. title: Ricky Fuji (c) vs Hiyato Nanjyo
Nanjyo hit a somersault tope suicida right after the bell and also an Asai moonsault. Nanjyo attempted a second rope moonsault bodyblock but Fuji spin kicked him in mid-air. Fuji hit a brainbuster and a tombstone for the pin at 7:25 (1:26 aired). Probably a lackluster match since fans were quiet for most of the footage. NR
11. Megumi Kudo, Combat Toyoda & Kaori Nakayama vs Shark Tsuchiya, Miwa Sato & Bad Nurse Nakamura
Toyoda dominate Sato early. Nakayama gained a near fall on Sato with a moonsault. Kudo hit a tope suicida on Sato and Nakamura. Toyoda went for a plancha but Tsuchiya hit her with a chair. Nakayama hit a plancha on Tsuchiya and Nakamura. Kudo pinned Sato at 21:48 with a tiger driver (2:23 aired). Hard to gauge the match overall but what aired was good with decent heat. NR
12. Young Of Independent League Final: Masato Tanaka vs W*ING Kanemura
They traded offense early with good intensity. Tanaka missed a corner splash and appeared to hurt his knee. Kanemura applied a figure four, but both men rolled out of the ring to the floor, where Kanemura powerbombed Tanaka. Kanemura did an airplane spin/powerbomb combo but met Tanaka’s knees on a slingshot splash attempt. They elbowed each other but Tanaka then got the better of Kanemura with a flurry of elbows. Tanaka pinned Kanemura at 12:47 with a thunderfire powerbomb to win the tournament (3:57 aired). Looked like a good match in the *** range.
13. Hisakatsu Oya vs Katsutoshi Niyama
Pretty boring early with them doing unimpressive mat wrestling. Oya appeared to hurt his knee and Niyama attacked the knee briefly. Niyama applied a sharpshooter and gave Oya a urunage. Niyama gained a near fall with a second urunage and another with a lariat. Niyama gained a near fall with an enzu-lariat. Oya fought back with a back suplex but Niyama no-sold it. Oya countered a Niyama urunage and fell on him for a near fall. Oya gained a near fall with two back suplexes. Oya pinned Niyama at 16:18 after a third back suplex (5:02 aired). The last two minutes were solid, but looked like a lackluster match with a dead crowd early. NR
14. Coffin Match: Mitsuhiro Matsunaga & Super Leather vs Mr. Pogo & Horace Boulder
There was a wild brawl at the start. Boulder and Leather dueled with chairs at ringside. Boulder hit leather with a table as Matsunaga got the better of Pogo. Leather backdropped Boulder over the top rope to the floor onto a bed of barbed wire boards. Pogo sliced Matsunaga open with his trademark sickle and also used a knife of some sort. Pogo hung Matsunaga by a chain over the top rope. Matsunaga went to hit Pogo with the knives but Pogo moved and Matsunaga ran into Leather. Pogo brought a barbed wire board into the ring and piledrove Matsunaga on it. Boulder jumped off the top rope and hit Matsunaga with a table. Boulder powerbombed Matsunaga into the coffin and Boulder placed the lid on it for the win at 11:44 (5:51 aired). Afterward Pogo tried to set the coffin on fire but several wrestlers intervened. A clustermess of a match for the most part. 3/4*
15. Hayabusa vs Gladiator
Gladiator attacked Hayabusa before the bell but Hayabusa fought back with a handspring elbow. Hayabusa outwrestled Gladiator on the mat early, mainly working on his arm. Gladiator fought back by overpowering Hayabusa, including a standing belly to belly suplex. Gladiator gained a near fall with a German suplex. Hayabusa fought back as he dropkicked Gladiator out of the ring and hit an Orihara moonsault from inside the ring to wake up the previously quiet crowd. Hayabusa hit a slingshot somersault senton and a standing moonsault for a near fall. Hayabusa gained a near fall with a top rope splash similar to a Vader bomb. Hayabusa hit a firebird splash for a near fall. Gladiator caught a charging Hayabusa and gave him a stun gun. Gladiator countered a huracanrana attempt with a powerbomb and hit a big splash for a near fall. Gladiator gained a near fall with a top rope splash and the near fall got good heat. Gladiator powerbombed Hayabusa but Hayabusa caught him on the top rope. Gladiator recovered and went for a top rope Awesome bomb but Hayabusa in mid-air countered with a huracanrana for a pop and a heated near fall. Hayabusa barely hit a shooting star press as he nearly landed head first. Gladiator recovered and gave Hayabusa an Awesome bomb for a heated near fall. Gladiator gained a near fall with a sitout Awesome bomb. Gladiator pinned Hayabusa at 10:13 after a top rope Awesome bomb. A very good match in the final few minutes. Somewhat unpolished at times since Hayabusa wasn’t a refined worker and Gladiator wasn’t nearly as great as he would get in later years, but good overall. **3/4
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