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Post by invaderdave on Jan 11, 2011 10:37:50 GMT -5
I believe Foley said that if the WWF was about pure wrestling ability, Taka would have been world champ. He was referring to the fact that people care more about the wrestler than they do the move. He also referenced Papi Chulo in this regard. |
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Post by kleinnd on Jan 11, 2011 11:18:43 GMT -5
Loved the guy. I was more of a WCW fan, when it came to straight up wrestling. But I always tried to catch him wrestle on Shotgun. He also had one of the best planchas ever (just for the simplicity of it).
And Triple H vs Taka for the WWF Title is still one of my favorite Raw main events of all time.
BTW Chris Jericho's "title win that never was" happened the week after that ^ raw
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agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,915
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Post by agent817 on Jan 11, 2011 11:50:37 GMT -5
I still remember Kaientai. I remember how originally, the members all dressed in street clothes, like Funaki wore a hoody with shorts and Taka, when he became a member, wore a tanktop and shorts and was even growing facial hair. I think the only time that the members wore their Michinoku Pro tights was on the HeAT before Breakdown IYH in 1998 against the Hardys, when they, too, wore tights.
There wasn't really much of a lightweight division during that time. I guess that was why Taka held the title for so long. No competition whatsoever, except for maybe Too Much, though Brian Christopher mainly competed for it. I still can't believe Funaki stayed with the company for so long. Taka went back to Japan, as did Togo and Teioh, who were only in the WWF for a few months before going back to Japan. Those guys were good wrestlers, especially after seeing the 6-man tag match at ECW Barely Legal. That match was freakin' awesome.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2011 12:16:24 GMT -5
The one main issue in TAKA's run in the WWE was that, well, he was a light heavyweight (or "cruiserweight").
Other than that, he and Sho Funaki were really good...
...indeed.
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Post by kleinnd on Jan 11, 2011 12:19:53 GMT -5
Togo's senton bomb was a thing of beauty. Like a freakin' cannonball.
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Post by invaderdave on Jan 11, 2011 12:21:27 GMT -5
Dick Togo is one of the best heels in wrestling. Amazing, amazing rudo.
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percymania
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Percymania will live forever! Oh yeah!
Posts: 17,296
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Post by percymania on Jan 11, 2011 12:55:14 GMT -5
Man, I still remember when his debut was a big highly-hyped whoop-dee-doo, but once he started having matches it went totally flat. He had a few flashy moves and he was a great athlete, but he was a small guy in a big man's world and it just didn't work out for him. There weren't many WWE Superstars Taka could be booked to beat. They basically had to create the lightweight division for him. His inability to speak English probably didn't help him much either. They tried to get him over, but I don't think he was a big of a deal as they had hoped. He certainly was a good wrestler though. Actually, his debut didn't have any big hype at all. He was brought in to job to the Great Sasuke. Sasuke was supposed to be WWF's Light Heavyweight superstar but the fans, not knowing who the Japanese "Legend" was here, were more impressed by Taka and responded to him more. Despite losing both their matches (Canadian Stampede & RAW the night after), Taka was brought back and Sasuke wasn't. Well I seem to remember the WWE hyped Taka as if he were the greatest free agent singing out of Japan they've ever had. His first match was on PPV. There was hype going as he had a few matches in WWE BEFORE "WWE signed him to a long-term deal" (the deal being pure storyline). Signing Taka was supposed to be a big deal for the WWE. I remember this. |
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The Cool Pup
Don Corleone
Flawless friends fondling flawless feet
Posts: 1,715
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Post by The Cool Pup on Jan 11, 2011 12:58:56 GMT -5
I think he had a pretty good run, all things considered, when you consider the beginnings to the revival of Kaientai in early 2000.
Quality matches and a decent presence on the product for a few years is sometimes all you need to have a good run in a wrestling promotion.
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Post by FailedGimmick on Jan 11, 2011 16:33:53 GMT -5
His theme was awesome.
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Post by wrestlegamer on Jan 11, 2011 18:16:32 GMT -5
That's what I was coming to say. |
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Post by rapidfire187 on Jan 11, 2011 18:17:49 GMT -5
I bought the High Flyers DVD and saw a guy by the name of Taka Michinoku. I had never heard of him until I saw the DVD. I knew of obscure characters like the Gobbly Gooker, Outback Jack but Taka Michinoku? I now know he was the first light heavyweight champion but have to ask- What went wrong with him in the WWF? Could he have been a bigger star? Was he over? TAKA is/was a pretty big name in Japan as I'm sure someone else has mentioned by now. Even had his own promotion Michinoku Pro. Very talented wrestler but WWF just never gave him a solid push. Not a surprise since their track record with Japanese wrestlers is pretty weak. |
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Post by Spankymac is sick of the swiss on Jan 11, 2011 18:23:46 GMT -5
I bought the High Flyers DVD and saw a guy by the name of Taka Michinoku. I had never heard of him until I saw the DVD. I knew of obscure characters like the Gobbly Gooker, Outback Jack but Taka Michinoku? I now know he was the first light heavyweight champion but have to ask- What went wrong with him in the WWF? Could he have been a bigger star? Was he over? TAKA is/was a pretty big name in Japan as I'm sure someone else has mentioned by now. Even had his own promotion Michinoku Pro. Very talented wrestler but WWF just never gave him a solid push. Not a surprise since their track record with Japanese wrestlers is pretty weak. Acutally, Michinoku Pro is The Great Sasuke's promotion, where Taka got his start with the rest of Kaientai. Taka DOES have his own promotion, though, Kaientai Dojo. |
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Post by rapidfire187 on Jan 11, 2011 18:27:22 GMT -5
TAKA is/was a pretty big name in Japan as I'm sure someone else has mentioned by now. Even had his own promotion Michinoku Pro. Very talented wrestler but WWF just never gave him a solid push. Not a surprise since their track record with Japanese wrestlers is pretty weak. Acutally, Michinoku Pro is The Great Sasuke's promotion, where Taka got his start with the rest of Kaientai. Taka DOES have his own promotion, though, Kaientai Dojo. Dammit, I knew that. I've been confused by those 2 forever. Speaking of Sasuke, was his match with TAKA at Canadian Stampede his only WWF match? Surely it wasn't. Always wondered why they didn't keep him longer, seems like he could've gotten more over than the other cruisers just because of his awesome costume. |
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Post by wildojinx on Jan 11, 2011 18:27:46 GMT -5
I heard he wrote a book where he gave his opinion on every wrestler he wrestled in the wwf. I so want to read that book if it exists.
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Remix
Trap-Jaw
Posts: 384
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Post by Remix on Jan 11, 2011 18:28:11 GMT -5
I bought the High Flyers DVD and saw a guy by the name of Taka Michinoku. I had never heard of him until I saw the DVD. I knew of obscure characters like the Gobbly Gooker, Outback Jack but Taka Michinoku? I now know he was the first light heavyweight champion but have to ask- What went wrong with him in the WWF? Could he have been a bigger star? Was he over? TAKA is/was a pretty big name in Japan as I'm sure someone else has mentioned by now. Even had his own promotion Michinoku Pro. Very talented wrestler but WWF just never gave him a solid push. Not a surprise since their track record with Japanese wrestlers is pretty weak. It's hard to get over in WWE if people can't understand a thing that you say. Also holds you back if you need to carry a storyline. |
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Post by Spankymac is sick of the swiss on Jan 11, 2011 18:28:17 GMT -5
Acutally, Michinoku Pro is The Great Sasuke's promotion, where Taka got his start with the rest of Kaientai. Taka DOES have his own promotion, though, Kaientai Dojo. Dammit, I knew that. I've been confused by those 2 forever. Speaking of Sasuke, was his match with TAKA at Canadian Stampede his only WWF match? Surely it wasn't. Always wondered why they didn't keep him longer, seems like he could've gotten more over than the other cruisers just because of his awesome costume. I think he had a handful on the secondary shows, and was part of the Light Heavyweight title tourney, but nothing major aside from the PPV match. |
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Post by Lance Uppercut on Jan 11, 2011 21:42:50 GMT -5
Yeah, but there's also the "I'm going to defend the WWF Light Heavyweight Title in Japan only" from Sasuke and the fact that TAKA was willing to stay in America, as opposed to Sasuke who wanted to only do televised shows and PPV's in America and continue to do Michinoku Pro's shows in Japan. yeah apparently Great Sasuke is quite the asshole. Taz just mysteriously and bluntly says "I don't like him" when he does dvd commentary for Japanese matches. Must be the Japanese mil Mascaras. Too bad though, the mask and fancy suit probably would have kept him over for a while. |
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Post by Lance Uppercut on Jan 11, 2011 21:44:48 GMT -5
Acutally, Michinoku Pro is The Great Sasuke's promotion, where Taka got his start with the rest of Kaientai. Taka DOES have his own promotion, though, Kaientai Dojo. Dammit, I knew that. I've been confused by those 2 forever. Speaking of Sasuke, was his match with TAKA at Canadian Stampede his only WWF match? Surely it wasn't. Always wondered why they didn't keep him longer, seems like he could've gotten more over than the other cruisers just because of his awesome costume. I distinctly remember a rematch the next night on Raw. Then being confused why Taka was the one who stayed when they hyped the hell out of Saskue. |
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Bub (BLM)
Patti Mayonnaise
advocates duck on rodent violence
Fed. Up.
Posts: 37,742
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Post by Bub (BLM) on Jan 11, 2011 22:04:03 GMT -5
Yeah, but there's also the "I'm going to defend the WWF Light Heavyweight Title in Japan only" from Sasuke and the fact that TAKA was willing to stay in America, as opposed to Sasuke who wanted to only do televised shows and PPV's in America and continue to do Michinoku Pro's shows in Japan. yeah apparently Great Sasuke is quite the asshole. Taz just mysteriously and bluntly says "I don't like him" when he does dvd commentary for Japanese matches. Must be the Japanese mil Mascaras. Too bad though, the mask and fancy suit probably would have kept him over for a while. Lance Storm and Chris Jericho have both said that Sasuke was a disrespectful asshole because he was the only masked wrestler who wouldn't unmask in the locker room with the other wrestlers, which I guess is a big sign of disrespect. |
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Post by Spankymac is sick of the swiss on Jan 11, 2011 22:06:01 GMT -5
yeah apparently Great Sasuke is quite the asshole. Taz just mysteriously and bluntly says "I don't like him" when he does dvd commentary for Japanese matches. Must be the Japanese mil Mascaras. Too bad though, the mask and fancy suit probably would have kept him over for a while. Lance Storm and Chris Jericho have both said that Sasuke was a disrespectful asshole because he was the only masked wrestler who wouldn't unmask in the locker room with the other wrestlers, which I guess is a big sign of disrespect. To be fair, this did lead to him becoming the first masked Senator in history. So he's got that going for him, which is nice. |
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helped $lim jinx NXT. Woops
