FMW Hayabusa Last Match 08.25.99 DirecTV PPV

Nakajma Sports Center
Attendance: 4,900

Previously In FMW…

FMW says goodbye to the Hayabusa gimmick with the last wrestling show at the old Nakajima Sports Center which is scheduled for demolition. But did FMW save them a job and tear the house down themselves? Let’s find out!

Jado vs. Flying Kid Ichihara

In a worrying moment, Kid makes his entrance with his valet but he has to cover and protect her from the amount of fans wanting to get closer to her. Jesus, what is this an airport?

After some jaw-jacking that I assume is about Jado wanting Kid’s valet, Kid immediately goes for his Asai Moonsault. Because he always starts with that, Jado knows it’s coming and lobs a chair at him mid-bounce then celebrates afterwards. La Mahistral gets two for Kid, before he jumps directly into Jado’s foot. Again, the crowd cheer. Selena jumps on the apron to distract Jado who falls for it, leaving him open for a slap and then a…immediate comeback from Jado who wins with a lariat at 6:26 hahaha what?

People enjoy Kid’s act. And by “act” I mean “his valet.”

Post-match, his valet takes her clothes off again but Kid leaves with her to massive boos. Oh no. Next.

Highlights of Kaori Nakayama vs. Emi Motokawa 8/23/99

Oh it’s the return of the women’s division! Perfect timing after that last match eh. Oh and it’s in highlight form. Nakayama wins with a top rope stunner.

Highlights of Giant Steele vs. Yoshinori Sasaki 8/23/99

Steele threatens to do something interesting but then lies and simply pins Sasaki with a chokeslam. Huh.

WEW Six Man Street Fight Titles

Kodo Fuyuki & Koji Nakagawa & Gedo (c) vs. Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Hisakatsu Oya & Yoshinori Sasaki

And just the end is shown here with Gedo rolling up Sasaki to retain.

Well that was a rushed collection of highlights to get us ready for the matches that matter.

FMW Independent Title

Masato Tanaka vs. Yukihiro Kanemura

Tanaka has only just won the title from Mr. Gannosuke and he’s already having to defend it in a big match against another major foe. Tough break mate.

Tanaka wastes no times bouncing the big lad around and out the ring, planting Kanemura with a brutal tornado DDT off the apron and onto the concrete very quickly. Crazy how that’s merely a transition spot for these two. Hido helps his colleague by setting up tables underneath the balcony, which causes both men to quickly brawl up to the cheap seats. Kanemura effortlessly scoop slams Tanaka off the side and into the nothingness below as that looked SCARILY high up to take that kind of slam.

The poor bastard rotated and appeared to land leg and feet first, if he was lucky. I don’t know, we didn’t get to see the impact.

Kanemura attempts to drag Tanaka into the ring so he can pin him quickly (we’re less than five minutes into this) but Tanaka can barely stand. Kanemura kindly assists by picking him up and slamming him off the apron and through another table. Again, we’re five minutes into this. Kanemura doesn’t bother trying to pin Tanaka and instead casually brains him by suplexing a hard-arse table off his noggin. It still only gets two. Tanaka ducks a chair shot to kickstart his comeback, with the crowd eating up his elbows like they’re Pringles until Kanemura takes his ludicrous flying sell off a lariat and lands on his own head.

Tanaka follows up with a missile dropkick to the face, before setting up a Tornado DDT which is expertly countered into a Sky High. I can’t emphasize enough the impact that move gets as Tanaka is absolutely DUNKED like a suspected witch in the Middle Ages. Kanemura throws a pile of chairs into the ring so he can superplex Tanaka into the painful pile of hard plastic. Tanaka kicks out so Kanemura sets up even more chairs, with Tanaka attempting to stop the pain with a Diamond Dust, which Kanemura beautifully counters into an Emerald Fusion. Tanaka is then powerbombed onto the chair-pile and he bounces off it. Still kicks out.

Kanemura dumps Tanaka with a German Suplex but (say it with me) YOU CAN’T HURT TANAKA who pops up to side suplex Kanemura right through his neck. Tanaka sets up the Rolling Elbow but Kanemura sees it coming and lariats him out his skin. I love contests like this where both wrestlers know each other so well. Tanaka halts a jumping Kanemura with a well-timed cutter but Kanemura refuses to take the Rolling Elbow, repeatedly catching the elbow until he’s able to get Tanaka in a backslide for two. Tanaka has had enough and drops Kanemura with a TKO before sticking his rival with a Diamond Dust. One hard-arse piece of table to the head and a Rolling Elbow finally retains it for Tanaka at 13:42.

This was a complete and utter car crash but what a wreck they left. I could watch Kanemura and Tanaka wrestle and destroy each other every day. Highly recommended if you’re into matches like Mike Awesome vs. Spike Dudley.

Also this would be the last appearance of the FMW Independent Title as it would be sold to cover the cost of the new WEW Heavyweight Championship, which was supposed to happen months ago but shit happens. Appropriate that these two would have the last match for the title, with Kanemura having defeated Tanaka to become the first champ in 1996.

FMW Brass Knuckles Title

Hayabusa vs. Mr. Gannosuke

Here we go, the Hayabusa gimmick’s last match. He’s wearing his Special Occasions Only Brown Outfit and has to fight his way through the crowd to even get to the ring.

Even Gannosuke seems respectful as both men feel one another out to show they know one another very well after years of being friends and rivals. Gannosuke gets sent outside early on so Hayabusa can dive over the ring post to land on him like it’s nothing. Hayabusa targets Gannosuke’s knee, the same one he injured during their big match in 1998. Well that’s a shame, I’m sure Gannosuke was about to start doing Quebradas too. Oh then Hayabusa goes for his arm instead. Well OK then, it’s your last match mate so you do you. Gannosuke takes advantage of the lapsed psychology to keep Hayabusa grounded with a scissor hold.

Hayabusa gets the ropes and shows all that work was for nothing as he bangs Gannosuke with a Frankensteiner to send him outside. Gannosuke halts another dive to set up a fucking giant powerbomb on the concrete. Yikes. Crowd murmur anxiously because that looked gnarly. They don’t even pop for the kick-out, they just sound worried. So Gannosuke tries for another, with Hayabusa countering it into a Frankensteiner which causes the crowd to sigh in relief. Hayabusa turns their worry into happiness as he lands a picture-perfect Asai Moonsault, followed by presumably the last ever Swanton/Moonsault combo inside. Gannosuke cruelly dodges them so he takes a Fisherman’s Buster for two. Crowd are politely enjoying this so far.

Hayabusa attempts his first Shooting Star Press in years but Gannosuke rolls away to make the crowd murmur in sadness again. Gannosuke Does The Deal with the Falcon Arrow only getting two. Fire Thunder Powerbomb gets two as expected for a big match like this. Hayabusa shrugs it off to Frankensteiner Gannosuke off the top before a kinda Angel Wings splats Gannosuke’s face across the mat for two. Hayabusa Does His Own Deal and gets two from his own Falcon Arrow as a young Excalibur gets excited. Hayabusa barely connects on a tumbling swanton before getting all of a 450 Firebird Splash. Gannosuke kicks out and the crowd sound annoyed. This has been a wonderful audience. Springboard Frankensteiner is countered into a fast powerbomb with the crowd getting very concerned that could have been it. It isn’t. Gannosuke’s German Suplex is shrugged off because YOU CAN’T HURT THE HAYABUSA who delivers his own to Gannosuke WHO ALSO CAN’T BE HURT and then both land stereo palm strikes for the double down. Hayabusa mashes the pad the fastest so he attempts a Tombstone, with Gannosuke squeezing it into a Fire Thunder Driver! For two.

Gannosuke locks in his dreaded Nirvana Clutch as crowd sound like they’re being boiled alive, but Hayabusa wriggles to the ropes. Gannosuke mocks the crowd who do not need any more encouraging. Gannosuke then casually sets up and delivers a terrifying Reverse Fire Thunder Driver off the second rope.

Hayabusa thankfully kicks out and proves he’s alive. Gannosuke Clutch scares the crowd but Hayabusa rolls out and delivers what will become the H Clutch. It doesn’t end the match, which seems counter productive but what do I know. Phoenix Splash again barely connects as Hayabusa is treating this like it’s the last match of all time and is positively soaring with these aerial moves. Gannosuke easily kicks out so Hayabusa Does Another Deal and…oh shit, Gannosuke clearly didn’t kick out but the ref stopped the count anyway. Ah come on now. Hayabusa delivers a second Falcon Arrow to win the title and to kill the gimmick at 19:26.

Not a perfect match due to the fucked finish and Hayabusa being so into it that he was missing moves with the extra effort he was putting in, but still worth a watch for the incredibly emotional crowd as well as two great frenemies doing brutal moves to one another. Even if the context has been lost to time due to knowing what would happen later, the crowd is 100% accepting that this is the last time we’ll see this kind of wrestling which more than made up for some of the sloppier moments. But to be clear, their 1998 match is better, fight me.

Hayabusa says goodbye to the fans who are all crying now. It’s amusing to see a company emulate everything from the Attitude Era aka a time when you couldn’t trust a damn word said by anybody. But here we are, hooked line and sinker.

Kodo Fuyuki heads out to present Hayabusa with flowers again, but this time the commissioner smashes them over his head as Team No Respect bum rush the ring.

Hayabusa is collared in the middle of the ring, with Gannosuke removing his wrestling gear with a pair of scissors and leaving Hayabusa in his briefs. Shoichi Arai attempts to stop Fuyuki but Fuyuki tells him to sod off. Finally, Hayabusa’s mask is ripped off which is enough to get Team FMW motivated enough to finally run in and stop this. I assume they’ve been on the outside brawling this entire time, otherwise those are some shit friends.

A thoroughly debased and humiliated Hayabusa (speaking up as he’s wearing a towel) lets Fuyuki know that the gimmick may be done but he’s not done with them. Also his new name is Hugh G. Rection H! Partly because it’s the first letter of Hayabusa and partly because the pronunciation sounds like his real surname. “Eitch” = Eiji. If you say so.

The crowd cheer through tears as it’s not “goodbye” but “see you later” for the wrestler.

Overall: Oh FMW is so much more enjoyable and digestible when they skim the midcard and focus on the hard-hitting main event scene instead. Two must-see matches and twenty minutes of who-gives-a-shit make this one of their best shows of the year as well as the most attended. Also the main event is technically history (for a few years anyway).

Next week: We find out if fans actually like the new gimmick!

I’ve been Maffew