Michinoku Pro: Heartbreak 1996
Posted by Justin Baisden on 12.16.1996
High Flying Fun!
MICHINOKU PRO: HEARTBREAK 1996
In my continued attempt to review tapes that have nothing to do with New Japan, I elected to sit back with the string of commercial releases from Michinoku Pro in 1996. Before anyone makes a crack remark, I’m very much aware that “Heartbreak” is not chronologically first but this was the only tape out of the three (Crisis in Lucha Paradise and These Days being the other two) along with Highspots Michinoku Pro compilation that I had never watched. I’m kind of under the gun to get these reviews out of the way because the heavenly entity that is JTapes is sending me the 01/04/2002 Tokyo Dome Show and the No Cut 12/9 NOAH: Raging Destination show, which will immediately be watched and reviewed upon arrival. I’m hoping they come during my reading week next week but Zach’s always backed up with orders so I have my doubts.
Sadly, my reviews will no longer be brought to you by any kind of salty snack food. A small twinge in my chest last week, coupled with a quick check with the blood pressure machine at work (funny toys like that can save your life) has told me my pressure is THROUGH THE ROOF! So basically I’ve got to drop all unnecessary salts (AKA chips/cheezies/popcorn/pizza/burgers/etc…), sugar (no big thing, I don’t eat chocolate or hard candy anyway), and caffeine (could be an issue but water is slowly becoming a good friend). I’ve got to wait two weeks (it’s a bitch getting an appointment) for my doctor to “officially” tell me what I already knew about my diet. Sadly the appointment is two days before Wrestlemania weekend, where I will basically be spending all my time out and thus eating whatever the hell is around. If I live through the experience, I’ll be totally overhauling my diet and (GASP) hitting the gym four – six days a week like in the old days before my knee got fucked up.
Moving on, this tape covers the higher profile and better worked matches (not necessarily the same thing) from September – the end of 1996. Like the rest of 1996, just about everything from Michinoku Pro rocked bells so I’m assuming that this tape will leave a smile on my face by the end. Of course if I’m wrong and it’s a typical hack job, leaving 90% of the matches on the editing floor (M Pro is notorious for that) then I don’t care how good the matches are, the tape will SUCK!
TIGER MASK IV vs SHIRYU
Well… the tape managed to put a smile on my face with the pairing of the best junior in the world (well… he WAS the best but now he’s injured so the title falls back to Lyger) against Kaz Hayashi under a mask. Then the tape turns my frown upside down by clipping the match to shreds. I take the liberty of going online for a quick second to confirm this is a commercial release and not a TV block (damn Toryumon, always trying to fancy up their TV blocks by giving them actual names). Now 100% sure this is a commercial release, I become 100% PISSED OFF that the opening match is clipped. DAMN IT! This was part of a five man round robin tournament to determine a new UWA World Middleweight Champion after Masayoshi Motegi vacated it three months earlier. We jump to the end as TMIV looks for the Tiger Suplex but that’s blocked. Shiryu looks for a Victory Roll but that’s countered with an Elevator Drop and put away with a high angle German suplex. Well it looked great (DUH) but I can’t rate clips.
MENS TEIOH vs SHIRYU
Original members of Kaientai collide. This is another match in the UWA tournament. This is also another match that has been clipped down to highspots and near falls. There’s one spot that blew me away as Shiryu manages to hit a tope from one corner of the apron through to the perpendicular side. How in the world the WWF let this guy wallow away in HWA and then subsequently lose him is beyond me. Ah well… at least he’s working for AJPW now, rejuvenating their junior division (I hope). Anyway, we move to the end as Teioh puts it away with the Miracle Ecstasy. Clipping makes baby Jesus cry.
FUNAKI/SHIRYU/TOGO/COLLINS vs HAMADA/DELPHIN/ASTRO/OTSUKA
Wow… this is a weird hodge podge of talent. I actually had to consult a match list to sort things out. I had never seen Collins before, and thought he was Beef Wellington for a couple of minutes. On the other side we have Super Astro, who is pretty much a dead on Dos Caras. He was missing the LSD laced submissions though, so that was ruled out. Then you’ve got Otsuka, who basically flips a coin to decide whether he’s going to work hard or not. That’s the only thing that’s kept me from really taking to him like other folks. One match he’s king of the hill and kicking ass, the next match he’s no selling and lazy as hell. Hmm… kind of like Jinsei Shinzaki only better. There’s a fair share of clipping but the segments actually get time instead of the hack job the first two got. One spot absolutely blew me away. Funaki charged Otsuka for a lariat but it was reversed into an Arm Dragon Screw and then he, Hamada and Delphin slap on a Double Juji Gatame – Figure Four. HO… LY… SHIT! More clipping and we get some comedy as Kaientai pulls off Astro’s mask. He manages to escape and force Shiryu into the face corner and now they pull at his mask. Astro and Shiryu end up brawling and they SWITCH MASKS! HA HA! More brawling and the masks get switched back. Jump to the end as Funaki ends up outside and Astro hits a SLINGSHOT SENTON FROM THE RING TO THE FLOOR! EEEWWW! The last time I saw that move was during the Skydiving J when Togo squashed Lyger with it. Back in the ring, where Otsuka hits a nice Butterfly Suplex on Togo for 2 and ¾. Otsuka looks for a Dragon suplex but Shiryu saves, giving Togo the opportunity to hit a big powerbomb and put it away with the FAT ASS SENTON! Great heat, solid wrestling and a couple of genuine “holy shit” moves gets *** from me.
TIGER MASK IV vs MENS TEIOH
This is the finals of the UWA World Middleweight Title tournament. Now base logic would dictate that if you were going to clip the round robin, you at least show the finals in their entirety. POP QUIZ HOTSHOT:
This match is:
A) Clipped to shreds
B) Clipped to shreds
C) Clipped to shreds
D) Shown in its entirety.
If you answered “D,” YOU’RE A FUCKING IDIOT! Actually that’s not true as they “could” have shown the whole match. Let’s reach a middle ground and say the editors are FUCKING IDIOTS! Moving with the theme of these clips jobs, there’s one great spot and it comes in the form of a Kneebreaker from the apron to the floor. Someone has got to steal that one. Flair? HA HA! Mutoh or Akiyama seem like prime candidates. Anyway, we jump (AKA clip) to the end as TMIV fires off a big roundhouse kick and puts it away with the Tiger Suplex. DAMN IT, would it have killed them to show the complete match? No rating.
NAOHIRO HOSHIKAWA vs JINSEI SHINZAKI
This is Shinzaki’s return to Michinoku Pro after leaving the WWF and working that horrible match with The Great Muta at Battle Formation 1996. Shinzaki starts off with some chops and hits the slam – pump splash for a two count. This “fast” pace is immediately halted as Shinzaki channels the spirit of Tonga AND Samoa for a nerve pinch. Hoshikawa escapes and fires off some big kicks. Shinzaki’s out and Hoshikawa makes him pay with a Tope Suicida. He tries to cut Shinzaki off at the apron (you’d figure people would stop doing that with Shinzaki) and that gets countered with the ever dangerous praying ropewalk into a flying chop (see what I mean? Never fails). Man, if there was ever a move that screamed, “Shift your weight one millimeter to the right,” it’s the praying ropewalk. Shinzaki looks for a lariat but that’s reversed into a Cobra Clutch. Northern Lights suplex gets 2 and ½. German suplex gets 2 and ¾. Hoshikawa charges but Shinzaki meets him with a Crescent Kick (God bless you Gorilla). He fires off a spin kick to the gut and puts it away with the Praying Thunderfire Powerbomb. Bah… at least it wasn’t clipped. Of course if you’re clipping a five minute match, you’ve really got problems. *1/2
MENS TEIOH/DICK TOGO vs EL HIJO DEL SANTO/SUPER DELPHIN
Sadly, 24 hours of praying to the gods of complete matches had gone unanswered. This was the finals of the annual Futaritabi Tag League. The editors take the world’s largest scissors to this one, as Santo is made to look like a million dollars while everyone else bumps around him. I’ll give him props as he works pretty hard during all the clips though. We clip to a big heat builder with Santo looking for the Camel Clutch but Teioh keeps fighting out of it. Togo makes the save but Delphin nails him from behind and the masked men hit a Doomsday Device for 2 and ¾. Another clip leads to the end of the match as Delphin looks for the Tornado DDT but Teioh reverses into an Inverted Atomic Drop (no one else seems to use that counter), giving Togo the opportunity to hit a released German suplex for 2 and 9/10. Santo is nowhere to be found and Kaientai put it away with the Miracle Ecstasy finished off with the FAT ASS SENTON! It looked pretty good but there was too much clipping to render a rating.
SHIRYU/TEIOH/TOGO vs DELPHIN/SASUKE/HAMADA
WOO HOO! The original members of Kaientai are in the house. The first few minutes have the faces working over Shiryu until Delphin takes a low blow. Kaientai go to work with their trademark stuff including the consecutive elbows. We get a bunch of pair offs until Delphin plays stupid mask in peril. Kaientai get dirty working over the ribs as Teioh hits a second rope double stomp. He follows up with a nice gutbuster and Kaientai get the Crab – Clutch – Dropkick and switch up into their trademark Crucifix Bicep pose. These guys are the kings of junior heels. All the young guns out of Toryumon could take volumes of notes from KDX on how to be great heels without having to take away from the match. Shiryu looks for a front facelock but Delphin forces him back into the corner and Sasuke gets the tag. He slaps on a single leg crab but Togo and Teioh make the save and hit a DOUBLE GANMENGIRI! SWEET! I always wondered where the Fire Pro programmers got the idea for that move. More double teaming as Sasuke is draped over the top rope, giving Togo and Shiryu the chance to double dropkick Sasuke’s head. OUCH! The brilliant work continues as Teioh gets in a snapmare and Togo hits a NASTY seated dropkick to the back of the head. Kaientai take it up a notch as they hit a SPIKE PILEDRIVER for 2 and ½. Wow… you almost think Sasuke likes having his eggs scrambled on a regular basis. The head work doesn’t stop as Shiryu gets in a sleeper – Dragon sleeper – Reverse DDT for 2 and ¾. I LOVE THIS SHIT! A SUPERBOMB gets 2 and 9/10. Hamada finally has enough but he takes an assisted powerbomb for his trouble. Delphin makes the save and cleans house; nailing Shiryu with a DDT for 2 and 9/10. Delphin hits the Tornado DDT and it’s THE DELPHIN CLUTCH but Teioh makes the save. Kaientai looks to end it with the Miracle Ecstasy – FAT ASS SENTON but Sasuke crotches Togo and Delphin hits THE TORNADO DDT! 1… 2… 2.999999! Hamada’s in and he hits the Top Rope Frankensteiner! 1… 2… 2.Togo saves. Irish whip but Togo eats the Vaulting Frankensteiner. 1… 2… 2.Shiryu saves. Delphin and Sasuke stop him cold hitting a double suplex and follow up with a Double Missile Dropkick. GO ROCKERS GO! Shiryu is a mess, and with Delphin and Hamada stopping Kaientai from making the save, Sasuke puts it away with the Thunderfire Powerbomb. ROCK ON! Great work from everyone. This ran a hell of a lot smoother than the previous eight man tag with a strong build and great psyche around Sasuke’s cracked skull. Insane heat from the crowd is the icing on the cake. ***3/4
TOGO/TEIOH/SHIRYU/FUNAKI/MICHINOKU vs SASUKE/TMIV/HAMADA/DELPHIN/NANIWA (Elimination Tag Match)
The follows the standard elimination rules with the added stipulation that you can be eliminated if someone throws you out of the ring. I originally thought it was anything over the top rope, but the match has an assortment of planchas so that got ruled out. It’s a total clip job as this thing probably went on for thirty – forty minutes. I’ll just drop the “Wrestler A eliminated Wrestler B” and move on.
· Sasuke eliminates Funaki with a Single Leg Crab.
· TMIV is eliminated via top rope elimination.
· Hamada eliminates Shiryu with the Vaulting Frankensteiner.
· TAKA eliminates Gran Hamada with two Michinoku Drivers.
· Teioh eliminates Sasuke after reversing the Space Flying Tiger Drop.
- Delphin eliminates TAKA with a Tiger Suplex.
· Teioh eliminates Delphin with the Miracle Ecstasy.
· Naniwa eliminates Teioh with the Spinning Doctor Bomb
· Togo eliminates Naniwa with the FAT ASS SENTON!
The match looked spectacular. If this was released in full or near full version on Michinoku TV, I would love to get my hands on it. It’s too heavily clipped for me to give a proper rating but it looked in the ****+ range.
TOGO/TEIOH/SHIRYU/FUNAKI/MICHINOKU vs SASUKE/YAKUSHIGI/HAMADA/DELPHIN/NANIWA
Here’s the match that prompted me to get this tape. I’ve heard great things about this one and THANK GOD it’s not clipped. Well… actually they clip it once but you can barely notice and it looks like they dropped all of 1 – 2 minutes so I’m not going to bitch. We get down and dirty right away as Hamada works TAKA over and Yakushigi comes off the top with a DOUBLE STOMP ON THE BACK OF THE NECK! YIKES! KDX go to work for a while but Naniwa stops TAKA’s springboard dropkick with a dropkick of his own. Sasuke holds TAKA down, giving Naniwa the time to hit the crabwalk splash (I HATE THAT MOVE!) for 2 and ½. We get a bunch of pair offs and flip flop fun until Yakushigi and Teioh pull out their “can’t catch me” routine. Teioh ends up outside, giving Yakushigi the chance to his the baseball headscissors. More pair offs until Hamada reverses a TAKA lariat into a Wakigatame. Triple teaming fun comes into play as Sasuke goes after the other arm and Delphin slaps on a leg bar. KDX reassume control for a bit; getting in their some of their usual spots like the Crab – Clutch – Seated Dropkick, the Crucifix Bicep Pose (with TAKA dropkicked Hamada. Poor bastard…), the double stomps and the draped out double dropkick. Shiryu nails Delphin with a slam – Slingshot Legdrop but Naniwa saves and KILLS Shiryu with a DAAAAAANGEROUS BACKDROPPAH for 2 and ¾. Sasuke and TAKA pair off and that’s all kinds of trouble as Sasuke takes a BRUTAL Brainbuster but Naniwa saves. They drape Sasuke on the bottom rope and Teioh hits a guillotine legdrop on the apron. DAMN! Then he really dicks it up as he THROWS A CHAIR AT HIS HEAD! A Spike Piledriver seems like the nail in the coffin but that gets 2 and 9/10. Sasuke is fucking crazy to take this shit. Get ready folks, this is when everyone kicks it into overdrive. Assisted powerbomb gets 2 and 9/10. Yakushigi tries to save but Togo smokes him out with a NASTY released German suplex for 2 and 9/10. Shiryu tags and hits a JUMPING FISHERMAN’S BUSTER for 2 and 9/10. TAKA and Funaki tag and they look for the Dream Sequence but Yakushigi ducks the knee smash and nails Funaki with a leg lariat. Sasuke tags and hits the Quebrada Moonsault on TAKA and Shiryu for 2 and 9/10. Sasuke looks for the Thunderfire powerbomb but Shiryu saves and nails him with a Somersault Tope Suicida. Teioh nails Naniwa with a BRIDGING BACKDROP DRIVER! HOLY SHIT! 1… 2… 2.999999! Teioh charges but it’s a SPINNING DOCTOR BOMB! 1… 2… 2.TAKA SAVES! Hamada nails TAKA with a Top Rope Frankensteiner! 1… 2… 2.SHIRYU SAVES! Sasuke goes after Shiryu with the shoulderblock – Moonsault for 2 and 9/10. THIS IS NUTS! Shiryu flips out of a German suplex and hits a Frankensteiner. 1… 2… 2.DELPHIN SAVES! Funaki tries to attack but Delphin smokes him out with a Missile Dropkick and follows up with TORNADO DDT! DELPHIN CLUTCH! 1… 2… 2.TOGO SAVES! Yakushigi charges but Togo hits a BIG TIME powerslam. 1… 2… 2.999999! Togo hits a powerbomb and looks for the FAT ASS SENTON but Sasuke crotches him. Teioh tries to throw a chair but he ducks and it hits Togo. Sasuke jumps to the apron and takes out Teioh with a Quebrada Moonsault. Yakushigi hits a Missile dropkick and a Diving Huracanrana on Togo for 2 and 9/10. Togo’s out and Yakushigi smokes him with a Tope Suicida leaving Hamada and Shiryu in the ring as Shiryu hits a tombstone and a gorgeous Moonsault. 1… 2… 2.NANIWA SAVES! Oh man… that was probably the single closest save I’ve ever seen. TAKA comes out of nowhere with a springboard dropkick, sending Naniwa outside and he eats a WICKED top rope Quebrada. Everyone’s toasted outside, leaving Shiryu and Hamada as an Irish whip leads to the VAULTING FRANKENSTEINER! 1… 2… 3! THIS FUCKING RULED IT! YOU NEED THIS MATCH! I can’t even begin to convey how fast the pace of this match was. This was absolute non-stop action for thirty minutes. I think I’ll have to re-watch the 10 man tag from “These Days” to make sure it’s still better than this match. You really need to get your hands on this one, whether it is on this tape or in a compilation. ****3/4
SHIRYU vs KENDO (Central American Middleweight Title)
Hmm… you’ll have to forgive me as this match isn’t on any match list that I’ve come across. Hell, I’m not even sure which guy Shiryu is fighting. He looks just like Octagon but the mask was white and the moves seemed a little different so I think (please don’t kill me if I’m wrong) it’s Kendo. We’re back to the land of mega clipping and I can’t say as I blame them as this didn’t look all that good. Kendo takes it with a weird submission that looked kind of like an Inverted Surfboard. No rating.
TAKA MICHINOKU vs JINSEI SHINZAKI
TAKA’s got his KICK ASS black and white tights. They’re the only tights I use when I bust out “Black Belt” in “WCW/NWO: World Tour.” They take it to the mat as TAKA works over Shinzaki’s legs and arms for the first few minutes. They break it open as TAKA misses a chop and Jinsei fires off a reverse thrust kick (Gorilla had a million of em). Jinsei fires off a couple of shots but TAKA retaliates with a stiff forearm. Jinsei stalls and TAKA gets suckered into the praying ropewalk – chop. The slam – pump splash gets 2 and ½. Irish whip is reversed and TAKA fires off his half of the Dream Sequence. Jinsei’s out and TAKA hits the Quebrada Moonsault. They brawl outside and TAKA flies headfirst into a table. OUCH! Now Jinsei gets suckered in as TAKA fires off an elbow and follows up with a springboard dropkick. He fires off a Brainbuster and throws the table into the ring. Uh oh… this isn’t going to be pretty. Jinsei gets laid out on the table and TAKA SPLASHES HIM THROUGH THE TABLE, WHICH DOESN’T BREAK! OH MY GOD! TAKA hits the Michinoku Driver II and then Funaki slides in a chair so TAKA can hit a MICHINOKU DRIVER ON THE CHAIR! 1… 2… 2.99999! TAKA looks for a Super Michinoku Driver but gets thrown off and eats a Praying Shoulderblock for 2 and 9/10. Jinsei looks for the Praying Powerbomb but TAKA escapes and tries for another springboard dropkick only to take one from Jinsei. Now we get the Praying Powerbomb for 2 and 9/10. Jinsei takes it up a notch as he hits a Fire Thunder Driver, follows up with the Praying Swandive and puts it away with a Praying Thunderfire Powerbomb. This was rock solid stuff. I’m not a big fan of tables and chairs in a non-garbage setting but it didn’t bring the match to a halt like so many others so it’s all good. ***
SUPER DELPHIN vs TAKA MICHINOKU
From the look of things, there are one or two titles on the line but I wasn’t able to figure out what belts they were and an investigation of numerous sites turned up nothing. Ah well… Delphin dominates on the ground for the first few minutes. We get a quick clip job into Delphin’s plancha fake out. Back in the ring and Delphin locks in an Inverted Surfboard, softening TAKA up for a nice Backdrop suplex for 2 and ½. Butterfly suplex gets 2 and ¾. A suplex is reversed into a Wakigatame segued into a grounded sleeper but Delphin won’t give it up. TAKA keeps it coming with a flying forearm followed up with a Brainbuster for 2 and ¾. German suplex gets 2 and ¾. A blind charge gets a backdrop to the outside and Delphin follows up with a plancha. Back in the ring and a DELAAAAAAYED Brainbuster gets 2 and ¾. Bridging Backdrop suplex gets 2 and 9/10. A flying bodypress is countered with a dropkick. Delphin’s out and TAKA fires off a gorgeous top rope Quebrada. Back in the ring where TAKA looks for his half of the Dream Sequence but Delphin stops that with a dropkick. Delphin hits the Tornado DDT but the Delphin Clutch is reversed into a cradle for 2 and 9/10. La Majistral is blocked by Delphin into a cradle for 2 and 9/10. TIGER SUPLEX! 1… 2… 2.999999! FOLDING POWERBOMB! 1… 2… 2.999999! Delphin looks for the Delphin Special II but TAKA’s trick knee acts up and he hits a springboard dropkick followed up with MICHINOKU DRIVER II! 1… 2… 2.999999! Funaki slides a chair into the ring and TAKA hits MICHINOKU DRIVER II ON THE CHAIR! You had better believe this one is over. This was really good but not quite on the level of their kick ass match during the Skydiving J. ***3/4
Final Analysis: You really can’t go wrong with Michinoku Pro in 1996. Everyone was clicking at this point and they were churning out ****+ matches on a regular basis. I have serious doubts that any promotion will consistently put out six – ten man tags on this level or higher ever again. All clipped matches aside, you’re looking at two *** matches, two matches at ***3/4 and one incredible ten man tag at ****3/4. Do yourself a favour; get $13.50 ($10 plus S&H), head over to Evil Jack (he’s got a master), and pick this tape up. You won’t be sorry.
