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BANDWIDTH
A Popular Culture Electronic Magazine
©2000
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FMW Wrestling

America Invades Japan

Distributed by: TokyoPop
Rating:Unrated. Contains EXTREME Violence. Parental discretion advised.
Reviewed By: Jon Minners
FMW (Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling)

Continued from previous page

Judgment Day (cont.)

Kaori Nakayama and Emi Motokawa vs. Miss Mongol, Mario Hosaka and ECW star Jazz in a handicap women's match

     This match was pretty quick. I liked the fact that there was a woman as referee for this encounter. Nakayami dresses like Sabu, which I thought was an honorable act of appreciation. She won the match with a whippersnapper on Hosaka. An awesome technical match proving men could do what women could do.

Hido vs. Willy Williams-Mixed Martial Arts Match

     This match didn't belong and ended in the second round when a lethal kick by Williams put Hido to the mat.

Yamazaka and Sasaki vs. Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr.

     It was the first time Dory Funk and his fellow legendary brother teamed up since 1987. The Funk Brothers chose to dedicate this match to the late memory of Bruiser Brody. Dory Funk looked old in this match, but he can still wrestle as well as anyone. He immediately hit the patented spinning toehold on his opponent along with the lethal Funk Forearms. Eventually, the youngsters are able to gain the advantage, working on Terry Funk's legs. Sasaki hits a monstrous shoulder tackle, and then a second one before getting a two count on his opponent. They then hit a spectacular neck breaker/bulldog combo you never see in the States. The Funk Brothers look to be in dire straights, but Dory makes the save and the two men fight back landing double spinning toe holds to get the big victory. They may be old, but these guys can still wrestle.

Kintaro Kanemura vs. ECW's Balls Mahoney for the WEW Hardcore Title

     Before ECW folded, Balls Mahoney was probably the most vicious competitor in the group. Here in FMW, he fought a pretty strange Kanemura in a falls-count-anywhere match. Balls starts off with his usual chair shots, repping ECW with his famous Balls punches and a big tiger bomb. Mahoney even hit an awesome leg drop off the top ropes. This match was brutal, featuring all kinds of weapons, including a sledgehammer that Balls used to destroy a television set with. They even brought a car into play and it was totally demolished by these two big men. Windows were smashed and the car saw more action than the wrestling ring. The match went back and forth between both men and Balls Mahoney did his best Abdullah the Butcher imitation when he stabbed at Kanemura's head with a fork. However, Kanemura is a tough guy and eventually uses a chain to tie Mahoney onto a table and lands a big leg drop on Mahoney through the table. What a match and probably one of the best on the card. Kanemura got a big win against a Hardcore Icon.

Kuroda and Ooya vs. ECW's Tommy Dreamer and Raven w/Francine for the WEW Tag-Team Titles

     It was great to see ECW's big-time talent on the show, but so far, ECW stars were not fairing all too well against FMW talent. This was a brutal match between both tag-teams, but Raven and Dreamer did not look as good as they normally look, overshadowed by their Japanese counterparts. Raven could have won the match with the Evenflow DDT, but Ooya was able to break up the pin attempt. Ooya would then place Raven in an octopus hold until Francine came in and attacked Ooya, who responded by trying to piledrive her. Dreamer saves his woman by cracking Ooya over the head with a chair and landing a big piledriver of his own onto the same chair. Dreamer looks stupid shouting ECW and then missing a big elbow smash onto the same chair. This match was pretty well choreographed, but I was disappointed with the outcome. What the hell is a Kuroda clothesline anyway and how can that stop Dreamer and Raven?

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