Well, I thought last issue was going to be my last look at Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling (FMW), but fortunately I was able to obtain the final DVD to complete YBFREE.com's FMW Recap, and that collection wouldn't be complete without a look at one of FMW's best stars, Masato Tanaka. The Tanaka is one of the few Japanese stars to cross the Pacific and become famous in North America without having to play a ninja or throwing salt. Fans may know him for his days in ECW, but it all started in FMW.
This DVD focuses on the legendary career of Masato Tanaka, from his early skinnier days to his no nonsense claim to fame and how he came to lead FMW to the legacy it leaves wrestling fans. But before you go on here is a little background on how Tanaka climbed the ranks. When the legendary Onita retired and Hayabusa was out of the picture due to his many injuries, the WING, a renegade group, was running roughshod over FMW and the Japanese hardcore promotion needed a hero to stop the dastardly group. FMW called on Masato Tanaka, the hardest working wrestler in FMW.
Masato Tanaka teams with Kuroda and Ricky Fuji to battle Kanemura, Hido and Matsunaga in a bloody match where everything was legal including handcuffs, and a barbed wire baseball bat. Tanaka started the match off against Hido and every couple of minutes, a new wrestler would come into the ring to join one of his teammates. Kanemura joined Hido and the two men worked on Tanaka until Kuroda joined his partner and evened the odds. Kuroda climbed the ladder and grabbed the barbed wire baseball bat until Kanemura grabed the bat away and bashes Kuroda and Tanaka with it. Matsunaga joined the heel team and worked on Kuroda and Tanaka until Ricky Fuji came down and saved his friends. Blood was everywhere, but none of the men would relent. Tanaka showed the most courage landing a Dropkick on Kanemura from the top of the cage then slamming Matsunaga off the of the cage and landing a brutal Flying Elbow Drop to his opponent.
The match shifted back and forth; Kanemura tried to keep things going his way as he grabbed a table and jumped off the top ropes and attempted to throw the table at Tanaka, all in one stunning move. He threw the table at Tanaka and Kuroda continuing the assualt jumped off the top ropes and landed on Tanaka, but the table did not break. Kanemura pushed the table into the corner and threw Tanaka into it, finally breaking the table into two pieces. Kuroda picked up one of the pieces and in the move of the match, bashed the piece into Hido's head, leaving a big hole in the table. Kuroda receive payback for his deeds when the members of WING handcuffed him to the cage, giving the heels a 3-on-2 advantage. However, Tanaka would not be beat, taking two Powerbombs and kicking out of each pin attempt. Kuroda actually grabbed Hido in the match and held him back evening the odds so that Tanaka and Fuji could fight back and end the match when Tanaka lands a vicious Roaring Elbow to score the victory for his team.
Masato Tanaka teams with Kuroda and Nakagawa against Kanemura, Hido and Hosaka in a brutal match in which both teams bet in total $100,000 for the survior. This was a great match, the wrestlers traded the advantage back and forth, each team trying to throw the other into a bed of electrified barbed wire. The first casualty occured when Nakagawa prepared to slam Hosaka, who sliped, leaving Nakagawa open for an attack by Kanemura who Dropkicked Nakagawa into the electrified barbed wire ropes which sends him outside the ring onto a bed of electrified barbed wire. Nakagawa was burned badly and a small fire even started, keping the fan favorite from coming back into the ring for a majority of the match. Tanaka was also being beaten badly with barbed wire and hard chair shots. At the same time, Kuroda had a chain wrapped around his neck by Hido who dragged Kuroda around like a dog. Kuroda then turned the tables and used the chain to send himself and Hido out on the bed of electrified barbed wire.
Hosaka and Kanemura then double-team Tanaka. Kanemura powerbombed Tanaka on a pile of chairs when Nakagawa made his way back in the ring and sent Hosaka into the electrified barbed wire ropes and Kanemura into the bed of electrified barbed wire outside the ring. Tanaka sent Hosaka for another dose of electrified goodness and then hit a vicious Powerbomb for the victory.
Tanaka proved himself against the WING, showing that he could lead the wrestlers of FMW, but he needed to show the fans that he could do it on his own, as well. Moving up the ranks in FMW, Tanaka received a shot to battle against his archrival Mike Awesome for the Double Title Championship. These two have a long history, feuding over the Double Title in FMW and the ECW World Title in America. Just like their matches before, these two put on a brutally stiff hardcore clinic. Awesome took control of the match when he landed a very nice Shoulder Tackle as Tanaka was flying toward him. Both men grabbed chairs and dueled until Awesome knocked Tanaka's chair away and cracked him over the head. Awesome continued to dominate the match with chair shots, before setting up two tables and dropping Tanaka him off the apron with a Powerbomb through the tables. Both men looked hurt, but Awesome looked like he had it all in hand.
Awesome continued his assault and grabbed a piece of the table cracked Tanaka over the head, but Awesome couldn't send Tanaka to the floor. Awesome slammed him again into a table, Tanaka staggered but stayed on his feet. Awesome then broke the table to pieces, but Tanaka still had enough presence to grab Awesome for balance. However, that proved to be not a wise as Awesome took the opportunity to land a nasty Awesome Bomb for a 2 ¾ count as Tanaka barely kicked out. Relieved that he was still alive in the match, Tanaka slowly started to get back into it. Awesome set up a table and was about to send Tanaka through it once more, but Tanaka reversed the attempt and Awesome ended up breaking wood, and being sent over the top ropes. Tanaka then slammed Awesome with a vicious Forearm, but Awesome got a sudden burst of adrenaline and asked for more. Unfortunately, Tanaka gave Awesome what he wanted, hitting a Roaring Elbow and a pin to capture the Double Title.
Despite winning match after match and proving himself, Tanaka felt he would never be considered #1 in the promotion he loved. Tanaka had always felt he was living in the shadow of Hayabusa. It was during this time Tanaka decided to join ECW where he would train hard to obtain status in the FMW.
This match welcomed Tanaka back to FMW after a stint in North America with ECW. Tanaka displayed not only an awesome physique but a new agressive attitude. The match opened with Tanaka attempting to go after Nakagawa, with a chair. The move was thwarted and Tanaka smirked and threw his opponent into the corner. Tanaka sat on the second rope and held Nakagawa, flipping in the air and landing a Stunner-type move known as the Diamond Dust to get the victory in less than a minute.
Tanaka felt that FMW had gotten boring since he went away. Kanemura's WING group was no more and Kanemura had since joined Fuyuki and Mr. Ganosuke on a new squad known as Team No Respect. Tanaka felt this team was a joke and he went after all the members of Team No Respect in an effort to bring some excitement back to FMW.
Hido started out strong, but Tanaka looked unfazed and landed a vicious forearm toward the wrestler. Even though Hid fought back with some vicious moves this was not enough as Tanaka hit the Diamond Dust to win the match in a little over a minute. Another squash against a wrestler who had taken Tanaka to the limit in the first two matches on this DVD. After the match, Tanaka mocked Kanemura, telling him he lost his soul with WING and that he should bring back WING to regain it. Tanaka finished it off by telling Kanemura that he was going to light his fire.
Tanaka got his wish to battle Ganosuke, but in this match, Kanemura would accompany Ganosuke and Fuyuki was the special guest referee. Fuyuki's role as ref did not play an important part of the match for some time as the two wrestlers excited the crowd with great clinic. Fuyuki did show his bias when he accused Tanaka of choking Ganosuke, even though Tanaka just had his opponent in a Chin Lock. Tanaka was forced to break the hold and the two wrestlers then exchanged hard chops back and forth showing no respect for one another. Tanaka finally took an early advantage working on his opponent's leg with a Dragon Screw and a Figure-Four Leg Lock. However, Fuyuki helped Ganosuke reverse the hold and reverse the tide of the match.
Ganosuke slammed Tanaka, but Tanaka got back up and the two men fought on the turnbuckle until Ganosuke grabbed Tanaka's arm and jumped off the ropes, crushing the arm across them. Kanemura interfered and pulled off the turnbuckle protection, leaving the metal exposed, which Ganosuke used to his advantage, slamming Tanaka's arm into it. Ganosuke then spent the rest of the match working on Tanaka's arm. Tanaka attempted to fight back, but when he went for a Forearm Smash Ganosuke blocked it with a chair, causing further pain to Tanaka's arm. However, the next time Ganosuke went for a chair, Tanaka reacted quickly and landed the forearm smash. Tanaka exploded with offense, grabbing the chair and launching himself at Ganosuke with it.
Tanaka looked to be in control and landed a magnificent Tornado DDT followed by a Missile Dropkick from the top ropes, but Fuyuki's slow count gave Ganosuke the opportunity to kick out at two. Tanaka went back up to the top ropes and went for a Frogsplash only to land on Ganosuke's knees. Ganosuke returned the move, and landed the Falcon Arrow and a vicious Powerbomb, but for a 2 counts respectively. Ganosuke went to land another Powerbomb, but Tanaka slipped off and landed a big Clothesline despite his pain. Tanaka continued landing another powerbomb, getting only a two count because of a slow count by Fuyuki. The same happened when Tanaka hit the Diamond Dust and a Forearm Smash. It looked as thought there was no way that Tanaka could win with Fuyuki as referee.
However, everything changed for Tanaka when he ducked a clothesline attempt by Ganosuke that resulted in Fuyuki taking the brunt of the shot. The same thing happened when Tanaka went for a shot and Ganosuke ducked. This time Fuyuki was knocked out. A new ref came out and counted pin attempts for both men as each combatant reached deep inside, but Tanaka had more, hitting another Diamond Dust and obtained the victory after this wild match.
This was an awesome DVD that also contains two bonus matches: one of Tanaka's first matches against Kanemura, and a tag-team match pitting Tanaka and Kuroda against Fuyuki and Hayabusa. Tanaka represents what FMW was all about, but sadly, FMW is no more and this is definitely the last DVD review. However in the next issue of YBFREE.com I will take one final look at FMW; it's past and what happens now that FMW is gone, but not forgotten.
Send your comments and or questions to JMinners@ybfree.com.