FMW 4/30/98 PPV
review by Kevin Wilson

Date: April 30th, 1998
Location: Yokohama Bunka Gym
Attendance: 3,600

Everyone else was getting in on reviewing FMW, so I figured I might as well do the same. This show is FMW's very first PPV. By this time Onita had sold FMW, but as you can see he is still wrestling on the card (albeit in a lesser role). Mr. Gannosuke was the champion coming in and faced the very popular Hayabusa in the main event. The first half of the card is butchered pretty bad, but the main matches are shown in full. Here is the full card:

- Hideki Hosaka vs. Hido
- Chris Chetti vs. Hisakatsu Oya vs. Koji Nakagawa
- Jado and Gedo vs. Ricky Fuji and John Kronus
- Jinsei Shinzaki vs. Yukihiro Kanemura
- Gladiator and Tetsuhiro Kuroda vs. Super Leather and Horace Boulder
- Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Masato Tanaka
- Atsushi Onita vs. Kodo Fuyuki
- FMW Double Titles: Mr. Gannosuke vs. Hayabusa

Hideki Hosaka vs. Hido
JIP, Hosaka picks up Hido and hits a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count. Uppercut by Hosaka and he elbows Hido in the back of the head. Irish whip by Hosaka and he delivers a Rydeen Bomb for a two count. Hosaka picks up Hido, but Hido regains the advantage and hits a lariat. Another lariat by Hido, Hosaka stays on his feet, but a third does the trick and Hido gets a two count cover. Scoop slam by Hido, he goes to the top turnbuckle, but Hosaka rolls out of the way of the moonsault. Lariat by Hosaka, but Hido ducks the next lariat attempt and knocks down Hosaka with a right hook. Cover, but it gets a two count. Hido picks up Hosaka and punches him back into the corner. Hido then puts Hosaka onto the top turnbuckle and delivers a sit-down cutter. Cover, but it gets another two count. Hido picks up Hosaka and hits a series of punches, Hosaka eventually ducks one and applies a waistlock, Hido grabs the top rope, but Hosaka delivers a lariat. Powerbomb by Hosaka, cover, but Hido kicks out at two. Hosaka picks up Hido, lifts him up, and drops him onto the top rope. Cover, but again it gets a two. Hosaka picks up Hido and this time hits a sit-down powerbomb, but again Hido won’t stay down for three. Irish whip by Hosaka, he connects with the hurricanrana, but Hido rolls through and picks up the three count pinfall! Your winner: Hido

Match Thoughts: A bit too short/cut to enjoy too much, as there wasn’t a whole lot shown here. Hido looked different bald (took me a second to recognize him), and Hosaka controlled the vast majority of the part of the match that they showed us here. Too cut to rate, although there was nothing wrong with what was shown. Score: N/A

Chris Chetti vs. Hisakatsu Oya vs. Koji Nakagawa
Three-way tie-up to start the match, but they all break cleanly. *clip* as Oya comes down off the top rope onto Nakagawa’s arm. Oya applies an armbar, and Nakagawa taps! Nakagawa is eliminated. Another clip, as Chetti hits a German suplex on Oya for a two count. Chetti picks up Oya, scoop slam, he goes out to the apron and hits a double springboard moonsault. Cover, but it gets a two count. Body slam by Chetti, he goes up to the top turnbuckle, but Oya rolls out of the way of the moonsault. Oya applies an Octopus Hold, but Chetti gets out of it. Backdrop suplex by Oya, cover, but Chetti kicks out at two. Another backdrop suplex by Oya, cover, and this time he picks up the three count pinfall! Your winner: Hisakatsu Oya

Match Thoughts: This match was clearly too clipped to get a real feel of, as the build-up for the first elimination wasn’t shown at all and very little was shown for the final fall. Chetti looked good here, but that is based off of two offense moves which might not be enough to fully judge someone. I am not saying the match would have been good, but I would have liked to have seen it so that I could make my own judgment. Score: N/A

Jado and Gedo vs. Ricky Fuji and John Kronus
JIP, Gedo picks up Fuji and hits a butterfly suplex for a two count cover. Gedo picks up Fuji, scoop slam, and he hits a moonsault for another two count. Gedo tags in Jado, double Irish whip by Fuji, but Fuji hits a double DDT and makes the tag to Kronus. Kronus delivers punches to Gedo and Jado, scoop slam by Gedo and he hits a corkscrew senton from the top rope. He then hits Jado with a spinning heel kick before connecting with a moonsault off the top rope on Gedo. Kronus tags Fuji back in, who punches both Gedo and Jado in the head. Double underhook powerbomb by Fuji to Gedo, cover, but it gets a two count. Fuji puts Gedo up on his shoulders and hits a running fireman’s carry slam. Cover, but again it gets a two. Fuji goes for a punch, but Gedo ducks it and tags in Jado. Fuji fights back Jado and clotheslines Gedo out of the ring. Kronus then comes in the ring so that he and Fuji can hit Jado with Double Elimination. Kronus puts Jado in front of the corner, goes to the top turnbuckle, and nails the 450 splash. Cover, but the referee is too busy to make the count. This gives Gedo time to come back in the ring and he kicks Kronus off. Gedo hits Kronus low, but Fuji comes in and brings Gedo out of the ring with him. Kronus then catches Jado with a chokeslam, cover, but it only gets a two count. Kronus picks up Jado, but Jado hits him low and delivers a lariat. Jado gets Kronus to his feet and nails the brainbuster, cover, and he picks up the three count pinfall! Your winners: Jado and Gedo

Match Thoughts: At least a bit more of this match was shown then we have seen from a few of the previous matches, but they still cut out the entire beginning and middle portion of the match. Kronus was already getting big at this point (this was after Saturn had left for WCW), but he was still able to hit his moves fine. Too clipped to get a good feel of the match, but what was shown was perfectly fine. Score: N/A

Jinsei Shinzaki vs. Yukihiro Kanemura
Tie-up to start, Kanemura gets Shinzaki into the corner and slaps him in the face. No Respect! Kanemura backs off of Shinzaki, they tie-up, side headlock by Shinzaki, Kanemura Irish whips out of it, but Shinzaki shoulderblocks him down. Shinzaki goes off the ropes but is tripped from the outside. While he investigates, Kanemura runs over and knocks Shinzaki out of the ring. Kanemura goes out after him and throws Shinzaki into the guard rail. He then puts Shinzaki onto a table, goes up to the top turnbuckle, and nails a splash down onto Shinzaki. Kanemura picks up what is left of the table and throws it down onto Shinzaki before sliding him back into the ring. Scoop slam by Kanemura, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and connects with the diving elbow. Cover, but Shinzaki kicks out. Kanemura gets a barbed wire baseball bat and hits Shinzaki in the stomach and chest with it. Shinzaki falls out of the ring, and Kanemura throws the bat at him from the apron. Kanemura then goes out of the ring himself, grabs the bat, but Shinzaki ducks the next swing and Shinzaki gets a hold of the bat. The evil referee stops Shinzaki from using it however, and he tells Shinzaki (whose chest is bleeding) to get back in the ring. Eventually he does, but Kanemura is waiting for him. Tie-up, and Kanemura kicks Shinzaki low. He then gets the barbed wire bat back and hits Shinzaki in the chest with it. Kanemura picks up Shinzaki and hits Shinzaki in the arm with the bat, but Shinzaki comes back with a dropkick. Shinzaki finally gets his hands on the bat and he hits Kanemura out of the ring with it. Tope suicida by Shinzaki out of the ring and he throws Kanemura into the railing. Shinzaki grabs a table and sets it up at ringside before picking up Kanemura and pulling him onto the table with him. Shinzaki then lifts Kanemura into the air and nails the praying powerbomb, sending Kanemura crashing through the table. Shinzaki throws Kanemura back into the ring and re-enters himself with a springboard dropkick. Cover by Shinzaki, but it only gets a two count. Go Ito then runs into the ring and gets rid of the referee, Shinzaki goes after him, but Kanemura hits him with a piece of table and follows with a backdrop suplex. Blast Yama Special by Kanemura, he grabs the piece of table again, but Shinzaki blocks the shot and hits Kanemura repeatedly in the head with it. Overhead kick by Shinzaki, he picks up Kanemura and hits the dragon screw leg whip. Goku-Raku Gatame by Shinzaki on Kanemura, but Go Ito runs in and breaks it up. Shinzaki catches one of Go Ito’s kicks however, leg whips him to the mat, and applies the Goku-Raku Gatame on him as well. Kanemura breaks it up with a kick to the head, he goes after the referee, but the referee slaps him. This gives Shinzaki time to hit a jumping knee to the head and he follows it with a praying powerbomb. Cover, and he picks up the three count pinfall! Your winner: Jinsei Shinzaki

Match Thoughts: Our first full match on the card, and it was more about the storyline here then about the in-ring action itself. That is not to say that Kanemura and Shinzaki weren’t good, because they were, but it was very brawl-esque with a focus on the interference. Shinzaki was in a feud with Team No Respect during this point, so he in essence beating both Go Ito and Kanemura was the main point of the match. The table spots looked good, however, and Shinzaki didn’t mind shedding a little blood to help gain himself some sympathy. The crowd was into it, which always helped, and overall I think the match accomplished what it was going for even if the in-ring action was rather simple. Score: 6.5

Gladiator and Tetsuhiro Kuroda vs. Super Leather and Horace Boulder
JIP, as Gladiator is on the top turnbuckle and Super Leather is on the mat. Super Leather punches Gladiator twice before he can jump off as Kuroda and Boulder brawl at ringside. Super Leather joins him on the top turnbuckle, but Gladiator low blows him when he goes for the superplex. Gladiator sets up Super Leather for an Awesome Bomb, but Boulder hits him with a chair from the apron and Super Leather manages to hit the superplex. Cover, but Gladiator barely kicks out. Boulder rolls into the ring and helps Super Leather give Gladiator a powerbomb. Cover, but again it gets a two count. Kuroda gets back in the ring, but Boulder kicks him to the mat. Super Leather hits the tombstone piledriver on Gladiator, cover, but Gladiator kicks out at two. Super Leather drags Gladiator up and holds him for Boulder, but Gladiator ducks and Boulder clotheslines Super Leather over the top turnbuckle. Kuroda then hits a Northern Light Suplex Hold on Boulder, but it gets a two count. Kuroda puts Boulder into the corner and goes for an Irish whip, but it is reversed. Kuroda hits a trio of lariats on Boulder, cover, but it only gets a two count. Kuroda goes for a German suplex, Boulder kicks him low, but Kuroda hits another lariat for another two count. Irish whip by Kuroda, reversed, Kuroda goes for a crossbody, but Boulder catches him and slams him to the mat for a two count cover. Powerbomb by Boulder, cover, but Gladiator breaks it up. Super Leather runs in to take care of Gladiator, Irish whip to the corner by Boulder on Kuroda, but Kuroda drop toeholds him into the second rope. Kuroda puts Boulder onto the top turnbuckle and joins him, but Boulder hits him low and delivers a spinebuster from the second rope. Cover, and he picks up the three count! Your winners: Super Leather and Horace Boulder

Match Thoughts: Again extremely clipped, as they pretty much went straight to the closing sequence. I don’t think it says much for the match when they show so little of it, but from looking at the wrestlers (particularly Super Leather) I can’t say that I am too surprised. What they showed looked ok, but they also only showed three minutes out of over eleven so any build-up used in the match wasn't shown. Since Boulder and Gladiator went on to have careers in America, it would have been nice to see a little bit more of them in a different atmosphere. Score: N/A

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Masato Tanaka
They circle each other to start, tie-up, and Bigelow pushes Tanaka to the mat. They tie-up again, but Bigelow picks up Tanaka and throws him over the top rope. Tanaka eventually gets back into the ring, kick to the stomach by Tanaka and he applies a side headlock. Bigelow Irish whips out of it though and shoulderblocks Tanaka, but Tanaka doesn’t go down. A second one does the trick though, Irish whip by Bigelow, but Tanaka ducks a lariat and shoulderblocks Bigelow to the mat. Irish whip by Tanaka, reversed, and Bigelow delivers a spinebuster. Bigelow picks up Tanaka and chokes him against the second rope. Bigelow picks up Tanaka, Irish whip to the corner and he hits a running splash. Bigelow gets Tanaka to his feet again and throws him in the corner, Irish whip, but Tanaka avoids the splash attempt. Tanaka goes for a hurricanrana, but Bigelow catches him and powerbombs him to the mat. Back up, Bigelow goes for another powerbomb, but Tanaka punches his way out of it and hits a backdrop suplex. Tanaka goes up to the top turnbuckle and jumps off with a missile dropkick. Tanaka goes up top once again and this time delivers a diving elbow smash. Tanaka then clotheslines Bigelow over the top turnbuckle and sails out after him with a tope suicida. After getting back in the ring, Tanaka goes for a pescado, but Bigelow catches him and drives him back-first into the ring post. Bigelow picks up Tanaka outside the ring and throws him over the railing. Bigelow throws Tanaka into the chairs at ringside and then drops him onto the guardrail. They fight back into the backstage area, but Bigelow brings Tanaka back and throws him into the chairs again. Tanaka gets the advantage as they get to ringside and he hits bb with a chair before diving off the apron with an elbow strike. Tanaka puts a chair into the ring and then throws Bigelow back in. Tanaka punches Bigelow back into the corner, Irish whip, and he delivers a jumping chair shot. He then goes for a tornado DDT and delivers it (mostly). After getting a table into the ring, Tanaka re-enters, but Bigelow has recovered and powerbombs him to the mat. Bigelow sets up the table near the corner and headbutts Tanaka. Bigelow then picks up Tanaka, puts him onto the table, and clubs him in the chest. This knocks the table over, so Bigelow sets its back up and puts Tanaka on it again. After putting Tanaka into a sleeperhold for a moment, Bigelow goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a splash. The table doesn’t break though and slides out as Bigelow hits the move. Bigelow sets the table up in the corner, puts up Tanaka, and drives him through it to finally break it. Cover by Bigelow, but it only gets a two count. Bigelow picks up Tanaka and press slams him out of the ring. Tanaka slowly gets back into the ring, and Bigelow greets him with a stomp to the back. Vertical suplex by Bigelow, cover, but Tanaka kicks out at two. Back up, Bigelow drops Tanaka back down with a DDT. Bigelow then goes up to the top turnbuckle, but Tanaka is up in time and powerbombs Bigelow down to the mat for a two count cover. Tanaka elbows Bigelow against the ropes and connects with a diving elbow smash. Lariats by Tanaka and he delivers an exploder. Cover, but it only gets a two count. Tanaka goes for a powerbomb, but Bigelow backdrops his way out of it. Bigelow charges Tanaka, but Tanaka kicks him back and hits the roaring elbow for a two count cover. Tanaka picks up Bigelow and hits a pair of enzigieris, he goes up to the top turnbuckle, but Bigelow catches him when he dives off and hits the Greetings From Asbury Park. Cover, and Bigelow picks up the three count pinfall! Your winner: Bam Bam Bigelow

Match Thoughts: Not as good as it could have been as they were a bit sloppy at spots, but still fairly decent. I am not a big fan of the "battling in the crowd" since there was no real reason for it and is lazy, but they didn't do it for too long before coming back to the ring. The table was uncooperative, but that isn't really the wrestlers' fault. For getting so much time there wasn't a lot going on here, but Tanaka played the spunky underdog well (as he usually does) and aside from not hitting his finisher very well Bigelow looked good also. Overall nothing great and rather uneventful, but still not a bad match. Score: 6.0

Atsushi Onita vs. Kodo Fuyuki
This is when Onita is part of his ZEN faction, battling the evilness that is FMW. Tie-up to start, and Fuyuki chops Onita in the chest. Onita returns fire and the two trade open hand slaps to the chest. Onita gets the better of it and applies a side headlock, Fuyuki Irish whips out of it, and the Onita shoulderblock has no effect. A second shoulderblock doesn't either, nor the headbutt, but Onita takes Fuyuki to the mat with a side headlock takedown. Again Fuyuki Irish whips out of it, but Onita is pulled out of the ring and is beaten up by Hido. Hido eventually puts Onita back on the apron and Fuyuki rams him into the ring post. This naturally makes Onita bleed, but he gets back into the ring on his own. Fuyuki throws Onita into the turnbuckle and kicks him right in the face. Headbutt by Fuyuki and he stomps on Onita on the mat. Fuyuki drags Onita to his feet and throws him into the corner again. Fuyuki stomps Onita into a slouched position before picking him back up and elbowing him in the head. Cover, but it gets a two count. Fuyuki throws Onita out of the ring,goes up to the top turnbuckle, and sails out with a plancha, knocking over his own friends in the process. Fuyuki and Onita are both slid back into the ring, Fuyuki grabs Onita and hits a Fisherman Suplex Hold, but it only gets a two count. Powerbomb by Fuyuki, cover, but again Onita kicks out. Fuyuki gets happy, nails the running lariat, cover, but again Onita gets a shoulder up. A dragon sleeper is applied by Fuyuki, he releases it so he can make a cover, but it gets a two count. Onita rolls out of the ring and gets water splashed in his face by his friends. Onita crawls back in and meets Fuyuki with a trio of headbutts. Onita throws Fuyuki out of the ring, gets a running start, and flies out with a tope suicida! A table is brought into the ring and setup near the corner while Onita crawls back in the ring. He re-positions it as ZEN and FMW get into it at ringside. Fuyuki eventually finds himself back in the ring, and Onita headbutts him in the corner. Onita then pulls Fuyuki up onto the table with him and nails a piledriver through the table! Cover, but Fuyuki barely kicks out. Tiger Driver by Onita, another cover, but he can't keep the fat man down. Back up, Onita delivers a backdrop suplex, but Fuyuki once again kicks out of the cover attempt. Headbutt by Onita and he hits the jumping DDT. Cover, but it gets a two count. Onita picks up Fuyuki, but Fuyuki hits him low to regain the advantage. Fuyuki goes to the top turnbuckle, but Onita is up in time and joins him. Superplex by Onita from the second turnbuckle and he nails the Thunder Fire Powerbomb for a near three count. Onita throws Fuyuki into the corner, but Fuyuki kicks him when he comes in and cracks him in the head with a wooden board. Cover, but it only gets a two count. Fuyuki then delivers another running lariat, cover, but the move proves to be not enough. Fuyuki is ready to end the match, but Onita blocks the running lariat. Fuyuki comes back with a spinning back fist, cover, but it gets a two count. Fuyuki picks up Onita and hits a powerbomb, but again it gets a two. Go Ito runs in and hits Onita with a crutch, and Fuyuki follows that with a powerbomb. Cover, but again Onita kicks out. Running lariat by Fuyuki, he picks up Onita, and drops him softly on his shoulders with one last powerbomb. Cover, and Fuyuki picks up the three count! Your winner: Kodo Fuyuki

Match Thoughts: I wanted to like this match since Onita is awesome, but the majority of the match was dull brawling and the ending was flat. They really turned it on for the last five minutes or so, but the early Fuyuki control section was brutally slow. It had some nice spots in it (the plancha, Onita's tope suicida, piledriver through the table), but the ending with Fuyuki getting the pin on his worst-looking powerbomb (guess he was tired) wasted a lot of the momentum that they had been building the minutes before. I wouldn't say the match was pointless since it progressed a storyline and the crowd was really into it, but overall I can't say it was particularly entertaining either. Score: 4.5

(c) Mr. Gannosuke vs. Hayabusa
This match is for the FMW Double Titles. Gannosuke goes for a kick to start the match, but Hayabusa steps out of the way. Tie-up, hammerlock by Gannosuke, but Hayabusa reverses it. Gannosuke reverses it back and takes Hayabusa to the mat, but Hayabusa rolls out of it and both men are back up. Tie-up, side headlock by Gannosuke, Hayabusa Irish whips out of it, but Hayabusa shoulderblocks him down. Gannosuke goes off the ropes, but Hayabusa catches him with a rana. Gannosuke rolls out of the ring, Hayabusa goes for a pescado, but Gannosuke moves and lariats Hayabusa when he lands. Gannosuke then throws Hayabusa into the guard rail at ringside before rolling back in the ring to wait for Hayabusa. Hayabusa gets on the apron, but Gannosuke snaps his neck over the top rope. Gannosuke stomps Hayabusa while he is on the mat, he goes off the ropes, but Hayabusa dropkicks him in the knee. Hayabusa twists on Gannosuke's injured knee and drops a leg down on it. Hayabusa keeps a submission applied, but Gannosuke makes it to the ropes. Hayabusa drags Gannosuke back in the middle of the ring though and continues twisting on it until Gannosuke reaches the ropes again. Gannosuke rolls out of the ring to re-group for a moment, holding his leg. He eventually slides back in, but Hayabusa stomps him in the leg as soon as he does so. Hayabusa continues working over Gannosuke's leg with a variety of cranks and strikes. Hayabusa applies the figure four leg lock, but after struggling for a moment Gannosuke reaches the bottom rope. Stomps to the knee by Hayabusa and he goes for a dragon screw leg whip, but Gannosuke knocks him loopy with an enzigieri. Gannosuke takes Hayabusa to the mat and applies the Fujiwara Armbar, but Hayabusa gets a foot on the bottom rope. Gannosuke begins working over Hayabusa's left arm and hits a running arm breaker into the mat. Another running arm breaker by Gannosuke, he picks up Hayabusa, Irish whip from the corner, reversed, and Hayabusa hits a jumping knee as he lands on the apron. Hayabusa comes back in with a missile dropkick to Gannosuke's knee, Gannosuke rolls out of the ring, and Hayabusa baseball slides him farther back. Hayabusa goes for the Asai Moonsault, but Gannosuke moves out of the way. Gannosuke punches Hayabusa against the railing and clotheslines him over before returning to the ring. Hayabusa eventually follows, and Gannosuke plants him with a Michinoku Driver. Cover, but Hayabusa kicks out at two. Praying Powerbomb by Gannosuke, he slowly covers, but again it only gets a two count. Gannosuke goes off the ropes and connects with a lariat, he drags Hayabusa to his feet and goes for another Praying Powerbomb, but this time Hayabusa hurricanranas out of it. Back kick by Hayabusa, Gannosuke rolls out of the ring, and Hayabusa sails out onto him with a somersault tope suicida. Hayabusa rolls Gannosuke back in the ring, gets on the apron, and hits a slingshot leg drop. Cover, but it gets a two count. Tiger Driver by Hayabusa, cover, but again it gets two.

Hayabusa picks up Gannosuke and hits a tiger suplex hold, but Gannosuke kicks out. Again Hayabusa picks up Gannosuke, but Gannosuke sneaks in a Gannosuke Clutch for a near three count! Hayabusa recovers and picks up Gannosuke, he powerbombs him in front of the corner, goes up top, and nails the Phoenix Senton. Hayabusa follows that with the Firebird Splash, cover, but Gannosuke kicks out! Back in the middle of the ring, Hayabusa delivers the Falcon Arrow, but again the cover is unsuccessful. Hayabusa picks up Gannosuke, scoop slam in front of the corner, he goes up top, but Gannosuke is up before Hayabusa can jump off. Gannosuke goes to Hayabusa in the corner, lifts him off, and drops him with a powerbomb. Both wrestlers are back up, and Gannosuke tries to kill Hayabusa with a release German suplex. Gannosuke drags Hayabusa to his feet and goes for a Fire Thunder Driver, but he has trouble hitting it as his knee gives out. Both wrestlers slowly get up, but Gannosuke nails a backdrop suplex. Cover, but Hayabusa kicks out! Gannosuke picks up Hayabusa, but Hayabusa slides down his back and connects with a high kick. Back kick by Hayabusa, but Gannosuke catches the next one and delivers a dragon screw leg whip. Fire Thunder Driver by Gannosuke, he covers Hayabusa, but Hayabusa once again kicks out. Gannosuke goes up to the top turnbuckle, but Hayabusa punches him before he can jump off. Hayabusa then joins him up top and goes for a Frankensteiner, but his foot slips and both wrestlers kinda flop to the mat. Back up, Hayabusa catches Gannosuke with a kick, Gannosuke applies a waistlock, but Hayabusa kicks him low to get out of it. Tiger suplex hold by Hayabusa, but Gannosuke kicks out at two. A brutal Falcon Arrow by Hayabusa follows, cover, but Gannosuke barely kicks out. Scoop slam by Hayabusa in front of the corner, he goes to the top turnbuckle, but Gannosuke gets up. Hayabusa kicks him back and goes out to the apron, but when he springboards back in the ring he eats a fist to the face. Both wrestlers are slow to get up, and Gannosuke catches Hayabusa with a lariat. Cover by Gannosuke, but it gets a two count. Gannosuke goes off the ropes, Hayabusa ducks the lariat and applies a waistlock, but Gannosuke kicks him low to get out of it. Fire Thunder Powerbomb by Gannosuke, but Hayabusa barely kicks out of the pin attempt. Northern Light Suplex by Gannosuke (using one leg), but again it gets a two count. Gannosuke picks up Hayabusa and goes for a slam, but Hayabusa lands on his feet and drops Gannosuke right on his head with a release dragon suplex. Hayabusa then slams Gannosuke in front of the corner, goes to the top turnbuckle, and nails a beautiful Phoenix Splash! Cover, and he picks up the three count! Your winner and new champion: Hayabusa

Match Thoughts: This match was all about heart. See that part way way up there that I underlined? When Hayabusa dropkicked Gannosuke in the knee, he legitimately severely injured it, to the point that Gannosuke would miss six months after this match for knee surgery. Then what happens? Hayabusa works over his hurting leg for the rest of the match. Those times that Gannosuke had trouble lifted Hayabusa were legit, which makes it hard for me to hold it against him. The fact that he wrestled about 18 minutes after suffering such an injury shows just how important this PPV was for FMW.

Even if you overlook Gannosuke proving that he is a beast and not a mere mortal like the rest of us, the match was still very entertaining. It had its problems, such as a few minor botches, but overall both wrestlers played their roles well and they hit their major moves without any problems. I still think the Phoenix Splash is one of the top five most beautiful moves in wrestling (let's see... Phoenix Splash, Shooting Star Press, Space Flying Tiger Drop, Ultimo Dragon's Asai Moonsault, and a Dragonrana), and Hayabusa hit it perfectly. It was the perfect ending, as the two other times he had gone for the move in the match he had failed... he knew that to win the titles he had to hit his ultimate finisher. Overall a really fun match, it wasn't perfectly executed, but the good far outweighed the bad. Major props to Mr. Gannosuke, this is the kind of performance you never forget. Score: 8.0


Hayabusa after the match with the Double Titles

Final Thoughts:

As far as I am concerned this is a one match show. It isn't that nothing else here is worth watching besides the main event, but by the time the event is over you'll be thinking "Man that last match kicked ass!" and that is about it. Half the card was too clipped to really care about, and Shinzaki/Kanemura and Bigelow/Tanaka were both good matches but unspectacular. If you are new to FMW, I don't think this would be a good first event to get, as it was far from a complete show. For those Hayabusa fans and anyone that wants FMW's important shows though, you might want to find this PPV, for the last match was great and it was a big moment in FMW history.

Mildly Recommended


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