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THE DEAN OF WRESTLING Welcome back to class, students, I trust that you all completed your followup assignment from last week's lesson. I know that one loyal scholar did-unfortunately he did not go about presenting this work in the right fashion.

see-the funny thing is, Rey Masterio and Kidman have a great history togather. They have had some of the most memorable matches in wrestling, and if you studied your wrestling, dean, you would know that.

JohnRogerEngebreth

Very good, Mr. Engebreth, however, you forgot one vital point-IT IS RUDE TO TALK BACK TO YOUR TUTOR. Don't do it again.

Now, last week's lesson was a study of what coupling good wrestling with a great storyline, some well-defined characters and a big match atmosphere can produce. This week I'll be looking at a different aspect of the wrestling world. From the pay-per-view Canadian Stampede in July, 1997, this week's case study: The Great Sasuke Vs. Taka Michenoku (Hey Dean, it's spelled "Michinoku." I don't think this gimmick is working for you, by the way. - CRZ). Open your notebooks, my proteges!

The Setup

And here we find the first instance where this match differs from last week's offering-whereas the Hitman and the Rocket had a rich, storied past and the blood ties to fall back on for motivation, this match was signed, announced, and, with very little buildup, displayed. The two stars literally arrived in America the day before they were due to lock up, and were not present at any previous shows to even give casual fans a glimpse of what they were going to see come bell time. That loses some marks for this clash right here.

Vince MacMahon's ("McMahon" - CRZ) thought processes were evident in the signing of these two name international stars to wrestle. At a time when he needed it most, Vince took an element from WCW that had proved successful-the Cruiserweight division-and decided to establish his own in Stamford. And who would be the centrepiece of this new endeavour? The infamous Japanese high-flyer, the Great Sasuke. How did all this turn out? I'll cover that in my summary. For now, sit back and peruse the WWF's first-and ultimately last-flirtation with that dirty word puroresu... (Umm....oh, forget it. I'll stop interrupting now. - CRZ)

The Match

The match is second on the four-match card of what many (myself included) believe to be the greatest American pay-per-view of 1997. Preceding it: a hot Hunter Hearst Helmsley/Mankind opener that went to a riotous no-decision. That becomes important later.

Taka enters first, wearing his Japan robe and getting no reaction whatsoever. Keep in mind, my avid subjects, that this was one of, if not the first Light Heavyweight matches on WWF pay-per-view. Sasuke enters second to his excellently cheesy theme, resplendent in his Power Ranger attire and flowing kimono. And here comes the first bone-headed move of the match:

As Taka and Sasuke stand ready to lock up in the ring, a roar ripples through the crowd, and the cameras quickly find the source-the Helmsley/Mankind brawl has erupted once again, this time in the centre of the Calgary throng, sending the fans into a frenzy. The camera stays trained on the two men for a good few minutes as they toss each other into the barricades, while security staff desperately try to separate them. And while this takes place in the crowd, Taka and Sasuke are left to stand, dumbfounded, in the ring.

The two American combatants finally disappear back into the bowels of the building, and the fans reluctantly turn back to the ring, leaving them burnt out and desperate for more of Hunter/Mankind. This, of course, has no sway on Taka and Sasuke, as the bell is rung and they circle each other. Both, of course, are standing in typical martial arts stance-see the same named stance from WrestleMania 2000 for reference. Sasuke strikes first with some tentative kicks that barely touch Taka, then the two lock up. That ends in a rope break. Sasuke lures Taka into a knucklelock, then wrings the arm and wrenches on it. Taka flips out and knocks Sasuke down, then drops an elbow on Sasuke's knee, but Sasuke turns it into a short-arm scissors and gets a pair of two counts from it. Taka turns that into a rollup for two, and they go back to cirling each other. Sasuke again makes the first move, with a spinkick to Taka's pectoral, then snapmares the youngster into a chinlock. That leads to a Sasuke headscissors for two. Taka turns the headscissors over and gets an armbar, then works a surfboard-like manoeuvre. Taka works the shoulder and applies a wristlock, then snaps Sasuke's arm over his shoulder, but on the second try Sasuke turns it into a sleeper.

Taka elbows out almost immediately, but Sasuke catches him coming off the ropes with a NASTY spinning heel kick to the jaw. Half crab, but Taka makes the ropes. Sasuke sits on him until the referee breaks it up, then hits some more kicks to Taka's chest. Taka catches one, however, and slaps Sasuke down, then snapmares him. Dropkick to the back of the head, then a KaiEnTai dropkick, and the crowd starts to respond to Taka. Another slap, and Taka charges, but Sasuke backdrops him to the floor, then hits a bizarre, video game-like diving kick from the top turnbuckle to the floor. Both men down. Taka rolls groggily back in the ring and Sasuke follows, hitting a kick combo that puts Taka down in the corner, then almost decapitating Taka with a BRUTAL back heel kick to the face. Somehow, Taka gets up and staggers back into the centre of the ring, and Sasuke levels him with another kick to the head. More kicks as Taka gets to his feet, and he catches a kick and hits a Dragon screw legwhip, then dropkicks Sasuke's knee. Sasuke rolls to the floor-and Taka follows with his no-hands top rope plancha! The crowd cheers as Taka celebrates. He rolls back in the ring, and tries to suplex Sasuke from the apron back in, but Sasuke slips out. German suplex attempt, but Taka flips out and ranas him for a two count. La Majistral gets two for Taka. Shoulderblock by Taka, and he comes off the ropes, but Sasuke hits a springboard elbow to put him down.

Taka to the floor, and Sasuke delivers a beautiful Asai moonsault from the apron. Both men down-again. Back in, and Sasuke is reversed into the ropes, and caught with a belly-to-belly for a two count. Irish whip, leg lariat and Ohtaniesque springboard dropkick by Taka, and he signals for the Michenoku Driver. He hits it, and the crowd offer up the required "ooohs" for the brutal-looking move-but it only gets two. Taka climbs to the top, but gets caught with a dropkick as he dives off, and Sasuke hits a quebrada bodyblock for two. The kickout's academic, however, as Sasuke hits a Fire Thunder Bomb, then finishes it with a Tiger suplex at 10:00.

Analysis

While you truly cannot fault these two men for the wrestling ability they displayed here, they were essentially fighting an uphill battle from the start. The work of Taka Michenoku managed to convince the fans to invest some emotions in the match, but they really had no reason to. Two men, whom most casual fans were not familiar with, assemble a match with no clear-cut face/heel roles and no real motivations for battling each other. Added to the fact that someone made the braindead booking decision to place a HHH/Mankind brawl DIRECTLY before the bell, and this was a recipe for disaster.

I think perhaps what hurt the match most for me-and for all of you, seeing as you are my students-was the lack of defined roles and match flow. There was no face, there was no heel, and so there was no reason to become truly caught up in the action. It is one thing to marvel at Sasuke's ability; it is completely another to cheer because he squashes Taka with a moonsault. That is what takes the enjoyment of the match to the next level-caring about the participants, having a favourite to root for and a vicious villain to despise. Of course, this statement will probably start some people crowing-"You're not a wrestling fan! If you were a wrestling fan then you'd appreciate the action, not the story!". Of COURSE I can appreciate the action, but appreciating something is different to enjoying it and being fully entertained by it. The match also had no real psychology or thread running through to tie it together, and although there was some spectacular moves on display here, Sasuke seemed to have it one notch below "full-pelt". Not necessarily a bad thing, as Sasuke could waltz through a four-star match-but a truly explosive Sasuke could have torn the house down and really made an impact. To Taka's credit, he brought all of his tricks with him and impressed the right people-as I will explain to you.

The aftermath of this match? Well as I told you in the setup, this was a lead-in to the introduction of the Light Heavyweight title, which was originally intended for the waist of Sasuke and NOT for Taka. However, after the Canadian fans responded so well to Taka here (and on RAW the following night), the men with the pen offered the contract to the younger star instead, and six months later, Taka was the proud "first-ever" WWF Light Heavyweight Champion. While Taka may have blown the roof off of Titan in his first few months, you have to question whether signing him over Sasuke was the right move. Think about it; after a couple of months of exposure, Taka became a glorified jobber and the title was reduced to a joke. Would the WWF have dared treat a big-name, international superstar like Sasuke with the same contempt? I don't think so...

The Grade: B-

And so another class comes to a close. Be sure you don't skip lessons next week, students, because as a special treat we'll be perusing what many people believe to be the greatest match from last year...from the Pillman 2000 Memorial Show, Chris Benoit Vs. Steven (William) Regal. All catchup assignment and absence notes should be passed along to quoththeraven99@hotmail.com. Class dismissed!

The Dean
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