FMW: The Flying Assassin Review.

[Guest Mark4steamboat]

FMW: The Flying Assassin: Beyond the Mask of Hayabusa

Soundtrack: Alice in Chains Greatest Hits, Tool ÆNIMA, and The Best of Silverchair

Brought to You By: Tostito’s Tortilla Chips, Frito’s Jalapeno Cheddar Dip and San Carlos Brand Salsa.

Okay now let’s roll.

-Your hosts are John Wantanabe of Urban Wrestling Alliance fame and Dan “The Mouth” Lovranski of the LAW.

-We open with an interview and montage of Hayabusa and his best moves. Very well produced segment that documents how he got some of the moves he did. Interesting note: He got the Firebird Splash (450) from Too Cold Scorpio in Mexico.

HAYABUSA VS MASATO TANAKA

First off, allow me to say that THESE MEN RULE! Ahem. The storyline with this tape is that Hayabusa has to go through a tournament to get a shot at his archenemy Mr. Ganosuke. Tanaka and Hayabusa are friends btw just so the stiffness doesn’t elude you otherwise. Collar and elbow into a side headlock by Masato Tanaka. Tanaka is thrown off but he shoulder tackles Hayabusa. Hayabusa no sells and dropkicks him to the outside. Baseball slide misses and Hayabusa gets hit with a huge lariat. Hayabusa gets elbowed on the apron and Tanaka goes for a springboard lariat but gets caught by a sidekick from Hayabusa. Hayabusa gets Irish whipped, ducks Tanaka’s clothesline and hits a forearm to the chin of Tanaka. Tanaka charges but gets hip tossed over the top. Baseball slide by Busa followed by a quebrada that knocks out the first 4 rows of chairs. I bet it sucked to be at a show with no guardrails where everyone in the first 5 rows has the probability to lose his or her seat at least once. Back in, Tanaka applies a hammerlock that leads to a great hammerlock reversal/ mat wrestling sequence. Test of strength obviously won by Tanaka but Hayabusa kicks over his arm and turns it into an arm bar. Tanaka reverses THAT and turns it into a leg hold. Very methodical on both parts I might add. Irish whip leads to a missed elbow in the corner by Tanaka. Hayabusa goes back to the arm. PSYCHOLOGY! Hey at least its coming back in the WWE. Watching Tanaka actually trying to get out of the hold is a treat to watch seeing as how most wrestlers just follow the sequence and don’t actually try and make it look a tad bit realistic. Both men get back to their feet, Busa gets an Irish whip following it with a running knee to the face. Tanaka is staggering and Hayabusa dropkicks his arm from the top rope. Sweet looking move. Hayabusa goes back to working on the arm. Irish whip, reversal, and Tanaka sends Hayabusa over the top but he kicks Tanaka from the apron. Hayabusa kicks Tanaka’s arm and goes for a running dropkick but Tanaka kicks his legs as he’s running. Ouch. Dragon screw leg whip (I love that move btw) by Tanaka and he follows it with a surfboard but his arm gives out. That is such a treat to see on so many levels. Tanaka gets up and immediately goes back to the leg with a Figure 4 but he gets to the ropes. Irish whip by Tanaka and he hits the rolling elbow in the corner. Irish whip again but Hayabusa brings his feet up in the corner but Tanaka turns it into a power slam. Tanaka grabs Busa and puts him on the turnbuckle. What follows is probably my favorite move besides the DVD, the TORNADO DDT!!!! But unfortunately it only gets 2. Tanaka follows with a series of forearms but Busa kicks him and hits a SWANK~! release German suplex(another of my favorite moves). Tanaka goes outside but Hayabusa hits a sweet somersault press. Back in, Centon/quebrada combo on Tanaka gets 2. It is so hard watching that move knowing that it is what paralyzed Hayabusa. Fisherman buster (great move) by Hayabusa gets 2. Tiger Driver by Hayabusa gets 2. Slam in front of the “Falcon’s Nest”(the top rope) leads to the best aerial move around, the Phoenix Splash. Jeff Hardy has started doing this and its basically a somersault centon from a moonsault position. Tanaka reverses an attempt at the Falcon Arrow but Hayabusa regains control and hits it anyway for 2. Hayabusa goes for a cross body but gets caught with a forearm to the jaw. Rana on Tanaka but he gets right up and delivers a SICK lariat to Hayabusa for 2. Diamond Dust variation (think a stunner from an Acid Drop position) gets 2. Superplex by Tanaka followed by a frog splash. Powerbomb by Tanaka gets 2. Release German suplex by Hayabusa followed by a SWEET dragon suplex gets 2. Hayabusa goes up and hits the Firebird Splash (450) for 2. Hayabusa gets crotched on the top and Tanaka lands a powerbomb for 2. Busa is put on the top rope and Tanaka follows it with a SWANK!!!!!! running Death Valley Driver!!!!!!! Another powerbomb gets 2. Tanaka goes for another powerbomb but Busa gets out but gets NAILED!! with a running forearm. ANOTHER running DVD gets 2 on Hayabusa. Good god he should be dead by now. Forearm by Tanaka but he gets NAILED with a spinning heel kick that leaves him seriously dazed. Tanaka charges and takes Hayabusa’s head off with a forearm for 2.99999. Hayabusa gets out of a DVD and hits a release German but Tanaka gets right p and MURDERS him with a forearm. Good god get a fucking grave ready for Hayabusa. I really with Fit Finley would teach the WWE wrestlers to grow some balls and actually take a forearm shot to the face. They swap forearms but Hayabusa kicks Tanaka and hits a VICIOUS dragon suplex. Hayabusa picks up Tanaka for a Falcon Arrow and ends it. Damn what a match. They shake hands like they didn’t just fucking kill each other and Tanaka raises the hand of Hayabusa.

****3/4. Great match but some lack of selling really hurt it.

-Hayabusa visits a temple. Whoopedy Shit.

HAYABUSA VS “GLADIATOR” MIKE AWESOME

I hated to read that Mike got his release from the WWE but he was really unused. I used to love him in ECW and here in FMW. But really there’s only room for one mullet in the WWE. His mullet is just AWESOME here. Dey get all up in each other’s areas yo and Hayabusa gets shoved away. Collar and elbow and Busa gets thrown off. Back to the Collar and Elbow and Hayabusa gets “chopped” (read “barely slapped”) on the ropes. Irish whip, reversed by Hayabusa, reversed again into a short arm clothesline by Awesome. Flying clothesline from the top by Awesome and he clotheslines Hayabusa to the outside. Awesome goes to the top first and hits a plancha on Hayabusa. Lariat and chairshot follow onto Busa. Back in, Awesome hits Busa with a chair from the top and the seat breaks. Don’t worry, its REALLY thin. Facebuster followed by a splash by Awesome gets 2. Torture rack by Awesome and he drops Hayabusa over the top rope. Outside, Busa gets Irish whipped and takes out the first 5 rows of chairs. Back in, Awesome tries a plancha but get kicked on the way down. Centon/quebrada from Busa gets 2. Fisherman suplex and Tiger Driver for 2. Phoenix splash followed by a Firebird Splash also gets 2. Hayabusa goes back up to the top but gets caught by Mike Awesome and he delivers an awkward looking backward Awesome bomb for 2. Awesome up top and delivers a NICE looking swan dive for 2. Awesome follows that up with a camel clutch(What the Fuck??) Whoa that was out of nowhere. Irish whip and blind charge by Awesome but Busa moves. Hayabusa ducks a clothesline and hits a release German suplex. Awesome rolls out but gets hit by a somersault press by Hayabusa. Back in, Awesome counters a forearm from the top by delivering a pedigree to Hayabusa. Awesome goes to the apron but gets forearmed and crashes through the skinny little Japanese table. Hayabusa follows that up with a somersault press on the broken table. Back in, a Falcon Arrow by H gets 2. Hayabusa goes up top but gets crotched. Awesome goes for an Awesome bomb but Hayabusa turns it into a rana. Hayabusa goes for a flying headscissor but gets powerbombed for 2. Awesome puts Hayabusa on the actual top rope and German suplexes him RIGHT ON HIS HEAD. SICK! Sweet Jesus that only got 2. Running power bomb by Awesome gets 2 as well. Hayabusa gets out of another power bomb and cradles Awesome for 2. Both men to their feet, Hayabusa hits a dragon suplex and ends it.

***1/2. Good match but kind of disjointed in spots.

-Looooooooong but well done produced video of the history between Hayabusa and Mr. Ganosuke which of course leads us to…

HAYABUSA VS MR. GANOSUKE for the Independent World and Brass Knuckles Titles.

Remember: Ganosuke translates to GIANT MAN BOOBS. Seriously his tits are just out of control here. He’s not out of shape per se but he does have huge tits. Collar and elbow into a hammerlock by Ganosuke, reversed by Hayabusa, and reversed again by Ganosuke. Short feel-out process follows but the go back to the collar and elbow. Ganosuke gets a side headlock but is thrown off by Hayabusa. Ganosuke tackles him on the way back. Hayabusa kips up, ducks a clothesline, and sends him to the outside with a rana. Hayabusa tries a plancha but Ganosuke moves. Hayabusa lands on his feet and gets hit with a clothesline. Ganosuke drops Hayabusa neck first on the ropes and H rolls back in. Ganosuke goes for a clothesline Hayabusa dropkicks him in the knee. Hayabusa follows up by working on the leg. Ganosuke gets to the ropes but Hayabusa brings him back to the center and goes back to the leg. Hayabusa slaps on a figure four in the center of the ring but Ganosuke works his way to the ropes. Ganosuke hits an enziguri and follows it up with an armbar. Ganosuke works on the arm for a while and bring Hayabusa to the corner. Hayabusa reverses the Irish whip and hits a running knee to the face of Ganosuke. Hayabusa goes up top and missile dropkicks Ganosuke to the outside. Hayabusa hits a baseball slide and follows it up with a SWEET! quebrada on the outside. Ganosuke gets up and lariats Hayabusa over the railing. Back in, Ganosuke hits a Falcon Arrow for 2. Ganosuke mocks Jinsei Shinzaki by doing the praying power bomb on Hayabusa for 2. Clothesline to Hayabusa and Ganosuke goes for another praying power bomb but Hayabusa reverses it into a rana. Ganosuke goes to the outside but gets hit with a SWANK somersault press. Back in, guillotine leg drop on Ganosuke gets 2. Tiger Driver by H gets 2. Butterfly suplex also gets 2. Phoenix splash followed by a firebird splash ALSO gets 2. Falcon arrow by Hayabusa gets 2. Hayabusa goes up top but Ganosuke knocks him down and power bombs him. VICIOUS German suplex follows by Hayabusa. Ganosuke goes for a Falcon Arrow but his knee gives out. Ganosuke gets right up and suplexes him for 2. Hayabusa kicks Ganosuke but Ganosuke turns it into a dragon screw leg whip. Michinoku driver by Ganosuke follows. Hayabusa goes for a German suplex but Ganosuke reverses it so Hayabusa kicks him in the balls. VERY uncharacteristic on the part of Hayabusa. Dragon suplex by Hayabusa gets 2. Falcon Arrow by Hayabusa gets the CLOSE 2. Hayabusa goes up top but gets elbowed by Ganosuke. Lariat by Ganosuke gets 2. Hayabusa reverses a lariat into a dragon suplex but HE gets kicked in the balls. Pure Karma. Power bomb by Ganosuke gets 2. T-bone suplex by Ganosuke gets 2. Hayabusa hits a dragon suplex and follows it with a Phoenix Splash for the win and the titles.

****1/2. Lack of selling by both was apparent but they improved on that near the end. A fitting ending to a great journey by Hayabusa.

 

Hayabusa is one of my favorite wrestlers no naturally I picked this tape up. Only 3 matched kinda sucks but they are all great matches. Highspots.com has this for $9.99 and while you’re there, pick up the Yokohama Deathmatch video for a better Hayabusa/Ganosuke match.

 

Strongly Recommended.

 

Feedback is appreciated.

 

Email me at [email protected]

[Guest The Superstar]

Great review, I got the DVD a while ago, haven't actually gotten to the tournament though

[Guest Mark4steamboat]

cmon BRING THE FEEDBACK.

[Guest Retro Rob]

I would probably pass on the DVD, mainly because it only includes 3 matches.

[Guest Mark4steamboat]

If you have any extra money, its worth a look.

[Guest nWoScorpion]

Good Review from a whole, but I am not interested in Japanese Wrestling (not that its bad because its far from it) because theres no way I can keep track of it, plus I have no clue who anyone is unless they wrestled in US feds like WWF, AWA, ECW, WCW or USWA.

[Guest Mark4steamboat]

All three of those men competed in ECW at one time or another.

Thanks , I appreciate the feedback.

[Guest nWoScorpion]

Really? Wow I didnt know that. I only got ECW for like 3 months.

[Guest Mark4steamboat]

Hayabusa teamed with Jensei Shinzaki at Wrestlepalooza 98 i believe.

Awesome held the title as did Masato Tanaka. Get the ECW Extreme Evolution for a GREAT tanaka/awesome match from November To Remember 99 i believe.