That was awesome! (clap clap clapclapclap): Mike Awesome and Masato Tanaka collide in a series of hardcore wars

by Sergio Hernandez on Dec 20, 2011 6:00 PM EST in That Was Awesome

Continuing a feud they started in Japan's Frontier Martial-arts Wrestling (FMW), Mike Awesome and Masato Tanaka wowed even the most bloodthirsty ECW fan with their brutal matches on Hardcore TV and Heat Wave 1998.

The two would meet again a year later at Anarchy Rulz in one of the most infamous matches -- and trust me, they had a lot of those -- in ECW history. World Champion Taz -- with one Z -- was supposed to take on Tanaka in a singles match but Awesome was shoehorned in to make it a three-way dance.

A couple of minutes later, Taz was pinned and on his way to ECW, leading the two FMW veterans to battle. Awesome won out and would once again come out on top when he retained against the Japanese hardcore legend two months later at November to Remember.

As requested by Cagesider xXLINDEXx -- and I couldn't be happier to do so -- here's Awesome's match with Tanaka from the first ECW: One Night Stand event several years after their fantastic feud.

It wasn't their best meeting but hopefully it'll serve as an appetizer for those of you who haven't seen their classics.

Rest in peace, Gladiator. Thanks for all the great matches.

If you have any ideas for something that made you say "that was awesome!!!" pass it along. Make sure to include either your name or your SBNation handle -- whichever you'd like to be used -- and you'll get a shout out if your idea is used! Contact me at sergio.hernandez.tx@gmail.com.

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R.I.P. Mike Awesome.

I buried Banago.
A. Silva

by Lance Storm on Dec 20, 2011 6:04 PM EST reply actions

Some of the sickest matches ever.

Loved them.

by TrailerParkTrash on Dec 20, 2011 6:25 PM EST via mobile reply actions

God I loved this feud

In the waning years of ECW, it was one of the true highlights.

by Mr. h on Dec 20, 2011 6:49 PM EST reply actions 3 recs

I think these two were in the first ECW match I ever saw

I know it was Mike Awesome and some Asian guy. I remember seeing the show on some random TV channel late at night, but I could never find the show again.

by Manolo Has Pizzazz on Dec 20, 2011 7:21 PM EST reply actions

I really don't think we should glorify these matches in today's light.

Were they spectacular? Sure. But we didn’t know better back then.

Now we know that those matches and the style Awesome wrestled led to addiction and brain damage that ultimately led to Awesome killing himself a few years ago.

So I’m not exactly keen to go “Hey, remember when they brained themselves as hard as possible?! That was so cool!” knowing that it led to his death.

by Hawk52 on Dec 20, 2011 8:49 PM EST reply actions

The direct...

Chair shots to the head were dumb and should never be a part of wrestling.

Beyond that, there wasn’t a whole lot that you wouldn’t see in a regular hardcore match. They got put through tables, splashes to the outside, etc.

But these two guys had such a chemistry that their matches went beyond that.

Twitter

by Sergio Hernandez on Dec 20, 2011 10:25 PM EST up reply actions

Honestly, this feud was a whole lot tamer than anything they did in FMW.

My personal favorite was the November to Remember. Trading finishers, grest moments where you weren’t sure who was going to win. My favorite out of the whole caboodle.

"Pain or damage don't end the world; or despair, or F*ckin beatings. The world ends when you're dead. Until then, you got more punishment coming. Stand it like a man, and give some back." -Al Swearengen

by KalShadar on Dec 21, 2011 10:37 AM EST up reply actions