Talk about it here.

Michinoku Pro is fun to watch at this stage just to compare it to what they were doing in 1996. There are some sequences they've abandoned entirely, some they've cleaned up, and some they weren't doing yet at all. I think the '94 and '95 yearbooks in between will help fill the picture and we'll be able to see exactly how the MPro style became what it became. So this was fun not because it was a great match, but because you watch knowing what these guys would be able to do with a few years to hone the style.

Shinzaki has a bit more hop in his step but not as quick on the rope walk move. Extended arm wringer spot which I love. Naniwa sells it like a KO spot. Plenty of fun comedy spots around with your dives at the end. TAKA did most of the work for his team.

Naniwa going into a dead faint after having his arm wrung over the ropes was fun. This was kind of Japanese lucha by numbers, with a number of now-routine spots like the rowboat, but still fun because everything was executed well. Sasuke is already carrying himself well as the promotional ace.

Extremely fun to see the spots that renowned the M-Pro style. You get a sense of them finding their own and Sasuke is going to be the focal point for the promotion. ***1/2

I never really got into this. I've only seen two Michinoku Pro matches before this, both of them on this set, so I had very little idea who was who, plus this seemed like comedy filler instead of a serious contest. Maybe I'll appreciate this style more as I grow more familiar with it.

 

Dumb question from a newbie: Did the name of this promotion have anything to do with Taka's last name? In other words, was the wrestler named after the promotion, was the promotion named after the wrestler, or was it all just a great big coincidence?

It has to do with the area they ran which is called Michinoku.

So it does. I just Foogled the name "Michinoku Japan" and found that out.

 

Thanks, Tim!