FMW DVDs

[RoaringElbow25]

I was wondering if I was going to purchase one FMW DVD on sale in the states which would be the best one to buy? Like which one has the best matches on it, and if possible does it have Hayabusa and/or Masato Tanaka on it?

[Das]

Ok. I'll talk about the 3 i own.

"The Flying Assasin" is about Hayabusa, he's in every match. There's one match with Awesome, one with Tanaka, and i think two with Mr. Ganosuke.

"King of the Deathmatch" Jason the Terrible vs. Nanjo;Mad Dog Nagaya vs. Shark Tsuchiya; Horace Boulder, Awesome, Mr. Ooya vs. The Headhunters and Super Leather; Cactus Jack vs. Kanemura; Combat Toyoda vs. Megumi Kudo; and of course my favorite match Hayabusa and Tanaka vs. Funk and Pogo (double hell exploding ring)

Yokohama Deathmatch

A clip segment that covers about 5 matches, Mr Ganosuke vs. Hayabusa in a hair vs mask match; Funk Awesome and Cactus Jack vs. Tanaka Kanemura and Onita; Main event is the Megumi Kudo final fight vs Shark Tsuchya.

If your looking for Hayabusa, the flying assasin is probably the best, but i would go with "King of the deathmatch if I were you.

[lCS 39]

quick question, how are the FMW dvd's? what features do they have and what not? I'm just curious...I don't plan to buy them anyway since I have practically all the FMW shows on tapes from '94 - '01 even though they have better comentary now then when tokyopop first released the FMW videos and from the reviews of those, they were extremely horrible with fabricated storylines to relate to the american demographics.

[Das]

Actually, you come pretty close to the answer in your question. The story's are pretty bad, and so is the announcing.

SInce the closest box to me is the king of the deathmatch ill quote the special features off the back of the box

and I quote:

"Bonus Match Taka Michinoku vs Koji Nakagawa (only has Japanese commentary, no english)
interactive wrestler gallery (this is actually pretty good, but its small and hard to read)
Origional japanese commentary (im not making this next part up at all) BRUSH UP ON YOUR JAPANESE
spanish subtitles"

they dont list it but there is also a written history of fmy on most of the dvd's but it's kind of hard to read like the wrestlers gallery.

There is also a lot of editing done, and there is a weird thing when a replay is shown that looks like, well, like the acion is part of the replay

All in all they are not that good, but they are better than nothing

[lCS 39]

cool, thanks for the info. I can understand when you say they're better then nothing, it's ashame that tokyopop had to butcher some of the classic FMW stuff.

[Das]

Much obliged.

i've just though of how to describr the replay thing.

Whenever somebody does something "replay worthy" a replay is shown. the replay isn't in slow motion though, it's a t full speed, and it is edited in such a way that at the end of the replay it looks like they never cut to a replay.

My friend thinks it looks good. I think it looks bad. It's all a matter of perspective.

[Tradewynd]

The older FMW DVDs have the worst commentary the world has ever seen with storylines created that are too horrible to be done in a backyard fed, let alone FMW. One virtue to them is that the undercard matches that appear on the DVDs aren't cut. I have one of the "newer" FMW DVDs, Yokohama Deathmatch. The opening match was I believe 18 minutes but ran only 3 and a half on the DVD. The older DVDs have complete matches(the ones that are there) and even have the original Japanese commentary. I have no idea why Tokyopop stopped doing that, it really added a lot of value to the discs IMO. Especially when you look at the made up storylines and gimmicks like "Mother-in-Law," Shark and Mike Awesome being discovered on some small island after living there for 400 years and eating some mysterious fruit to stay young, etc. The Japenese commentary is a lifesaver there, even if you don't speak a word of Japanese. Another strong point to them is that video quality is a billion times better than any of the FMW vids or comps I have. The fact that watching it doesn't give you a headache makes it a winner in my book. If you haven't picked up any of the DVDs yet there is something else I should warn you about. On the DVDs they heavily hype up "bonus matches" that are not included on the VHS version. Unlike with the ECW DVDs, there is nothing to get too excited about. On King of the Deathmatch for instance they took a match between Taka and Koji that went almost 20 minutes and cut it to right around 3. I had that match on a Taka comp, and although the VQ was better, they cut out a lot of good wrestling. Personally, I would recommend the first few releases they had since those have uncut matches and Japanese commentary. The commentary is better on the newer DVDs, The Mouth really helps out, although that awful John Watanabe is still there. It amazes me how that guy can get a job when guys like Don Callus and Joey Styles leave the business. Sigh. The match clipping really hurts the value of the newer discs IMO. I'm also one of the people who finds the replay to be really hokey. A good idea in principle, but it just doesn't work in execution. If there are any specific discs you're wondering about post the title and I'll run it down for you. I have most of the old ones and haven't picked up any since Yokohama Deathmatch. One that I can strongly recommend is Torn To Shreds. 2 hours of Joshi goodness that not even the commentary can ruin. Lots of good Kudo matches too if you're a fan of her.

[Haiku Warrior]

I've seen a couple at SunCoast Videos. The one with Ohnita is really good!

[eijiezaki24]

i have all the videos but now i got a dvd player so i have to buy them all over again i must see all the matches!

[Tradewynd]

I really wouldn't waste you money on the DVDs. The "bonuses" on them certainly do make it worth spending another 25 bucks per title. Save your money for puro DVDs from Japan, they certainly cost enough.

[eijiezaki24]

actually, i would agree with u were it not for my friend who is gonna buy off all my FMW tapes for 20 bucks each. That way, I'll only really bespending 5 bucks per dvd.

[The Great Gouki]

Ugh I HATE the FMW english announcers, why couldn't they get Joey Styles on it.... But that Dan Lovranski dude..ugh, I recently watched "The Judgement" on VHS and besides both guys miscalling moves the whole time that The Mouth guy bashes Shawn Michaels. Sure HBK has no business in FMW, and sure there is a language barrier (I loved the part where Hayabusa[Ganosuke] says "NO COUNT SHAWN!!" and when HBK turns around says something that sound's like "YOU FAT!" to him..lol funny..) But the whole time The Mouth is talking trash on him. Personaly I think it's becuase of that whole "You screwed Bret" thing Canadians are obsessed with. I also think of how funny it is when the ring explodes (on the Deathmatch Video) and they cough like they are there..yeah, if only I didn't know the ACTUAL match took place 4 years before the video was made....lol they try to make it where Cactus Jack was in FMW around the time he was RETIRED, funny, funny....but if you look past the crappy made-up story lines, bad editing, even crappier announcers, and the fact that EVERY video plays Hayabusa's music as intro music (you'd think they'd get an FMW theme) then the Tokyo Pop videos are great!

[eijiezaki24]

i couldn't have said it more boldy or more truthfully myself Gouki!

[The Great Gouki]

I only speak the facts. Thank you.

[rgblack326]

I have "King of the Deathmatch" from FMW on DVD and it sucks because of the announcers. If you see it, turn on the Japanese announcers and you will enjoy it much more.