MovieChat Forums > The Rise & Fall of ECW (2004) Discussion > how in the world...M. Tanaka vs. M. Awes...

how in the world...M. Tanaka vs. M. Awesome

posted 8 years ago by lomticks_of_toast
1 reply | jump to latest

Hey,
I just caught disc 1 of this documentary and enjoyed it. Very nostalgic.

One thing the documentary didn't cover, however, was how in the world some of these guys weren't seriously injured for life. I'm thinking of New Jack jumping down on guys from 40+ feet in the air. Or RVD somersaulting off the top rope, out of the ring, into the stands, landing on BB Bigelow. Or, one of the most incredible things I've ever seen in a ring, Mike Awesome powerbombing Masato Tanaka over the top rope, onto a table, on a cement floor (!) or Tanaka returning the favor:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5x03k_mike-awesome-vs-masato-tanaka_sport (10:50 mark)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x50s8r_5-star-match-mike-awesome-vs-masato_sport (see 12:15 mark)

Unreal. Obviously, the tables help break the falls. Nevertheless, if your head falls onto concrete, through a table or not, it's got to cause concussions/damage. Yet these guys did it. Over and over. That's why I loved ECW...and why it always scared me a bit - because I didn't want someone to get hurt so badly they couldn't return to the ring.

Anybody have any insight?

He simply bears up and he does it...because he is a man. - Breaking Bad

[–] daverindone 8 years ago

Having been lucky to see some house shows during ECW's peak times, it was, like you said, a bit scary. I remember hearing an interview with New Jack going over the toll his spots took on his body, it was pretty grim. I believe Mike Awesome took his own life after one of the ONS PPV's, who knows if his suicide was a result of his craft. I did love ECW and considered myself as someone who Joined The Revolution back around '95 and we lost Axl and Balls within a few months of each other.