365 Wrestling, Day 35: Super Crazy vs. Tajiri (ECW, 2/4/00)

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If familiarity breeds contempt, it’s no wonder that the rivalry between Super Crazy and Tajiri in ECW is so delightful.

Whether it be in a singles match, a three way dance, or a tag team match (as opponents and occasionally as partners), Tajiri and Crazy consistently brought out the best in one another. Without their matches against one another, neither would have the level of fame or notoriety in the wrestling community they rose to achieve.

In this entry we examine one of their meetings: a Japanese Death Match from an ECW house show held February 4, 2000, in Jacksonville, FL.

The handheld version of this match, which is what I watched, is available on YouTube. You can also find it on the Highspots Wrestling Network. It later aired on the Feb. 13 episode of ECW Hardcore TV.

The Match

These two are familiar foes by now. They had a couple of house show matches before their contest at the 1999 Guilty As Charged pay-per-view that really sparked their rivalry in the promotion. According to Cagematch, this battle in Jacksonville is the 28th singles match between Tajiri and Crazy in ECW, with the two mostly trading wins back and forth. It also doesn’t count some excellent three-way matches, with Little Guido and Jerry Lynn as the respective third man.

This particular match happens just a few weeks removed from the 2000 version of the Guilty As Charged pay-per-view, where Tajiri and Crazy teamed together on the whim of Steve Corino to face another haphazard duo in Guido and Lynn, whose team fell apart when Guido turned on Lynn. And yes, it was as confusing to watch as that last sentence was to read.

A Japanese Death Match might sound like something in Big Japan, but here, it just means there are no disqualifications and any and all weapons are allowed. There are some excellent technical exchanges in Crazy-Tajiri matches but this is not one of those matches. Super Crazy sprints to the ring, launching himself at Tajiri with a springboard missile dropkick, and it’s violence, plunder and blood from there.

This is ECW, and a gimmick match, which means chairs, tables, and a fair amount of “hitting each other with stuff” spots, along with some degree of “setup time.” Setting up a table or ladder spot can seem endless and kill a match’s momentum. Here, Crazy and Tajiri both do a credible job of keeping the action going without requiring too much suspension of disbelief (aside from the usual level of suspension of disbelief required to watch wrestling in the first place).

Both men end up bloody by the conclusion of this match, which sees both incorporate plunder into some of their signature offense. Tajiri delivers his baseball slide dropkick with Crazy in the Tree of Woe, but places three chairs in front of his nemesis’ head before delivering the blow. Later, Super Crazy soars off the top rope with a legdrop on Tajiri through a table on the floor. Upon impact, the far end of the table flips up and hits Crazy–not planned and likely painful but adding positively to the mayhem.

Tajiri is more polished in his match with Rey Mysterio from the very first entry in the project, but here, he’s younger and incredibly over with the crowd despite technically being a heel (though a turn is not far away for the Japanese Buzzsaw). At one point, after Super Crazy gets lacerated, Tajiri makes the most of it with the crowd: licking his fingers (ew), wiping his enemy’s bloody head against the shirt sleeve of the referee, and biting at Crazy’s forehead.

The violence builds. At one point, fans ringside feed chair after chair to Super Crazy at one point in the match while chanting “ECW!” in a great example of the organic, visceral feel that gave ECW its charm. The match culminates with one of the nastier spots I have seen in bouts of this type. It’s so over the top that it should end the match, and does.

One more note: Lost in the weapons and chaos is one of the smoother variations of Tajiri’s handspring back elbow. Tajiri sprints into the ropes, and Super Crazy comes forward into the elbow, avoiding the “standing there waiting to be hit” that is seen often with similar moves of this type.

Final Rating: 6.5

Tajiri and Super Crazy brought out the best in one another. They had better matches than this one, but this sample from their body of work is elevated by the finishing spot, which I am determined not to spoil and for you to witness instead.

Here’s the complete, ongoing list of matches in this project.

Up Next

A triple threat with the members of the Shield before they became the Shield.

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