MATCH 4:
“THE MATADOR” BRITISH AZTECA v. “THE ULTIMATE BOY” MIGHTYBOY EDDY
Introduction – Match 1 – Match 2 – Match 3
Our ornery onslaught of opening round action continues! Last time, Canadian legend, Blood Love, felled the massive Smasher Gigas, proving that it’s not how strong your pixels are programmed – it’s how you use them. Tonight, technique and power will face off again! But first…
A Note on FPWR’s Naming Conventions
There’s a Japanese wrestling organization known as Dragon Gate. Though based in Japan, Dragon Gate is often associated with Mexican wrestling, as its wrestlers are strongly influenced by the lucha libre style. After what was undoubtedly a few too many Sapporo tall boys, one of FPWR‘s developers concluded that the best way to include Dragon Gate in the game would be to simply change the promotion’s name to “Azteca Pit.” Azteca Pit is a completely ridiculous name for anything other than an El Paso truck stop, but it gets the point across: this is a promotion with a strong Mexican influence.
Our developer, however, seems to have been a man of principle. When he chose fake names to avoid paying for likeness rights, he went whole-hog. As such, wherever use of the word “dragon” could not otherwise be avoided in FPWR, it was replaced with “Azteca,” even where this would lead to ridiculous results. Why do I mention this now?
BRITISH AZTECA
Because our man, British Azteca, is just a quick dye-job away from being the spitting image “The American Dragon,” Bryan Danielson. Bryan Danielson, of course, now wrestles in the WWE as Daniel Bryan. Not too long ago, he headlined Wrestlemania 30. You might not recognize him without his trademark “wrestling Jesus” hair and beard, but trust me: it’s him.
While he’s long been known as one of the world’s premiere technical wrestlers, at the time of FPWR’s release, Bryan had not yet made a name for himself in the WWE. He was, however, well-established on the US independent circuit, having played an integral role in the early days of Ring of Honor and numerous other independent promotions. Like most famous American indy wrestlers, Bryan took more than a few trips to Japan. Here he is fighting Japanese megastar KENTA (who now wrestles in NXT as Hideo Itami):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MlbBwzy67s
And here he is squaring off with Naofumi Yamamoto (better known to US fans as Yoshi Tatsu):
http://youtu.be/wpgK5DMCMJ8
Bryan was a well-respected competitor in Japan; he even managed to capture the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship with Christopher Daniels. He also won a one night tournament in New Japan to be declared the “Best of the American Super Juniors.” While he may be smaller than your average Briefcase Cup competitor, make no bones about it, this Super Junior was BIG IN JAPAN.
http://youtu.be/m1zSz5KtVJc
Bryan’s finisher is listed as a “leg lock suplex hold,” which is a generic name for the Regalplex. A key part of Bryan’s arsenal back in his independent days, the Regalplex was a move made famous by William Regal, a famed British wrestler. Perhaps that’s why he’s the “British” Azteca. Or maybe it’s just because “American Azteca” sounds like a coming of age story about Chicano youth. Who knows? As for his nickname, “El Matador?” Beats me. One of Bryan’s signature holds is known as “cattle mutilation.” Maybe it’s a reference to that? Matadors mutilate male cows. I guess.
So British Azteca was nothing but upside when FPWR came out. Strong technical pedigree and an impeccable curriculum viate. But will he be able to overcome the size and power advantage of…
MIGHTYBOY EDDY
Mightyboy Eddy appears to be the doppelganger of Davey Boy Smith: the British Bulldog. So, yes, we have the British Bulldog against the American Dragon. Those are the kind of nicknames that would fit nicely on the top of any marquee. After you run them through the FPWR bizarro filter, however, you wind up with what sounds like a London taco truck taking on a Junior Olympics champion. Funny how that works.
“Mightyboy” is a reasonable aural approximation of “Davey Boy,” and it certainly pays homage to the Bulldog’s legendary strength. Mightyboy’s finisher is an “Oklahoma Stampede,” a species of running powerslam, a move the Bulldog commonly used to dispatch opponents:
And, hey, look! They also included his attire from his questionable “wrestling in jeans” phase. He’ll be wearing these in the match, that’s for sure.
Mightyboy’s profile notes that he has “moved to the heavyweight ring.” While the Bulldog was commonly known as a musclebound heavyweight, he actually cut his chops wrestling as a junior heavyweight in Japan and Canada. Together, with his tag team partner, Dynamite Kid, he wowed fans of all across Japan with his rare combination of power and technique. Here he is with Dynamite Kid taking on some of Japan’s finest well before his tenure in the WWE:
http://youtu.be/7wggC_4leYg
His success in Japan eventually caught the attention of the WWF. While the Bulldog would go on to great success in the West, he would periodically make trips back to Japan, where it appears that he was still loved by his fans:
http://youtu.be/HHdzly74YFY
Smith tragically died in 2002 – his status as a “USA Legend” in FPWR is more than appropriate. We have to assume that Mightyboy has been programmed to be as Big in Japan as he could possibly be.
So we have a genuine international legend taking on an indy hero who would become WWE champion. LET’S GET IT ON.
LET’S WRESTLING!
You know, for two guys with such incredible pedigrees, Azteca and Mightyboy sure spent a lot of time just beating the shit out of each other and crashing into barbed wire. But hey, we’ll take it! After a ridiculous back-and-forth bloodbath, British Azteca finally puts Mightyboy away with a quick reversal into a pinning combination for the win! This one was not for the faint of heart, kids.
NEXT TIME: A phenom goes to see the doctor, as we continue to open up a briefcase full of whoop-ass!