More FMW Madness...
Scott Lindor | Jackson, MN USA | 12/11/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Here we have another of Tokyo Pop's endless FMW releases - War of Attrition. The wrestling, announce and production quality of this series has been sort of hit and miss, and that is exactly how I would rate the bottom line on this offering as well.First the good - the wrestling is actually hard worked and exciting. While some may criticize Tokyo Pop for editing the slow points of the matches, I think what's left is all we really want to see and keeps the action moving. One match in particular - H & Mr. Ganosuke vs. Masato Tanaka & Tetsuhiro Kuroda being an exceptional standout worth the price of admission alone. That match is high spot heaven, trust me...Now, on to the inevitable bad. This series took an big step forward and another one back when they changed the announce teamed with Dan "The Mouth" Lovranski (forward step FYI) and then saw fit to take away the original Japanese track (umm... that was the backwards part). Tokyo Pop, hear my words - choice is good. Worse yet, in this release Lovranski and John Watanabe spend an inordinate amount of time bickering back and forth in support of the baby face (John takes this duty) or the heel (Dan's got that covered). I thought this wrestling announce routine went out with Jesse Ventura and Gorilla Monsoon. It just seems so rehearsed and unnecessary; the people making these production decisions need to realize it's target audience - and respect them.Again as I have in the past I will recommend this series, if only by default. In a country where there is a severe lack of choice in Pro Wrestling product, any alternatives from the mainstream are welcome. And in this particular release - War of Attrition, the wrestling stands on it's own merits quite well indeed. Now if some North American publisher would just secure the rights to release All Japan, New Japan or Noah Pro Wrestling on DVD - I would be the first to pre-order it. Honest!!!"