Tajiri appreciation thread

[HarmonicGenerator]

Tajiri was great, wasn't he? I'd consider him one of WWE's most underrated guys in the 2000s.

 

I remember him very quickly becoming one of my favourites when he first turned up in 2001. His double act with William Regal was brilliant at the time. I haven't watched it back or anything, so I hope it wasn't actually crap and I'm just remembering nostalgically, but I recall it being really funny and the highlight of Regal's time as Commissioner.

 

 

(For some reason, his relationship with Torrie Wilson worked better than it had any right to, as well)

 

When he started having matches, he was something else. I hadn't seen anything quite like him before in WWE, the stuff he was doing was really distinctive and made him stand out. The kicks were fantastic, as was the handspring elbow, the tarantula was great (did he actually do it to Mark Henry once or was that just me on a SmackDown game?) and the mist was too. Though I can't single out many classic matches he had, I never watched a Tajiri match I didn't enjoy to some degree.

 

During the brand extension, he was a great addition to SmackDown, particularly in 2003 when he was teaming with Eddie Guerrero and then fighting for the US Title with Eddie, Benoit and Rhyno - their four way at Summerslam 2003 was a great match.

 

I wasn't too keen on them turning him heel with Akio and Sakoda, but he was certainly the best out of the three of them, and he was getting mixed up in the Cruiserweight Division which was pretty good at the time. Once he moved back to Raw it was a shame to see him slowly phased out down to the Heat level, but on the other hand, I watched Heat and I didn't watch Raw, so I was happy to see him regularly again. I seem to remember him announcing he was leaving WWE on an episode of Heat, and then he was gone.

 

He's been mostly forgotten, but I'd love to see Tajiri come back now. He was a great part of the midcard at the time, and it'd be great mixing it up with the likes of Lucha Dragons, Neville, Cesaro, Ambrose, Harper - most of the guys they've got now, really.

 

Anyone else a Tajiri fan? 

[tiger_rick]

He was my favourite for a while in 2000/01. I remember photoshopping Tajiri desktop wallpaper. Wish I still had it, I bet it was shit.

 

He was always Champion of my fantasy feds too. He was so fun to watch. Had unique moves, particularly the tarantula submission and moved with speed and grace.

 

Loved it when he turned up in WWE and the combo with Regal was utter genius. He had far more success than I ever imagined up there too.

 

Not to go all Vince Russo but there are a lot of bland Japanese guys, particularly the ones who turn up in the states. Tajiri always stood out despite his stature and worked a style that fit in and had great expressions that got him over when he wasn't speaking English. Top guy.

[Really Big Shoe]

I liked Tajiri from his ECW days with the Sinister Minister & Mikey and he had some top matches with Super Crazy. Would like to see him back in the E too, think he works for Muta's promotion Wrestle-1 now?. 

[ColinBollocks]

Yeah, Taijiri was great fun. I always liked his hard kicking ring style, because it was unique at the time and it all looked legit. But like everybody else, it was his timing in those Regal skits that made him a playground favourite.

 

Perfect midcarder.

[air_raid]

Would like to see him back in the E too, think he works for Muta's promotion Wrestle-1 now?. 

 

He does. I wouldn't have given him a chance of ever coming back when he was running WNC but I don't think Wrestle-1 is a long-term arrangement for anyone outside a few main eventers and Muto's favourites.

[FelatioLips]

Tajiri was fantastic and nailed the roles he had. One of the few people from that era I'm gutted haven't came back for one-shot deals. Imagine him in NXT for a bit? Phwoar.

[Mr.Showtime]

I agree with everything in the opening post - decent matches, good humour backstage, interesting stories that he got through despite barely speaking English (on screen). I'd throw Jamie Noble up into a similar group too, I loved everything he did in WWE.

[HarmonicGenerator]

Harder to talk about Noble and WWE in the past tense though - he's on TV more now than when he was a wrestler!

[ninevisions]

If there was one thing Tajiri did better than anyone else, his handspring off the ropes!

[IANdrewDiceClay]

He looked like he was wrestling under water last time I saw him. He's got good matches left, but his good matches are few and far between these days. His knees are all fucked up. I dont see what he'd bring to NXT in 2015. And he moved back to Japan just for that reason. He wanted to go home. He still had loads of value lefts over here when he left the US, so I cant see him ever doing a Rhino/Kendrick role in NXT.

 

In his day he was excellent, though. Especially his first year, when he had absolutely no right to rise above the pack with about 800 people on the roster. He was hilariously in 2000 in ECW and a fantastic wrestler, but when he signed in early 2001, it was like "well he'll be in Heartland Wrestling until 2008." There was just so many new signings in 2001 it was hard to see where Tajiri would fit in. DDP, Booker T, Chris Kanyon, Jerry Lynn, Lance Storm, Mike Awesome, Sean O'Haire, Chuck Palumbo, Billy Kidman, Buff Bagwell and Rhino all had about 50 times more percieved potential as stars in the land of WWE than Tajiri had. In hindsight, you may look at some of those names and go "fuck off" but in 2001, its true. They all had either potential to be stars or had contracts where you imagined they'd have to justify it by pushing them. Tajiri was a small, unorthodox, Japanese wrestler with a pubes beard. Everyone on earth expected him to be working matches with Crash Holly, not mixing it up with William Regal as a hot act. Excellent on the Smackdown games as well. His kicks were great to throw.

 

Loved his ECW run as well. The Sinister Minister was hokey as fuck at times, but Tajiri looking confused as Mikey and the Minister laughed at their evil jokes was brilliant. Tajiri had a match with Taz on a show in 99 which was belting as well. Taz was their big killer, and Tajiri chopped him down with those kicks, before ultimately losing. The dynamic between the suplex machine and the striker was a clash of two very different styles meshing together which is always great to see (and what you rarely see these days.)

[air_raid]

I personally loved his babyface turn, refusing when Cyrus told him "You give belt-o to Rhino." That line slayed me.

[stevon]

Tajiri~

[Jon-Carr_92]

Used to love Tajari growing up. Used to joke his baggy tights looked like a bin liner.

 

Has he wrestled in the UK recently? He's still got plenty left in the tank

[wandshogun09]

Tajiri was ace. Whenever I think of his WWF run the first thing that springs to mind is his double-act with Regal. They were great together and such an unlikely combination that just worked. I still think it's the best thing Regal ever did in the WWE as well. Better than any of his in-ring work. The Tajiri stuff was great fun.

 

It doesn't get brought up much but I remember really loving his Hardcore Title match with Rob Van Dam from Raw in 2001. Short and sweet but it's one of my favourite WWE hardcore matches. RVD was catching on at the time, Tajiri was fresh and a fun character, their styles meshed well as well, with them both doing the martial arts shit.

 

I haven't seen it in years so don't know how it holds up now, but it's got to be worth six minutes of your time. Give it a watch;

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=PtURAmWySVg

[Liam O'Rourke]

I'm a massive fan of Tajiri, absolutely loved him in ECW and was pleasantly surprised at how well he fared in the WWF/E. Great comedic timing and an excellent wrestler, I think his Summerslam match with X-Pac is a forgotten gem, as is his Backlash match with Billy Kidman, a match that actually got the WWE crowd to chant "Kidman" wildly, which was a rarity.

 

The way he was introduced was great, as the unassuming comedy stooge of Regal that was secretly an awesome wrestler, and he got very over very fast. It was so weird at the time reading that Vince absolutely loved him, and that when the original draft layout (back when the draft was to be WCW and WWF in 2001), was for one side to pick Tajiri super early before guys like Big Show and Kane.

 

Underrated series with Rey Mysterio in 2003 also when he went heel.

 

And let's not forgot one of the great shit-kickings of our time against Steve Corino at Hardcore Heaven 2000.

 

I love Tajiri.