The WWF’s light heavyweight division - Was it any good?

It’s a new episode of was it any good. The wwf were jealous of the wcw cruiserweight division. They saw the likes of Rey mysterio jr, Eddie guerrero and ultimo dragon succeeding…and they wanted a piece of that pie. So in 1997 the wwf started featuring the light heavyweight division. We all know Taka michinoku but what else was going on? And most importantly was it any good?
To view Raquel Brikked, Brock Lesnar in New Japan and exclusive interviews:
Make The Hawk talk: www.patreon.com/user?u=27112575

[@iLikeMyOwnPosts]

Takamichinoku is one of the best least talked about parts of the attitude era. It was undeniable that he was the leader of the division.

[@potatowaffle5610]

Agreed, Taka is fantastic

[@bradleydolphin1049]

He was so underrated

[@artirony410]

Mick Foley said at one point that if pro wrestling was actually about ring ability that Taka would've been WWF champion

[@ayrts01]

​@@artirony410 thank god it isn't then i mean can you imagine ppl like taka and dean malenko in the place of stone cold and the rock in the attitude era lmao

[@franciscodiaz4217]

He almost became world champion

[@actionjackson4982]

We STILL can't get away from Slap Nuts in these videos 😂😂😂😂

[@barrymurphy402]

On the phone 6.55 😂

[@alphajorge4642]

On the phone nonetheless

[@87south]

Double J 😂😂😂

[@RBNWO]

Now he's all elite

[@koroo2891]

@@RBNWO He’s literally everywhere at this point

[@jeffreycavanaugh340]

Taka is still going strong today. Insane.

[@Crushbra]

Wonder if him and the wcw Taka Michinoku (kaz Hiashi) ever had a match in Japan together.

[@jeffreycavanaugh340]

@@Crushbra you had me interested enough to look it up. Seems like they had a bout in 04 at All Japan. Pretty cool!!

[@Crushbra]

@@jeffreycavanaugh340 cool, reason I call him wcw Taka was because he was in WCW from 1997 to 2001 which as same amount taka was in wwf. Wcw had Japanese wrestlers but they didn't stay long. Even guys like Tokyo magnum who probably enjoyed being in America didn't stay long in wcw

[@TheFailedmessiah]

INDEED

[@ofs82]

@@Crushbra Tokyo Magnum was super green when he got there though, he was in along with Shiima Nobunaga (CIMA) as a favour to Ultimo Dragon as they were the aces in his first dojo class.

[@buhbuhjaychampagne1706]

Jerry Lynn couldn’t “cut a promo”, and Vince had JR talk to him. Jerry Lynn cut a promo while at WWE New York, and when he finished he then kept asking “How was that JR? Was that good enough for you?” This put Lynn in Vince’s doghouse. He was buried so deep that he wasn’t even involved in the Invasion storyline, even though he was under contract.

[@UndergroundSkat2000]

Did he do his death metal roar afterwards?

[@buhbuhjaychampagne1706]

@@UndergroundSkat2000 Nope. It ended with him continuously asking JR if he did well. When it cut to JR and The King, they both looked puzzled. King asked “what was that about?” Jr was like “I don’t know!”

[@noname8710]

I remember that. It was during the Judgment Day 2001 PPV, if I remember correctly.

[@QuentinDude]

lynn-wanted-out-thats-why

[@thehater6189]

Jerry lynn had like one match in wwe lol

[@oljimmy7.62]

Just watching aew dynamite and saw double J do a surprise appearance on Darby and subconsciously said “a wild slap nuts appears” out loud so I just wanted to thank the hawk for making everyone in my house think I’m learning disabled

[@DoobieKeebler]

I misread that. Holy s××t. I read that as: "Just watching AEW Dynamite & saw Double J do a surprise appearance on Darby & then said 'A wild Slap Nuts appears' out loud, so I wanted to thank the hawk...." I laughed really hard, but re-read it, again & was, like, "Awww- _AWWW!_ " But I have a headache, as of the writing of this comment, so it makes sense.

[@MikeDeeJackson]

The Smackdown 2 bit was so accurate 😂😂 Dean and Scotty always had some type of match in that career mode!

[@imjusthere750]

I liked a lot of the 99-00 light heavyweight matches. Dean Malenko was a stand alone favorite for me.

[@cjvaye99]

I liked his match with Scotty. I think it was backlash 2000? great match

[@RC99_Productions]

Aw, man.... that Smackdown 2 comparison is accurate. I swear my light heavyweight division on my game save solely consisted of Dean Malenko having every match ever with Scotty 2 Hotty on every show.... and also the occasional title change with Essa Rios.

[@bradleydolphin1049]

Throw jeff hardy in every so often lol after the hours of loading

[@RC99_Productions]

@@bradleydolphin1049 Grand Master Sexay as well

[@jre-xf6uz]

YES!!! I remember that so well. I remember on mine Malenko had a record of like 43 consecutive title defenses.

[@FlukeDogg08]

@@RC99_Productions RIP Sexay

[@PulpChristian]

All these years later Taka Michinoku is still actively wrestling and still in way better shape than most of the previous champions on this list.

[@StudCity718]

Brian Christopher's leg drop off the rope was a thing of beauty!

[@chrisbg99]

I was there when Jeff Hardy won the title from Jerry Lynn. Thus is my full remembrance of that title.

[@dnickx]

Speaking of "Super Astros"...a "was it any good" episode would be awesome

[@RespectfulAllenIverson]

Agreed. That show was very entertaining.

[@mylescalunod3928]

The light-heavyweight division definitely had some potential. Just think of what it would have been like had it been made in the 2000's, it would have basically been the cruiserweight devision.

[@charleswebsterjr.6350]

Raw would have the Ligh theavyweight Championship while Smackdown has the Cruiserweight Championship. Survivor Series would be the Cruiserweight Champion vs Light Heavyweight Champion

[@phychmasher]

5:41 shoot, this pic just makes me sad for Jerry. This was probably a highlight in his life and now it's just a tragic memory.

[@joeg5155]

The smackdown 2 season mode I remember so well . Malenko and Scotty 2 Hotty was trading that belt more than the Hardcore belt 😂

[@artirony410]

the light heavyweight division had one of the best C show matches I've seen from that era where Taka Michinoku and Christopher Daniels had some like 4 minute match that was just absolutely insane. At one point Daniels hits a slingshot jackhammer lol

[@Markyd123]

Yup I saw it. He actually had around three title shots. If this division was booked properly daniels would have got on the main show.

[@rdrouynriv]

@@Markyd123 Honestly, I disagree that WWF didn't have the talent for a LH division. I used to watch Sunday Night Heat and they had decent wrestlers for a division if they wanted to push it. Christopher Daniels, Low Ki, Essa Rios and Taka were all regulars on Heat.

[@am2382]

"Listen up Slapnuts" - Christian TNA 2005.

[@UndergroundSkat2000]

"Don't piss me off." -Slap Nuts 1999

[@k.d.kelley2830]

Loved Taka! The WWF light heavyweight division is one of the reasons I got back into wrestling back in the day. It was a new style to me that I hadn't seen before, since I never really watched WCW or they're cruiserweight division at the time. In hindsight though, the light heavyweight division does pale in comparison to the cruiserweights.

[@carriersummoner]

'half a hawk and half a slapnut' I had a good laugh from that one

[@Nicomartz52]

That thing about smackdown 2 was so true, that game was so fun, im gonna download it right now

[@Panama_Red]

You know what I like? Getting an ad before The Hawk's videos. Does he get more money if I watch the whole thing? (always wondered) He deserves the monetization when he can get it.

[@Markyd123]

Hahah I don’t know. I don’t control an ad before the video. But if I did I would smack you with 10 just for asking! 😂

[@mgunter]

2:40, notice the "THIS IS WORKRATE" sign back when workrate didn't mean 20+ moves per minute.

[@peace1177]

Tremendous video! I started watching WWF in 2000 on Channel 4 (UK) so I remembered some of the title defences there. Can’t say fairer or more accurate than what you said in the video. Taka was so good! I’ve watched his matches from back then with Brian Christopher and they were very entertaining

[@Honk_Hogan]

This is why I fuck with this channel, I would’ve never known this shit ever happened if not for big dog making this vid. Such a contrast with the main event scene in WWF at the time.

[@NexusFantismo]

Love the channel man. Keep up the great work Hawk Hogan Edit: Flash Funk aka 2 Cold Scorpio was so underrated man. He could have at least has an IC Title run to legitimize his work on a grander scale. He was D'Lo Brown before D'Lo ever put on a pair of boots.

[@UndergroundSkat2000]

2 Cold Scorpio was better than D'Lo and that says alot

[@xymoriintus]

I miss those high angle drivers and powerbombs lol but ya know... Concussions and what not

[@butchvito]

Taka Michinoku would have been great in WCW in 96,97,98. Can you imagine the matches he could have had with Mysterio, Juventud, Guerrero, Jericho, Malenko. I wonder if WCW ever tried to sign Taka...

[@Wickedred413]

Hawkman marky clling justin credible a "Fake road rash character" was goddamn hilarious.

[@wweminehead5458]

Nice to see the old entrance comwback

[@cerebralfanatic]

Taka was awesome crazy he never got another run at some point. him vs rey mysterio, ultimo dragon, tajiri would've been awesome in that cruiserweight division on Smackdown!

[@DiabolikSilhouette]

WHOA, you just made me realize that I've never actually seen Daniels with hair until now. Amazing!

[@jackryan8736]

Definitely agreed that Taka should have probably gone to WCW instead of trying to give life to a dead on arrival idea, but whether or not Taka would have been used effectively in WCW's Cruiserweight division is anybodies guess. At least he did better for himself when he returned to working in Japan with New Japan and All Japan, and when he teamed up with Suzuki-gun over a decade later. Really the title itself was better off when it was being defended as part of the J-Crown before WWE found out their old Light Heavyweight title was being defended in WCW.

[@Joecbg100]

I think guys like Rey would vouch for him if he decided to go to Turner

[@jackryan8736]

@@Joecbg100 maybe, true. Though I can still imagine it would be an uphill battle from there. Probably.

[@HanzoSatanTheGodofGods]

Another good video from Marky Let do the Bird dance 🤣🤣

[@markfinch6794]

Love love LOVE this channel

[@connor2dap884]

Always loved the look of the light heavyweight belt wish they would bring it back

[@SpectroX5]

Flash Flanagan is actually a legend in Puerto Rico, had some crazy matches in the IWA

[@SunshineStateCoasters]

A Wild SlapNuts Appears in AEW….

[@bryanhall1548]

Jerry Lynn, Light-heavyweight champion, was a highlight. Even after losing it to Jeff Hardy, I had no complaints. Thank you, Markyd.

[@marcusbrothers5221]

Marky needs to watch the show. Not skim the show. There was a month long individual tournament. Furthermore sasuke ran michunoku pro and he arranged Taka's release. In exchange sasuke wanted an American ppv appearance showcasing michunoku pro.

[@JoeSolo1206]

I have a recommendation for a video, All matches of Scott Steiner in Ring Ka King

[@ASwagPecan]

It hits different when you crack open a new MarkyD upload

[@DarkLordofTheSith69]

A wild Slapnuts appears ..in AEW and suddenly Marky D is back in play

[@SirTizzy]

Taka Michinoku is criminally underrated, and even innovated a few moves in this era too! I wish they made the title more valuble cause once like Dean and Essa and Christian had them, they could have made it seem more significant...More PPV matches and I think a couple more high profile matches on the main show and it could have been dope

[@MLee0584]

I’m glad there was a good spotlight on Taka Michinoku. He was one of my favorites and doesn’t get the recognition

[@SirJoelsuf1]

For anyone who doesn't know, a WILD SLAPNUTS appeared on Dynamite tonight.

[@bigungibson7105]

3:47 A young Yoshihiro Tajiri.

[@jxw457]

I didn't much care for Taka when I was young, but seeing him on Reliving the War really made me appreciate him.

[@anonluxor470]

The whole light heavyweight division felt more like something for Vince McMahon to make fun of small wrestlers

[@robertanderson1690]

Was mainly a reason for Lawler to push his useless son.

[@anonluxor470]

@@robertanderson1690 do people hate brian Lawler or something?

[@thebigbop5866]

Take had a brilliant match with Triple H for the title on raw in 2000, definitely check it out. Taka is good and it had Santino almost winning in the elimination chamber/royal rumble vibes.

[@blaineherrington9502]

Was literally writing about Gillberg when you mentioned it hahahahha

[@xanderchannel5467]

i dont know why, but seeing taka doing the minchinoki driver is always satisfying 👍

[@timothydombroski3184]

That rewind sound at 2:26 scared the crap out of me.😂🤣

[@hangmanhaze]

Was it any good? Better than I thought it would. Also Slapnuts is now All Elite? Bc of your videos it actually kinda gets me on my feet.

[@namikstudios]

I hope Vince was paying Taka well, in such a lackluster division he really stood out and carried the whole thing. He would've fit in nicely with WCW's legendary cruiserweights.

[@yantastic2265]

That whole tournament was awesome all those guys

[@Quadster19]

WWF had about as much chance competing with WCWs cruiserweight division as WCW had competing againt WWFs production value. Vince probably figured "let them have it"

[@DDWES]

If taka had some good sparing partners in the very early days it could of been so much better.

[@RemyXAnarchy]

I was around 10-15 at this time and I remember the light heavy weight title being a lot bigger deal then it really was

[@LordJudgement1818]

Taka is dope. Him vs HHH is a great match

[@YogsenForfoth]

I always loved that division when I was watching it, as a kid. Taka was a phenomenal worker.

[@extremeking425]

Even though it failed, I would love for the title to come back!

[@jamelaelexaaran7479]

that's easy just tell Hunter Levesque

[@leemarshall674]

They just rid of the cruiserweight title last year, and no one cared about it.

[@DarkCaseDocumentaries]

2:26 I thought I was being teleported to the parts unknown for a second

[@josefrees]

Watching these taka matches in the late 1990s was crazy

[@extremeking425]

Imagine if the Light Heavyweight Championship came back. Most of the rosters nowadays are under 225lbs anyway. Think of the Champions, AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, Chad Gable, Ricochet, Pete Dunne, and Seth Rollins. That would probably be the most exciting division in the company.

[@AGxAG]

Yea ,also we would get a good story if the LH champion wanted to try go for the Heavyweight title ,it would be great !

[@slashandbones13]

Yeah, the NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship has a 225 limit and Doug Williams apparently counts.

[@Noobie2k7]

I would say treat it the way New Japan treats their Jr Heavyweight title but i mean maybe not now, treat it like they did 3-5 years ago instead. That division had legit stars in it. Kenny Omega was a champion, Finn Balor was, Kushida was incredible, Will Ospreay, Kota Ibushi etc. All guys who are absolute stars. I do agree if they did bring it back they'd have to do better than their last attempt at a Cruiserweight division. Which ended up actually driving away that divisions legit top star lol.

[@Panama_Red]

I wonder if they might even lower the weight class if they did bring it back?

[@Panama_Red]

WWE could get away with adding another title since they have the men's tag and top titles basically unified right now. Give the younger talent's and let mid card matches a little more meaning.

[@rileykazama3145]

Taka is underrated

[@YetAnotherMichael89]

Devin Storm, The Hawk-nut.

[@MagicMike-rd8mz]

Goodmorning Bro. You are forgetting about flash Funk and Max Moon aka Konnan. Back in the days 1990's

[@rearviewracing4789]

I barely remember anything happening with the LHW division after Gillberg. I barely associate the belt itself with 2000s, and I didn't even know it had a redesign, going to the black strap and scratch logos

[@Garf_malarf]

I always wanted to see Rey mysterio vs taka michinoku. Sadly it never took place

[@sorrowpeterson4472]

It's hard to say if taka and Rios would have been better off in wcw on one hand they definitely would have been in an actual division with far more challengers but wcw also had so many people at the top of the cruiserweight division that taka and Rios probably would have been even more of an after thought

[@dnickx]

If Rios would have been a part of Triple A in 1996 he would have been for sure a part of WCW...in case of Japanese Wrestlers they needed to be a part of NJPW to be in WCW because of their working agreement, the moment to bring either Taka or Sasuke was when the latter was the J-Crown champion.

[@mohamedosama9563]

Yeaaaaah that's put a smile on my face

[@arrownoir]

They axed it way too quickly. They had no idea what to do with it.

[@scottfitzgerald5309]

Think you need to do a follow up episode with the WWE doing the cruiser weight devision between 2000 - 2007

[@ghostmark2005]

Geeze another belt I knew wasn't held in high regard when I got into WWF from playing it on the PlayStation. The Smackdown 2 comment unlocked memories I didn't know I had! The belts not being held in high regard is a very rude awakening and completely over writing childhood memories 😆

[@MasterOfViewership]

Taka Michinoku is the only thing I remember about it

[@devonschwartz6456]

Was wondering if “A Wild Slapnuts Appears!” would be in this one. 6:58 was a pleasant surprise.

[@claxton110381]

Flash Flanagan was actually the first person signed to a developmental deal in OVW. He was also Kobain in early TNA and a star in Puerto Rico.

[@jasonw2942]

I think Taka made the right call by going to the WWF. If he went to WCW, he would have just been another guy since the Cruiserweight division was pretty stacked at the time. Now only if the WWF had other Cruiserweights to go with him

[@toastywozzy]

6:37 a nice top rope spin kick right to the back of the knee

[@mitchcolburn1216]

I'd have gone with Scotty over Rios or Malenko. Just more charismatic

[@BetterCallShura]

THe spirit of Double J is everywhere! Even in 2022 in AEW now ahahah

[@PahadiSher]

6:55 A wild Slapnuts appears.!

[@pikkon899]

The myth that the Crusierweights were this popular division in WCW needs to end. I don't remember a single kid or adult that gave a crap about the Cruiserweights when they were on. Most every wrestling fan I knew only watched WCW for the NWO, Sting, Goldberg and DDP. There were some guys who were over like Mysterio and Jericho but the myth that they were so over but so underused is a modern one. It only came about when the marks who read dirtsheets started posting on internet forums. It mattered to them but not to the average fan. Case in point, when the Crusierweights left, no casual WCW fan cared. No WWF fan ever saw Jericho as a "Cruserweight" They saw him as a WCW guy who jumped ship.

[@charlesiofaustria7361]

I couldn't agree more.

[@bryanturnersvhsrehab]

Great Job!

[@bennett420316]

The first light heavyweight title match was Taka vs Brian Christopher at in your house DX, from Springfield MA. Taka won the inaugural title. This ppv was famous for Austin vs The Rock *Austin drove the pickup truck to ring.

[@bluethunder250]

When ECW came back, I recommended that wwe make a version of the cruiserweight title for the show and call it the Extreme Championship.

[@ryankeefe2102]

I think that idea could've worked like an x division title not a cruiserweight belt but kinda a cruiserweight championship

[@derjude5758]

Taka = takur Your accent never ceases to amaze me

[@rdu239]

Hawk! pretty hilarious and at awe on this weeks Dynamite, a wild Slapnuts appears and made that terrible show watchable! I guess Slapnuts is All Elite then.

[@NcWcN1]

3:17 ooooh look, a free-flowing crucifix powerbomb (i.e. Razor's Edge), so to speak... I was only familiar with Matt Hardy doing it on 1998 (and getting a pop for it), however he did pause before dropping the guy. Being Latin American myself and having exposure to the WWF via their "international" (i.e. condensed to one hour) broadcasts, the division rarely (if ever) got shown on them. For example, I only became aware of Essa Rios (who at the time had already split from Lita) after watching a Sunday Night Heat (SAP) show on a cable channel. Additionally, so much thought was put into the hardware that it was one of the last holdouts (the other one being the "Real Men Wear Skirts" shirt from the Headbangers, which was likely dead stock) of the classic/New Generation WWF block logo going into the latter part of the first half of 2000.

[@lexxtyson2559]

Thank you Hawk! Here's a fun idea! X Pac returns with the Light Heavyweight Title claiming to be the longest reigning champion in all of WWE history and defends it against Gillburg to make it real LoL!

[@fattiger6957]

From first-hand experience, the only guys I remember see hold it was Esse Rios, Dean Malenko and Jeff Hardy. I have zero memory of anyone else carrying the belt. It was barely ever featured on Raw or SD.

[@pr12rhodesgraveyard26]

I only remembered Taka Michinoku because of the inaugural tournament lol

[@coconutshrimp707]

MarkyD posted AND Slapnuts debuted in AEW, man today is great!

[@damiancurran1762]

Hawkster! SlapNuts appeared on AEW DYNAMITE tonight! I'd say time to do a hawk checks out wrestling in the end of 2022 segment!

[@LongLiveRockAnRoll]

It wasn't bad, never as good as WCW cruiserweights. In late 97/early 98 they took Taka Michinoku somewhat seriously (before the Kaientai "choppy pee pee" and "Indeed" days). By the time of Gilberg it was clear they had largely stopped caring although I did like Essa Rios coming back winning the belt on his return with Lita. Dean Malenko is always good but was better in WCW. And that's my thoughts on WWF light heavyweights.

[@ronburgundyspetfish9039]

10:30 I spit my drink out lmao “ why the fuck …” 😅

[@TRiNi_ZDG]

Slapnuts always makes an appearance LMFAOOOO

[@dustinpalmer]

I always picked TAKA in WWF Attitude on Playstation. Loved him

[@LuciferTheDogKiller]

The WWF light heavyweight division will never compare to the WCW cruiserweight division.

[@matthewbesson5367]

I remember this and I was just bored by matches that had no reason to be there. It was almost like they were trying to sneak them in there before vince notices.

[@jeromezra]

One of the most beautiful belts. The old United States Championship def carried on the aesthetic after it was discontinued