FROM THE VAULT: Flash Funk vs Taka Michinoku, WWF New York, 11/29/97
- Jun 10
- 4 min read
A couple years ago, I wrote about an obscure wrestling match that I had completely forgotten about: the Blue Blazer vs Taka Michinoku on an episode of Shotgun Saturday Night from 1998.
I totally understand some of the hidden gems that are relatively lost to history, thanks to time, but, besides WWE Vault, there are some die-hard wrestling fans who continue to find random matchups that really blow my mind.
As a guy who genuinely believes Taka Michinoku was 20 years ahead of his time for the WWE, I love scouring YouTube for his old WWF Light Heavyweight Title matches. However, I found one that was just before his inaugural title run in November 1997.
Ladies and gentlemen, I take you FROM THE VAULT on November 29, 1997 in a match between Taka Michinoku and FLASH FUNK.
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This was such a wild time for the World Wrestling Federation. By November 29, 1997, the WWF was in a true transition stage, laying the foundation for the Attitude Era into 1998. A few weeks prior, in Montreal, Bret Hart left the promotion following Survivor Series 1997 following signing with World Championship Wrestling and getting “screwed” out of the WWF Championship against Shawn Michaels. The company had such a unique stigma around it at that time.
Flash Funk, the former 2 Cold Scorpio, had been in the WWF for a year at this point. Vince McMahon really pushed for him to come into the company, so much so that he had to pay HHG Corp, Paul Heyman’s company that owned Extreme Championship Wrestling, $1000 a week due to a sponsorship with Tommy Boy Records, which owned Scorpio’s ECW theme song.
Funk was practically a PG version of an outlandish pimp, with flash, no pun attended, and style. He could dance and fly with the greatest of ease.
Ironically, although Flash Funk didn’t get as popular as the company had thought, a year later, the Godfather rose to prominence as a fun loving pimp. In this man’s opinion, Flash Funk walked so the Godfather could run.
Meanwhile, Taka Michinoku was eight days away from the finals of the Light Heavyweight Title Tournament on D-Generation X: In Your House on December 7, 1997 against Brian Christopher. However, Taka, who was far and beyond the most popular light heavyweight wrestler in the company, was still being used every week on television.
This match between two babyfaces took place on WWF New York. Unlike Shotgun Saturday Night and a few years before the legendary Times Square restaurant, WWF New York was a local program airing on NY-55, a channel that aired a lot of syndicated programs. This show would air at 11am on Saturday morning.
For starters, Sunny was the guest ring announcer for the match. Kids, I know we all know what happened to Tammy Sytch in her later years, but at this moment in time, there was no one more of a smokeshow in pro wrestling than her. At one time, she was the most downloaded woman on America Online. It’s just wild to see how quick the rise and how far the fall was for her.
The match actually had some time on the program. Although Flash could fly, he really started off the contest by demonstrating his size in a battle of holds. After giving a flapjack, Flash tried another one, but Taka countered with a dropkick, sending him to the floor.
Then, the move of the match. As Flash stood on the frame of the ring, Taka climbed to the top rope and delivered an unbelievable flying hurricanrana, driving Funk to the arena floor!
Flash gained control and continued on the assault, again using his size to his advantage. It was refreshing seeing him with a bit of a mean streak. Could you have imagined a heel Flash Funk? I genuinely could have.
TAKA gained his comeuppance late in the match, using high flying maneuvers. However, he went to the air, getting caught one too many times. Flash leveled him with a top rope superplex, and then delivered an absolutely fantastic Corkscrew into a legdrop for the three count.
Absolutely fantastic match.
For me, this showed me how ahead of the times this television match was. Both guys worked in the style WWE was known for, while sprinkling in a little innovation. It also showed that Flash Funk could flat-out go, while Taka demonstrated his heart, which would lead into victory for the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship a week later.
Furthermore, it was genuinely a surprise that Jim Ross and Kevin Kelly were the commentary team for this match. On a random WWF New York, no less.
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Folks, please check out this match. Credit to the tremendous Monsoon Classic channel for uncovering this unique match. Taka and Flash Funk is just another low-key gem that needs to be discussed more.
Over time, this will be a true blip on the radar, but here in FROM THE VAULT, it will live on forever. I love obscure pro wrestling.
Bankie Bruce
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