10 WWE Stables You Totally Don't Remember

2. Kaientai

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Many fans only remember Kaientai as Taka Michinoku and Funaki: a lower-midcard tag team best known for their dubbed voiceover promos and inability to actually win matches, but their history stretches back to 1994.

Formed by Dick Togo in Japan’s Michinoku Pro promotion, the group originally included Togo, Mens Teioh, and WCW’s Kaz Hayashi. They were later joined by Taka and Funaki, and found their way to WWE as a stable in 1998. Michinoku had already signed with WWE, and the remaining members showed-up on an episode of Raw to beat him down.

Their most infamous moment came shortly after. Val Venis’ pornstar gimmick was in full-flow at the time, and the group’s manager, Yamagushi-San, was enraged when a pornographic image of Venis and his wife started circulating. Thus brought about the “choppy choppy your pee pee!” incident, which saw Taka turn on Venis to join Kaientai, before Yamagushi-San, ahem, choppy-choppy’d Venis’ pee-pee live on air.

The Attitude Era! Gotta love it, right?

It was later revealed that Venis’ manhood had been spared, and Togo and Teioh left WWE with the Yamaguchis shortly afterwards. Funaki and Taka continued as a tag team before Michinoku decided to return to Japan, leaving Funaki alone to fulfil his destiny as SmackDown’s “number one announcer.”

 
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Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.