Taka Michinoku To Wrestle First Match In United States In 15 Years

American audiences in 1997 were astonished by the sight of young Taka Michinoku, his controlled daredevilry and cat-like agility comparable to the best junior heavyweights that anybody had seen. Michinoku's run in WWE started well, becoming the face of the revitalized Light Heavyweight division, but would peter into oblivion after he was buried deep in the undercard.

After leaving WWE, Michinoku returned to Japan, beginning a long tenure with Kaientai Dojo, and would work for both All Japan and New Japan at different times. It's been years since Michinoku has wrestled in the United States.

That changes on WrestleMania weekend, when Michinoku returns to the United States mainland. The influential high flyer will

, taking place Friday night, April 5 at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, NJ.

Michinoku's opponent will be Orange Cassidy, a regular in Game Changer Wrestling and Beyond Wrestling in the northeastern US.

This will mark Michinoku's first match in the United States since April 21, 2004, when he wrestled in Honolulu for Hawaii Championship Wrestling. Michinoku's last match on the US mainland took place October 2, 2001, when he and Funaki won a dark match at a set of SmackDown tapings in Mobile, AL over two unknown opponents.