The Mazdaspeed Protege uses the same direct rod linkage with internal gating as any other 2.0L 3rd gen protege w/ a G series gear box...the 'normal' 2.0L proteges have an extension glued on to the lever above the fulcrum (under the knob), which can be easily removed with even a good hair dryer and 15 minutes...the MSP never had this extension iirc, so the shifter looks shorter...and has slightly less movement, but other than that the linkages are identical.
I'm not sure about 3rd gens with different engines/transaxles though. Sounds like your ebay shifter is just a lever with that extension removed. It is slightly shorter for that reason, but yes...it takes length under the fulcrum to get the true 'short throw' shifting that aftermarket products offer.
