Hi everyone! I'm back with more shoot style wrestling. We're in 1994 and looking at UWFi & RINGS.

Yoshihiro Takayama vs Yuko Miyato (04/03) - Man, Takayama has reach! Miyato isn't going to win the striking game. He doesn't really dominate on the mat either as Takayama has a clear size advantage. This was really good stuff and I thought they went home a little earlier than I would have liked. They had really good chemistry and a dynamic fight.  Really LIKED IT

Victor Zangiev vs Yoji Anjo (04/03) - Zangiev is a damn wizard. That one escape was nothing short of amazing. You gotta see it! Like his Street Fighter counterpart, the man is a suplex machine. Anjo peppers him with stiff kicks & slaps but the Russian bides his time. I really dug the finish here as one man went outside of his comfort zone to finish the match and presented a big opening for his opponent. Post match drama too! I LOVED THIS!

Dan Severn vs Masahito Kakihara (04/03) Severn is really good in these as he's got the wrestling down pat and it's done in a believable way. Plus he's usually bigger than his foe and can absorb their blows. That means that they can lay into him without fear of an accidental knockout. This has a little bit of everything including Dan fighting defensively on the ground (with strikes) which you don't see too many guys do. I LIKED THIS a good bit.

Kazushi Sakuraba vs Tom Burton (05/06) - Holy moley - this is why you want some weight classes! Burton is a big beast and Saku is young and thin. He's still gifted on the mat but Burton was throwing his scarecrow body all around the ring. And damn! that knee lift! Pretty one sided but quite entertaining. I LIKED IT

Victor Zangiev vs Yuko Miyato (05/06) - Zangiev exhibition match. This was a blast to watch and would recommend just if you want to see Zangiev do his thing. LIKED IT for what it was.

Bad News Allen vs Hiromitsu Kanehara (08/18) - This was a fun one. Kanehara was clearly holding back but this was well worked. It's a pleasure to see Allen work these UWFi matches. I LIKED IT as it was simple and enjoyable to watch...not necessarily a badass match though.

Dan Severn vs Yoshihiro Takayama (10/14) - Well, that was aggressive to the point of frenzied. Hell yes! Severn was just eating palm strikes and knees in order to get (the still thin) Takayama off his feet. In the most entertaining fashion, he suplexed the dude. But damn, Takayama drove those knees in. This is definitely one that could have gone on a couple more minutes. Still that finish was brutal looking. LIKED/LOVED IT

Victor Zangiev & Vladimir Berkovich vs Yoji Anjo & Naoki Sano (UWFi 6/10) - Zangiev is always badass! Berkovich is here so it's not a 2-1 match but he adds very little. Anjo & Sano do great here peppering the Russian with kicks and getting the occasional suplex. It's underdeveloped and iswhat holds it back from being "great." Still it's a blast - I LIKED IT!

Kazuo Yamazaki vs Tatsuo Nakano (08/18) - Yamazaki played along with Nakano's strength and did a predominantly standing fight. Nakano would want to wrestle but Kazuo didn't necessarily play along and risk exposing Nakano. Or maybe he wanted to beat Tatsuo at his own game? It's good but not great. I LIKED IT with that said.

Yoji Anjo vs Hiromitsu Kanehara (11/30) - Very spirited fight. Kanehara was fighting an uphill battle as Anjo might be the most well rounded fighter in the league. They did everything right without this being necessarily outstanding. I LIKED IT though.

Just a couple RINGS matches since it hasn't been setting my world on fire. I found a couple that looked interesting though.

Mitsuya Nagai vs. Masayuki Naruse (RINGS, 12/16/94) - This was really good at times. The strikes were snappy and the wrestling was quick but believable. But then again, there were enough moments where I'm not sure why a hold was released or why a guy went for a rope break or something didn't look strong enough to warrant a knockdown. So it had it's moments and had it's issues. I LIKED IT though. 

Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs Daisuke Ikeda (RINGS 12/24/94) - Oh yeah this was pretty damn aggressive from the start. Ikeda could throw and take a shot. This came down to who would be best on the mat. TK just wanted it more. It think Ikeda was losing steam as this went on whereas Kohsaka stayed in the zone throughout. I LIKED IT quite a bit. Those strikes - damn!

Yoji Anjo is definitely the stand out so far in this project. He & Ted DiBiase are probably my front runners for best wrestlers watched this year. Hope you find some good stuff to watch! Thanks for reading 🙂