Superstar Sleeze

WWF World Heavyweight Champion Yokozuna vs Bret Hart - WWF WrestleMania X Eevryone talks about the post-match celebration but I thought this was a damn solid match. I watched this in between a Sepultura and Testament set a couple weeks back and I was meaning to write a review, but I was kinda burnt out on writing. I really thought up until the finish this was damn good pro wrestling. Yokozuna was a great athletic, monster heel. He was constantly cheating. I don't think there was an underhanded tactic he didn't try. He also had some great big man offense. Bret as selling from the match against Owen and was tremendous in this match as a sympathetic babyface. The selling and the hope spots were great. The dropkick was nice. I LOVED, LOVED the headbutt and they both sell it. Hell, Yoko was really great at selling throughout the match. Bret, ever the thinker, comes up with unique ways to hit his offense and I appreciated that a lot. I think what hurts this the most is the lame finish on the missed Banzai Drop. I mean Yoko really never main evented again. Just let Bret put him in the Sharpshooter and really climax this bad boy. I thought this was a very entertaining WrestleMania Main event and is way too unheralded. ***1/2

Marty Jannetty vs Doink The Clown - WWF RAW 6/21/93 2 Out Of 3 Falls Jannetty's ring attire is fantastic. The bandanas, zebra print and the colors just fucking bitchin! First fall was pretty fun. It is all about Doink trying to lure Jannetty into traps and Jannetty being both too smart and too fast for Doink. Liked the fake criss cross spot. Jannetty even kept up with Doink's arm work loved the armdrag spot. But Jannetty does finally fall into Doink's trap and Jannetty charges into the turnbuckles. Doink hits the WHOOPIE CUSHION FOR THE WIN! Doink up 1-0! Really enjoyed the second fall with my manufacturing co-workers from Waynesboro, VA. We all had a good time watching while making some badass product. Jannetty whiffing on that kick hard and Doink laughing at him was excellent. Loved Doink mocking Jannetty by crying. Jannetty was really good at selling. Goddamn Jannetty has a better superkick than Shawn at this point. Fist drop gets the win, liked how the ref was counting him down and Marty was all like fuck it. Gave it a bit of attitude. Fun second fall. Tied 1-1. Loved the third fall. Doink looks overwhelmed but grabs a leg and yanks Marty over into the corner and slams it into the post. Immediately into the figure-4. Loved the desperation. Great selling by both on the reversing the pressure. Doink was great on leg and Marty was great at the hope spots but still selling the leg (back body drop, reverse elbow). We see the second Doink come out and the fans tell Marty to look. Marty actually tries to be proactive but cant find the second Doink and BOOM eats a big big boot to the noggin. I liked the psychology there. They do a tease switch, but once the real switch comes in, the second Doink is just too crisp. He hits a sweet piledriver for the win and the ultimate injustice. The Macho Man just wont stand for this and pulls the real Doink from under the ring and that triggers the DQ. Fun, well-built and some good pro wrestling hoopla. Marty's offense and selling was great. Doink is a tremendous heel. Great match! ****

Heenan managing Doink is not something I had ever thought of before, but I think that would have been classic! Mr. Perfect vs Doink The Clown - RAW 5/24/93 KOTR Qualifying Match I remember loving this match five years ago and I loved again. I am a total heel Doink mark. Just a fantastic character. Very evil clown, very evil. Vince sounds like Trump in this. Borne was so great technically. Loved the towel gimmick at the beginning with Doink taking cheapshots and then Doink gets cocky and Perfect clothesline him with the towel. The duel limb psychology was great. Doink was fantastic at selling the leg and working the arm. I thought there was some points where it dragged. But the finish was hot. I thought they worked hard. I really liked when Doink did a fireman's carry but didn't get up too fast, Perfect just grabbed a headscissors. That's just PERFECT! If someone is going to linger, make em pay. Great shit. Loved Doink's selling in all this comical but putting over the damage too. The Double Doink was finish was cute, but there should have been one false finish for Double Doink maybe a missed Whoopie Cushion would make sense, but I think short and sweet was the way to go. Perfectplex wins it and Perfect is on his way to KOTR where he would face the Hitman in a classic in the semifinals. Great TV match! ***3/4

100% agree with Pete, this match was so overrated when it came out, it has now become underrated. I thought this was terrific Ric Flair vs Mr. Perfect - WWF RAW 1/25/93 Loser Leaves Town I almost feel like it is a crime to write "Mr. Perfect" because this is some great AWA Curt Hennig shit right here. I thought he was ferocious in this match. Everything was a stiff chop or a hard blow to the head. We all get on Perfect rightfully so for having shitty offense in WWF, but here he was Curt Fucking Hennig and just bringing it to the Nature Boy. I loved the slaps to start. They were hard slaps to get Flair off his game, but also FUCK YOU slaps for not believing in them even though they were friends. This is a very Flair by the numbers performance, but what makes it good is he responding to a fierce opponent. I liked Flair going for the chair on the outside. They hate each other and the stakes are high in this match (loser leaves town) and they are treating them as such. Hennig takes a nasty spill over the top rope and blades. Flair works the cut off and on well. I think one problem was this match was an overabundance of hope spots. Flair needed to get some real heat on Hennig, but they kept running hope spots. Hennig looked damn good don't get me wrong but it was hard to build momentum. Flair with the shin on the throat and the brass knux was great over the top heel touches. The figure-4 was a strong false finish I will say and Hennig tried to sell, but Flair was in total go-go-go mode. Hennig in that comeback was friggin awesome. Channeling Luger and Sting, but the was he contorted his face and how he was yelling at Flair made it feel personal before he unloaded with the chops and then TWO big Larry Ax Hennig forearms!!! FUCK YEAH! Perfectplex gets three!!! 1993 was a stellar year for Hennig. I think this match had a backlash to it, but it is a really damn good Hennig performance. The best since AWA in terms of fire and great offense. This feels like a huge blowoff to a blood feud with all the chops and strikes, blood and the big finish. Flair was very Flair here which means there is some good things like pace and fire, but some bad like letting too many hope spots happen and cramming too much in the finish. Don't overlook this match, give it a another chance and watch for a fired up Hennig performance because this aint no Mr. Perfect performance. ****

Vader vs Ken Shamrock - WWF Cold Day In Hell Excellent debut showcase match for Shamrock. Vader is really the perfect wrestler for him in his debut. From a kayfabe standpoint, he is a big time monster with credibility. From a execution standpoint, he has the experience in UWFi and he is selfless. The beginning is all about getting Shamrock's unique style over. Everything Vader tries is stymied by either a strike, submission or takedown. So you get to see Shammy's diverse array of offense. I liked the pacing a lot. I loved Shamrock's posture, the forward leaning. Vader was great being pensive and cautious. You could feel Vader trying to figure Shammy out. When he catches him with that Short-Arm Clothesline, that's Vader bread & butter. Submission or knockout rules so Vader goes for a lot of submissions. We see Shamrock counter the armbar into a Triangle choke. In the bump of the match, Vader throws Shamrock over the top rope in a front suplex and Shamrock does not use anything to break his fall. I know this match is to get Shamrock over and I know Shamrock would wipe the floor with Vader in a shoot, but goddamn Vader's stuff just looks so much more brutal. I really think that's where Shamrock went wrong. He was a legit badass but his shit did look as dangerous or brutal as Vader's even if it was. Vader just destroys him, loved the rear naked choke. Vader goes for the Vadersault misses. Like I said I thought this was perfectly paced from shine to heat to the finish. Vader was a total pro in here. Shamrock starts overwhelming Vader with strikes until Vader CLOBBERS him with a wild right. Nice false finish, Vader falls into an anklelock and taps out. From a layout, really perfect, strong transitions, no segment overstayed its welcome. Vader was so selfless made Shamrock look amazing in the beginning and finish. I will say it feels like Vader has lost a step. That match was made to make Shamrock look like a star and be competitive and I think they did that. I will say Shamrock's stuff did not look all that brutal. Overall, damn great debut match and really shows how great Vader was not just at pro wrestling but leading a match. ****

I originally read this as "Woman's Hair" and I was like people besides me as obsessed with Woman's hair? She had great hair. But I think Im on an island for loving BIG hair! I wish there was a chick rocking some big hair. Becky has great hair.

This sucks! I heard the way they wrote em out of TV last week I was hoping it was just a work to put over the brutality of the match. I hope BROCK VS BRAUN still happens.

I watched the promo from the week before from Dangerously I was like Jesus he is acting like Piper and I thought did I never notice that before, but I think it was just this time period.

Pretty lame angle. Tommy Cairo looked fucking pregnant.

Terry Funk vs Sabu - ECW 4/19/94 Terry Funk piledrove Sabu from the top rope on an open chair. NOW THATS HARDCORE! For those keeping track at home, Douglas beat Funk for the title in March and Douglas is still with Sherri. He won by basically suffocating Funk with a plastic bag. There are things that ECW does in 94 that seem too extreme even for Attitude Era or Russo WCW. They really love the plastic bag as Funk does it with Heyman here after Heyman cracks him with the phone. This is an impromptu match as it was supposed to be Funk vs Mr. Hughes (Douglas' bodyguards), but he got waylaid by the Blu Brothers. I watched a Public Enemy promo before this and play total morons so well. I know they aren't too well-loved but I thought their gimmick was pretty funny. I wouldn't say this was as good as their non-ECW stuff from 83 & 94, but this was still pretty entertaining. Sabu kicks Funk's ass at the beginning, great punches and good use of chair for the clothesline over the top. Nice transition with Sabu missing the legdrop. Funk heabutts him busts himself open and a wicked DDT on the floor. Sabu is actually pretty damn good at selling. It does get a little spotty after this but the spots are good like Funk hitting a standing piledriver on a chair or Sabu somersault plancha or the aforementioned spot where Funk piledrives Sabu from the top to the open chair. Was pretty eye-popping insane. Finish was well set up, Sabu crashes through table sells it really well. Funk has to fight off the masked goons to apply Spinning Toehold, but the last goon gets to him and hits a top rope elbow drop to garner Sabu the victory and it is BOBBY EATON! Styles sells the Dangerous Alliance connection. ARN FREAKING ANDERSON makes the save to a huge pop and oddly felt like Arn was a giant star. Arn is one of the ultimate mid-carder guys like the best possible second banana. This moment might be the one time when he felt like the man and it happens on a random ECW Arena show from April 94. Pretty surreal seeing The Enforcer give Sabu a DDT in the ECW Arena. Loved the post-match and the match itself was full of energy and crazy spots. ***1/2

Yeah this is definitely the type of the match that would be awesome love. Terry Funk vs Sabu - WWN 2/28/94 Terry Funk atomic drops Sabu onto a chair! ***** Total mindless fun, which is what I needed. Both are so good at the fundamentals so the headbutts, punches and chops all look great. The piledrivers are great as is taking out Paul E with one. What makes this special is all the insane highspots with Sabu destroying a table, Funk piledriving him on a broken table, Funk with a legitimately good moonsault and Sabu nearly killing himself with a springboard 450. The fact this is a fancam only adds to the chaos because sometimes outta nowhere Sabu will just fly into the screen and die. Sabu attacks the ref during his camel clutch. Whole thing gets thrown out. So Sabu brings a table into the ring and breaks it himself with a moonsault. It is one of those so stupid it is great things. Very enjoyable. Just turn your brain off and let it ride. ***3/4

ECW Heavyweight Champion Sabu vs Terry Funk - ECW Holiday Hell WE WANT BLOOD! WE WANT BLOOD! WE WANT BLOOD! This was a fun mess. Sabu with his original Hannibal Lecter gimmick on the stretcher and the mask was great. Sabu was a violent maniac and I loved his mannerisms at the beginning. Always moving forward. He was a monster. Some great punches and loved the chairs. Funk's piledrivers looked great. I watched the Hardcore TV version so it was pretty clipped, but I feel like the fans got their money's worth even if this was not a classic. The Rotten brothers are Terry Funk's back up, hilarious. I loved Sabu throwing Funk and then the ref into the table and getting a huge pop for throwing the ref into the table. Yep it is the 90s and it is ECW BABY! Sabu all of sudden does a moonsault to the outside on the Rotten brothers and takes me off guard. I loved the finish run because it was energetic. Sabu crashes and burns on the table and then Funk puts the Spinning Toe Hold on him like he is facing Harley Race in 1975, great. Paul E. cracks the phone, but now Shane Douglas attacks and it is a clusterfuck. Douglas puts Funk on Sabu to win the title. I think because Douglas has a match with Funk on January 7th because Paul E pimps that about seven times in his post-match promo. Funk's dog story always kills and it is funny that the Rotten brothers are involved. I have no idea who the hell the heel or babyface is in this three way cluster fuck is, but I think that's the point. It is about chaos. Entertaining enough and recommended for historic purposes. I imagine Sabu fucks Funk/Douglas and that leads to the Night the Line Was Crossed.

I liked the match from January 82 quite a bit. This match was godawful. I can't get that diving headbutt, pickup side headlock, back drop driver transition out of my mind. Terrible!

It is. The weird thing was it didn't feel heated at all to me even thought it felt like it should. The match was just so disjointed

Don't let this one scare you off. They have a classic in July that is just awesome. Huge fight feel. Really feels like Kojima is a superstar. Probably the only time I have ever felt that way about him. So check out the July 2002 match.

Some crazy stiff shots from Maeda early on. Then some boring matwork. Then the groin shot from Maeda. You can tell Sayama felt it, but at the same time he is masking the pain. Man he wont even fucking sell being shoot kneed in the balls. My Lord! Maeda looks like a giant next to Sayama. So whats the deal here? UWF closes on 9/11 just nine days after. Was business already in the shitter? Did this cause UWF to close? Did the boys side with Maeda? Did Maeda see the writing on the wall and go into business for himself? Was Maeda just sick of jobbing to a dude a foot shorter than him? Did he think Inoki would push him harder because of this? Everybody besides Sayama returns to New Japan January of 86. are we sure this was not a work? What the hell is going?

I am pretty sure it is one from Winnipeg. I recall it being relatively long. The fact my review says Da Crusher was involved means it was in the AWA.

WWF & NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Tiger Mask vs Dynamite Kid - NJPW 4/21/83 HOLY CLUSTERFUCK, BATMAN! I thought the Kobayashi match was bad. This had no psychology, awful transitions and weird WCW-like booking in the middle of the match. Also it is not surprising at all that Dynamite cant walk today because he looked like he broke his back about three different times in this mayhem, I actually like their 82 match for the record. The beginning of this is not bad at all. Basic story is Tiger Mask is deadly out in the open so Dynamite has to keep him wrapped up. So Tiger Mask is supplying all the energy and highspots. Dynamite is just wrapping him up any chance he gets besides a nice missile dropkick. Tiger Mask show what he can do with this insane dive that wipes out Dynamite who hits his neck/back on the railing. Dynamite catches him coming off the top, hits the missile dropkick and then wraps him up. Basically that's the beginning, Tiger Mask goes for a high spot and usually missed and Dynamite wraps him up. I dig it. Dynamite goes for the diving headbutt, but Tiger Mask wriggles free. Good escalation. Then the match goes to Hell. Tiger Mask hits this dive onto Dynamite and Dynamite hits the railing straight on his back HARD! He topples over it. The ref calls for the bell. No countout. I was thinking wow that was sudden. I thought Dynamite legit broke his fucking back. They climb back into the ring but as if a match is not going on. Then Dynamite just attacks him. TOMBSTONE! Um ok. Ref pulls him off calls for a DQ. Now Dynamite wants to wrestle and is on the mic. Finally the ref relents. Dynamite kills him with a tombstone and then diving headbutt. In what I think may be the WORST transition in history, Dynamite picks him up puts on a side headlock and eats a Back Drop Driver. WHAT THE FUCK! I get you don't want to kill your finish. Heres a hint don't fucking hit your finish. But you don't think Tiger Mask immediately hitting the next move does not kill your finish. Tiger Mask tombstone piledriver. Dynamite too close to the ropes. HELLO! That's how you protect your finish. Tiger Mask crashes and burns on a dive to outside. Tiger Mask whips Dynamiet Kid WICKED HARD into the railing. Dynamite says fuck this noise and is going to leave I have no clue how he is standing. He grabs the bell. He headbutts the ref twice and there is NO DQ?!?!? When did I wake up in WCW? They end this match in the most fitting way possible. Like it is the most Tiger Mask & Dynamite Kid thing ever. Tiger Mask hits a tombstone piledriver on the floor. Dynamite Kid hits a tombstone piledriver on the floor. Double countout. Fuck this match. I blame Dynamite Kid vs Tiger Mask for everything.

WWF & NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Tiger Mask vs Kuniaki Kobayashi - NJPW 1/6/83 Pretty cool that Tiger Mask was both NWA & WWF Junior Heavyweight Champion at the same time. Absolutely night & day between this and his awesome UWF stuff, Tiger Mask is just throwing shit out there and seeing what sticks. I now understand why he gets a lot of hate from fans because there are just a lot of awkward portions in this match. People standing around waiting to be kicked. Building to a finish run and plopping into a short arm scissors. At least Tiger Mask had awesome spots to draw on, Kobayashi could not decide what he wanted to do. It was a mess that did coalesce into a hot finish run. I have no problem with spotfests at all. Tiger Mask can hit some really jaw-dropping spots. I thought his back drop driver looked crisp. His dive to the outside was totally out of control and awesome as he nailed the railing. The tombstone was great and love that as the setup for the moonsault, which missed. His kicks looked great not as good as UWF. His submissions were fine. Everything from an offensive perspective was there just not put together. Selling from each guy was non-existent and there was no consequence to moves. Kobasyahi gets a "nearfall" in the form of almost countout finish. Tiger Mask catches him and they go over the top. Tiger Mask does hit an awesome German suplex on the floor. He beats the count to win the match. The finish stretch almost makes this worth it, but the first 2/3rds is a clusterfuck. I will say everybody must see the spot of the match, which did make me pop big time on my couch. Tiger Mask hits a backflip mule dropkick perfectly. It was insanely incredible. It really is amazing this is the same guy having those matches with Fujiwara just a couple years later in UWF.

Interesting I'll watch more closely but I thought Mania match was better once she was eliminated and worked around exposed turnbuckle. I'll be on the lookout in this match from RAW. I watch RAW on Saturday

Care to expound on the Murdoch/Fujinami pick? I was just reading my review sounds like it climaxed early with the dive and blood, but then quickly rushed to an anti-climatic. Interested on yoru thoughts why that would be a MOTYC?

Novartis sponsored last year in a truly WTF moment. Nia Jax best performer in a match?!?! Really??? Doesn't do anything for me. Has the size. Doesn't do much with it. Wrestles too small.

WWF Tag Champs Dick Murdoch & Adrian Adonis vs Antonio Inoki & Tatsumi Fujinami - NJPW 12/5/84 Finals of MSG Tag League Quite the month for Murdoch & Adonis as they also have that great match with the Briscos at MSG later. The winner of this wins the MSG Tag League for 1984, the precursor to the current G-1 Tag League. The match goes right into heat on Fujinami's arm. Just perfect for two pros like Murdoch & Adonis. Very Southern style with lots of hope spots for Fujinami but cutoffs by the heels right to the arm. Lots of playing keep away from Inoki. Really liked Adonis tackling Fujinami right before he got to Inoki. Dropkick creates separation and Inoki comes in. Wow! The crowd is red hot for him. I thought they did the wrong thing by cutting him off and cooling him down. With no babyface shine, they should have let Inokimania run wild. He hits his own dropkick and then drop toehold to get his Indian Deathlock which is super over. Is there anybody better than Murdoch at selling a hold? Fujinami comes off the top with a kneedrop. Tries to put Murdoch in the Scorpion Deathlock. Murdoch with a nice leg tieup tags out. Fujinami kicks Adonis' ass tries same thing to no avail. Murdoch hits him with a chair and then in the head. Now the heels just start throwing bombs. Adonis bulldog. Murdoch piledriver. Murdoch rides him down, which is usually the prelude to the Brainbuster. Very weak transition to the tag to Inoki. No real struggle. Fujinami just ducked and rolled over. Inokie talks a big game but just puts Adonis in a headscissors then Murdoch attacks him with a chair. Very lenient ref. The heat segment on Inoki is great. Tons of heat because the crowd loves Inoki and North-South know how to kick ass. Murdoch hits a big reverse elbow and BRAINBUSSSSSTAAHHHHHH! 1-2-Fujinami saves. Love how Murdoch keeps wrist control as he tags out. SPIKE PILEDRIVER! LOVE IT! 1-2-NO! This really feels like North-South match to lose. They have been dominating. Huge closed fists from Murdoch. Because it is Japan we don't get as many so it is a treat to see those two. Inoki ducks and overhand karate chop by Inoki! Big pop! Tags out to Fujinami. Again would have liked more struggle to get that tag. Here comes The Dragon! He is hitting through punches and elbows. Murdoch quells him by biting him and they hit this awesome Back Suplex/Lariat combo. They are besides themselves that they have not won. Butterfly suplex still Fujinami kicks out. Drops across the top rope this time to close to the ropes. God Bless Murdoch so good at facial expressions. Huge bomb throwing match can see why this is well-loved. Jumping high knee by Capn Redneck for two. Fujinami just wont quit. They knock heads no one is better at selling that than Murdoch. Murdoch cant bodyslam Fujinami who falls on top of him great exhaustion spot. They start biting each other big pop when Fujinami does it. Tag out to Inoki. Inoki sends Murdoch packing and then whips Adonis hard so he can do his bump over the turnbuckles into the post. Murdoch vs Inoki! Huge Inoki chants! North-South try their sick double team move again, but Inoki kicks Adonis in the mush with both boots and Adonis is singing like Vienna Choir Boy now. Inoki with a snap superplex.Fujinami takes care of Murdoch. inoki Enziguiri! OCTOPUS STRETCH!!! INOKI & FUJINAMI WIN! Tons of bombs in this so I can see why people lap this up. Didn't think had that much substance to it. Just a lot of Murdoch & Adonis kicking ass and the transitions for the tags for the Japanese team was lacking. Total balls-to-wall affair that never lets up and is never boring. ****1/4

Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger - UWF 7/17/85 Less than a month ago, Fujiwara got the monkey (or should I say Tiger) off his back by forcing Tiger to submit in the middle of the ring to a legbar. We are JIP (missing the opening 5 minutes of the 15 minute match) to a Fujiwara legbar. This is probably the most exciting Tiger/Fujiwara match, but it is a lot of flash and missing the substance that really makes the other matches classic. Tiger is just firing off wicked kicks and they are rapid fire. Fujiwara is backed into the corner just trying to cover up and catch one of these kicks when he has a chance. There is a lot of submission work too. Tiger gets a leg bar and crab of his own. Fujiwara gets another legbar. The really exciting parts are the standup. Tiger is fast & furious with these kicks. They look beautiful. At one point, Tiger just slaps the shit out of him. Tiger wanted to win so bad after the loss. You can feel how hard he was trying. Fujiwara was just out gunned in this match. The turning point was when Fujiwara gets a nice double underhook takedown and in the scrap Tiger blasts with a swift kick to the solarplexus and knocks the wind right out of him. I loved Fujiwara's headstand out of the Boston Crab. Fujiwara has been excellent. I will say if there is one thing lacking in this match is that Sayama does not sell shit and really is not good at any of the selling, bumping (there is not much bumping in shoot style) or facial expressions. He is just ridiculously good at offense and pacing. Tiger goes INSANE with kicks. There is this crazy flying karate kick that just blasts Fujiwara in the face. Fujiwara kinda catches the foot, but just goes down in a heap. Cant respond to the ten count. Super Tiger gets his win back. I was hoping for it to be 2-2 going into Match #5, but I also like that Super Tiger came into this match so hot. Very exciting, but lacking the selling and drama of the other classics. Definitely watch this for the insane onslaught of Sayama kicks! ****1/4

Super Tiger vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara - UWF 6/24/85 Holy Shit. Holy SHIT! This is supposedly the worst match of their five match series in the Original UWF and I freaking LOVED IT! These two can do no wrong together. Six months after their ground breaking five star classic in December of 84 they come back with a totally different match that rules. Sayama no longer has the mask, which bums me out, but these two deliver the goods. Totally different dynamic in this match. In September, Fujiwara felt like the favorite being bigger and stronger but Super Tiger pulled out the win. December was all about Tiger proving it was no fluke with a spectacular knockout of Fujiwara. Two victories, now Tiger is the favorite and it shows. Fujiwara flinches at the mere flick of Tiger's foot love it. Fujiwara is way more cautious. He is letting Tiger come at him and catch the kick then trying to convert that into offense. I love how the matches are building and telling a greater story. Fujiwara has shifted from offense to defense. Tiger is taking Fujiwara down now and that never happened in the first match. Some really nice double underhook bridging takedowns. Nothing has really changed on the mat, Fujiwara is still the man. There are two big NEAR MISSES where Tiger almost connects with the kick. Loved Fujiwara's sell, like he knows how close he was to doom. Then he catches Tiger's foot and BOOM! eats a big one in the mush and he falls out of the ring. Fujiwara's selling makes the match. Fujiwara follows up by punching Sayama right in the face. Sayama is not very good at selling, which is why shoot style fits him better. They go on the mat, bundle of leg locks lame. Sayama gets a single leg crab. Then as they coming up from a tangle on the mat he connects with a WICKED KICK to the face. Shades of December! It feels like the match is over from how Fujiwara is selling. Sayama misses with a kick to head, but connects with kick to the leg. He is cornering Fujiwara, but has not gotten him off his feet. Fujiwara with a desperation takedown and leg lock...middle of the ring...nowhere to go...SUPER TIGER TAPS OUT! WOW! Fujiwara needed win and he pulled that one out from the jaws of defeat. Also that is Sayama's first loss in UWF. Great booking. Another Sayama knockout would have killed the series, but teasing the knockout then having Fujiwara get the submission victory. Really looking forward to the July match now. ****1/2