superkix

UWF selects Katsuhiko Nakajima. ECW is up.

Alright, UWF selects Matt Riddle. ROH is up next with back-to-back picks.

Yoshiaki Fujiwara is the UWF owner.

I can't imagine drafting more than 5 "gaijins" for my promotion.

UWF Japan.

I'm still in. Do we have to do existing promotions, or can we "revive" a promotion - as in, I'd like to do UWF 3.0?

I go in and out of wrestling. I'll have periods of 3-4 years where I don't watch a minute of pro-wrestling, and then I'll be fully invested for a year before burning out again. I think I've burnt out again. I used to watch quite a bit for Burning Spirits, to keep track of what was at least going on in Japan. But that soon became tiresome (hence the end of Burning Spirits) and now the thought of sitting down to watch Wrestle Kingdom is overwhelming. I think I went from watching/following 5-6 promotions to maybe 1-2. Big Japan is still my favorite promotion at this point but yeah, if you try and watch everything, you will burn yourself out.

I lived in the Dallas area for many years and I never met a person who has watched NJPW...except one dude who bartended an arcade.

Great news for fans of NJPW.

Yeah, when I think of "tough guy", Ospreay is the last person I think about.

Watch Ashino vs. Soya from 3/14. Easily the best Ashino match I've seen, the best W1 match of the year, and Soya works his ass off.

Seems like enough people responded with interest for this to have some legs?

Bummed Suzuki isn't a featured player and will likely be stuck in the six-man bullshit.

On a whole, not a terrific tag or anything, but it had quite a few cool moments, especially in the interactions between Tamura and Severn. The opening is a lot of fun between these two, with Severn trying to use his size to his advantage, grabbing big chokes, and Tamura being cat-like and agile, escaping the attempts. After a big belly-to-belly, Severn tries for the double wristlock but Tamura slips out, takes him down with an armwhip and shows Dan how to put the double wristlock on, forcing him to the ropes in a great moment. The initial exchange between Takada/Albright was really good, with Albright pummeling him in the corner and Takada firing back with shoteis and kicks, blasting Albright in the face and Albright immediately tags out like "enough of this shit!". Otherwise, some boring Takada matwork, some more fun Tamura/Severn exchanges, like Dan trying to knee him out of the ring or German suplexing through the struggle. Albright hits a bunch of suplexes down the stretch, hitting three consecutive belly-to-bellies on Takada before TAPPING TAKADA with an okay single leg crab. Tamura's the best but Severn in UWFi has been a ton of fun.

Decent match-up with Koslowski getting the shine. He delivers a pretty sweet deadlift necklock suplex and hits back-to-back belly-to-bellies to set up the final armbar. Miyato is good enough in the underdog role and gets a few hope spots, including the facelock with the leg hooked. Not much else to it.

Bad News Allen sucks. Sorry guys, I'm not familiar with his non-UWFi work but here, he sucks. Kakihara, on the other hand, does not suck, which kind of helps this match? Kaki keeps kicking Bad News and keeps trying his best to make this anything but bad but, like...there's a point where Allen has Kaki's arm or leg (can't remember) but he doesn't know what to do with it. He's in deep contemplation about it. Anyways, the finish to this match is all you need to watch, as Kakihara pops up off of the judo throw and taps Allen with the armbar.

Oh boy, my favorite in THOMAS BURTON. But Burton shows the only side of himself need exist in this shoot-style world, when he capture suplexes Kanemitsu right out of the gate and then destroys him with a release German. Other than that, he's trying to grab a neckcrank and Kanehira is just trying to survive. He's able to snag a heel hook but when that doesn't work, he starts kicking the shit out of Burton's leg til he can't take anymore, then finally kicks him in the head and OUT of the ring! Fun finish to another meh Burton match but maybe Burton's best singles match so far? I DON'T KNOW!

No idea who either of these white dudes are but hey, UWFi can always use more of them. Not a bad match but a very basic match. I don't know. Bobchick has some good throws but Cairo has pathetic strikes and the groundwork wasn't very interesting. Bobchick wins via crab hold, duh!

Both guys make their UWFi debuts and Steve Nelson is thankfully much more aggressive than your average UWFi white dude, with his open hands, kicks, and matwork, whereas Sakuraba is Sakuraba but a baby. He maneuvers well enough on the ground, blasting Nelson with plenty of mid kicks when he can -- at one point, he keeps clipping Steve with kicks and it takes awhile for him to fire down. I liked Sakuraba heel kicking his way to reversing a leglock but in the end, Nelson grabs the double wristlock for the submission. A fun enough opener/double debut.

Yeah, this ruled. Both guys are on another personal level, especially Anjoh with his takedowns and matwork, and the crowd is loving every second of Anjoh's sleaze and Sano's underdoggedness (?). Fiery start with the kicks, Anjoh trying to snag the rear choke and Sano tossing him off like "no way, Yoji." Like I mentioned earlier, Anjoh's takedowns are real slick -- the roll up kneebar was dope. At one point, he's got a hold of Sano's leg and he's just working in every which was he can while Sano is trying to heel kick his way out of it. Plus, that transition into the STF toward the end ruled. Sano has some great suplex throws, of course, and he gets the fans behind him as he fights back, ultimately tapping Anjoh with the crossface chickenwing. As mentioned by others, one of the best matches in UWFi so far.

Man, I love new old-school Sekimoto. He's been low-key great throughout the year, working more of a simplified style to accommodate the wear-and-tear to his body. He does such a good job of playing to the crowd with his facials/vocals/big powered up comebacks. Of course, Dick Togo is the man and he's so good at making the little things mean something. Like him punching at Sekimoto's meat slab body from the mat or the way he finagles his way out of the bearhug. Togo works the holds, trying to get to that crossface hold, and he finally grabs it but can't tap him so he hits the Pedigree>diving senton combo but that doesn't work either. Awesome spot where Togo comes off the apron with the senton, Sekimoto catches him and powerbombs him onto the floor. Togo bumps like a maniac off a big Sekimoto chop and gets one last flurry before Sekimoto clobbers him down and pins him with that beautiful high-angle German suplex hold. GOOD STUFF!

Whoa, I didn't know this match existed. I saw the Nomura/Togo match from earlier in the year, which was great. I need to check this out.

Yeah, Minoru Suzuki is another one on the cusp, who I wish had stronger matches this year but it's hard to deny the Goto match from WK, the Tanahashi match, the Okada downpour match and the latest Ishii match.

And the second half of '95! Masayuki Naruse vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS, 7/18/95) This does not end pretty for TK. Naruse is the aggressor and TK is once again trying to survive and grab a submission. Naruse downs him with a nice flurry of palms and knees, then wrenches him with a FACELOCK. That's how you apply it. TK, on the otherhand, is able to grab a pretty dope kneebar on Naruse and the fans think he may have it in the bag but no, he doesn't. They dance around holds but TK can't get the leglock and that's about his last opportunity because Naruse knees the shit out of him, destroying his eyebrow. TK's up, he wants to fight, but the ref knows better and calls the match. Fun! Dick Leon-Vrij vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 7/18/95) Yamamoto takes an absolute thrashing from Dick Fly but so he's damn persistent with those double leg takedowns and Vrij, of course, is always within a foot of the ropes so Yamamoto has 7% chance of actually submitting him. But boy oh boy, Vrij destroys Yamamoto with the knees and palm strikes. When Yamamoto's down, Vrij kills him with a knee to the head and the ref admonishes Vrij while Hans Nijman is up on the apron, trying to get the ref to call Yamamoto down. Vrij keeps attacking Yamamoto until Yamamoto stuns him with a shotei and then peppers him in the corner with open hands. But that only pisses Vrij off, who comes at him twice as hard, and again, Yamamoto pummels Vrij in the corner with open hands. Vrij is actually bleeding now and he's used up all his rope escapes - Yamamoto can do it! Once again, Vrij big ass knees Yamamoto when he's down on the ground and the fans aren't happy about it but Yamamoto forces Vrij to the ropes and wins by TKO...so the fans leave happy. Brutal match. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs. Dimitri Petkov (RINGS, 8/27/95) Big Baby Petkov is back in a red singlet this time (not the neon green) and even though his matches feel the most 'worked', they're plenty fun and this was no exception. For as big as he is, Petkov can make some of these roll up submissions look great. TK gets him early on with the rolling necklock before Petkov belly-to-belly suplexes him in response. Tk gets in a lot of cool submission attempts and tries to take Petkov down with a barrage of strikes but Dimitri is able to grab him and...they kind of just fall down. Perfect opportunity for a Petkov suplex BLOWN. Petkov finally slams him down into the reverse necklock and TK taps. Didn't look very painful but whatever, TK experienced Dimitri Petkov. Akira Maeda vs. Andrei Kopilov (RINGS, 8/27/95) Save for the finish, this was a solid Akira Maeda exhibition match. Kopilov (back in the purple Nike shorts, thanfully) doesn't get a whole lot off on Maeda. They're usually too close to the ropes so there's not a lot of drama behind the holds. And anytime Kopilov tries to retaliate with strikes, Maeda ducks down into turtle defense mode, forcing Kopilov to try something on the mat. But Maeda looked good here. He gets a sick double arm takedown, spiking Kopilov on his head, and lays into him a bunch with kicks and knees and slaps. As witnessed before, these two like to entangle. Kopilov whiffs on his spinning heel kick (the worst shoot-style move because it has a 6% chance of connecting [see Masahito Kakihara] and can't catch a break on the ground because of the damn ropes. But when Maeda takes him down with the half hatch, Kopilov is able to roll him into a kneebar for the UPSET TAPOUT! Volk Han vs. Bitsadze Tariel (RINGS, 8/27/95) Tariel's best match in RINGS up to this point? Probably but I also think that applies to a lot of guys who wrestled Han. The dynamic between these two, similar to Han's matches against Vrij, is great. Tariel is the big Georgian karateka wall and Han is trying to exploit the crack with tons of dope submission holds. Early on, he gets a beautiful leg trip into the trapped heel hook, and then he drags Tariel back to the middle of the ring. Han establishes that he's the man on the ground, attacking Tariel's leg with hooks and holds, but then Tariel whaps the shit out of Volk's leg with a kick and floors him. Striker established. He then proceeds to pummel Han with blows, knocking him down again and again, and poor Han tries to retaliate with the spinning backhand but Tariel gutshots him. Being that the gutshot is Han's kryptonite, he cannot make it to his feet and Tariel wins. A night of upsets in RINGS. Wataru Sakata vs. Sotir Gotchev (RINGS, 9/22/95) Sotir Gotchev is already near and dear to my heart but he immediately gets flattened with a spinning backhand. But that doesn't stop him from hitting his bearhug suplex and locking in his shoot TF. When Gotchev tries for the very rare RINGS German suplex, Sakata's able to roll him up with a leglock, into a heel hook, into his own shoot STF. Pretty cool SAKATA. Gotchev's kicks are big and bold, and as Sakata comes for him, he shows that his knee is just as big and bold. Sakata's spinning heel kick just graves Gotchev's cheekbone and he tries to take Sotir down with bodyshots and knees but Gotchev takes him down and finally submits him with his wacky STF. Fun opener Dick Leon-Vrij vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 9/22/95) Although the rematch sees Yamamoto wrangle more with Dick Fly on the mat, it lacked the drama and intensity of their first match. That being said, it was still a lot of fun, and Yamamoto, in savior white, promptly takes it the fuck to Vrij in the corner. Vrij's strikes aren't quite as brutal here, and at one point, after Yamamoto slaps him in the face, Vrij asks for more...and more he receives. He does knock Yamamoto out of the ring with a series of kicks and knees but in the end, taps out to a rear naked choke, giving Yamamoto another victory. Uh oh, Dick. Akira Maeda vs. Volk Han (RINGS, 9/22/95) Not as good as their match earlier in the year but it's Maeda vs. Han so it's lowest threshold is still pretty high. It's a little sloppy in parts, which isn't something you see often in Han's performance. He starts off with the double wristlock and Maeda is struggling...well, kind of...as Han keeps him away from the ropes but Maeda obviously isn't tapping so Han tries to switch it up, whcih gives Maeda an opening to escape. Again, Maeda shows off some sweet suplex takedowns and he manages a few good strikes. At one point, Han knees Maeda in the face twice and Maeda's like "fuck it" and gets right back up to his feet. Of course. When Han tries for a roll up kneebar, Maeda traps the leg in a scissors hold and Han taps out! Nikolai Zouev vs. Mikhail Ilioukhine (RINGS, 10/21/95) Not a great show on a whole but this was a pretty fun match and definitely Mikhail's best singles match thus far in RINGS. As to be expected with Zouev, there is a lot of ground entanglements, blocks, reversals, and fancy maneuvering. There's a cool roll through heel hook by Mikhail but Zouev is able to snag the arm. Zouev also has a neat grounded single leg and Mikhail does a croos heel hold, which looks like a double single leg hold. Much of the focus is on the arm and the struggle for control but in the end, Mikhail performs a roll through into the neck crank for the submission. Cool finish to a pretty neat match-up. Andrei Kopilov vs. Grom Zaza (RINGS, 10/21/95) Grom Zaza is feisty in this match and it rules. I loved his fakeout slaps, his body blows, the knees. I mean, he's swinging for the fences with some of those open hands and at one point, Andrei's like "what the heck? come on, ref". There's also a funny moment where Kopilov's spinning heel kick completely misses and Zaza's like "what do I do?". Kopilov connects with a spinning backhand and he tries to get feisty with Zaza and then Zaza gets hassled by the ref for the excessive knee strikes. Kopilov isn't able to do much on the mat because Zaza won't let up. He manages a nice roll through with the arm but Zaza's right in the ropes. Grom gets kicked in the nuts and now he's pissed, smacking Kopilov down and putting him in the rear naked choke. By the end, they're both tired, mostly Grom though, as he unloads on Kopilov in the corner with more big strikes but is about to collapse. So Kopilov quickly taps him with a fancy cradle hold? I don't know. Cool match though and probably the best on an otherwise weak show. Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs. Mitsuya Nagai (RINGS, 11/16/95) These two work well together, with Nagai being the more strike-heavy of the two and Yamamoto trying for the takedown>submission. Yamamoto opens with a lot of fire, stunning Nagai with palm strikes and sending him to the ropes with a kneebar. Nagai, of course, loves the kicks and the knees. He's able to turn Yamamoto's necklock attempt into a dope legtrap straight armbar, and when Yamamoto tries to roll out, Nagai keeps him in check with the wakigatame. Loved Yamamoto's selling when Nagai has got him up against the ropes with strikes. Nagai's able to get Yamamoto in an interesting predicament, snatching the arm, but Yamamoto is able to move to the ropes and in the end, taps Nagai with the leglock to advance. Great little match. Volk Han vs. Andrei Kopilov (RINGS, 11/16/95) Tons of matwork, as one might expect, with tons of counters and maneuvering and Kopilov really trying to catch Han in something inescapable. The opening few minutes are really good, with Han using the armbar takedown right off the bat, Kopilov turning it into an ankle hold/calf hold, Han countering with the leglock and then using an awesome reverse armbar counter with the opposite arm trapped. When Andrei gets Han in the armbar, there's a great little moment where Han is just short of his foot on the ropes and the crowd is buzzing (Kopylov responds with the Russian equivalent of "fuck!" when Han does get it). Once again, Han utilizes his legs better than anyone else and when he's on his feet, he isn't afraid to fire off knees and shoteis and spinning backhands. By the end, they're both just grabbing limbs, hoping for a submission, and when Kopilov gets the armbar takedown, Han bites with the heel hook and Kopilov taps. Good stuff. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs. Grom Zaza (RINGS, 12/19/95) The most exciting match on the show, in my opinion, with terrific pacing and both guys giving 100%. Grom has gone from mild-mannered Georgian with a pleasant smile to an uber-aggre ssive slappy Georgian with the same pleasant smile. He opens with a hard slaps, a beautiful wristlock takedown and some big knees to the head to down TK. TK's able to retaliate with a nice armwhip of his own into the neck crank and a few knees to Grom's dome. When Zaza grabs the ankle, TK tries and misses with an enziguri attempt and so Zaza puts him in a seated single leg crab hold. There's a bunch of takedowns>holds toward the end, more stiff strikes from Zaza, and a dope finish, which consists of a beautiful armwhip by Grom into the reverse armbar for the submission victory. The post-match kip up by Grom is the cherry on the cake. Mitsuya Nagai vs. Nikolai Zouev (RINGS, 12/19/95) It's Nikolai Zouev, which means a lot of rolling around, trapping arms and legs with arms and legs. That's, of course, not a bad thing and Nagai is fun in that he's trying to counter and do his own thing, and while he's not the strongest on the mat, he looks pretty good here. Zouev usually has answers to Nagai's kick attempts but not always, and he nearly gets knocked out of the ring by a series of kicks and knees in the corner. There's an awesome moment in the match where Nagai tries for a big kick, Zouev slides underneath to sweep the leg and transitions seemlessly into the rear choke. Zouev has some great holds, sometimes pretzeling Nagai in various ways, but Nagai will also find ways to put Zouev in predicaments. He fights for an armbar, which Zouev tries to bridge his way out of before finding an escape and reversal with an armbar of his own. They kind of slap it out at the end and Nagai snags a front necklock, holding on when Zouev takes him down to force the tap out. Good stuff. Volk Han vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 12/19/95) A solid rematch with Yamamoto really trying to get the advantage and Han being patient and slick as usual. Yamamoto almost seems desperate/reckless at times, which gives this match kind of a sloppy sheen, but it's still Volk Han and he gets some of his offense in while still allowing Yamamoto to get the spotlight...kind of. At one point, Yamamoto comes at Han with open hands and Han just tosses him like a sack of flour. Yamamoto is able to get him in a triangle but once again, Han coolly steps on the leg and puts him in the straight leglock. Han knocks him down with a flurry of slaps, they flip-flop single leg crab holds, and then Yamamoto snags the armbar. When Han tries to get out, turning over onto his belly, Yamamoto holds on and taps him with the reverse armbar. Big win for Yamamoto. although nowhere near his best showing, and a good Han performance as always.

Ospreay and Omega are nowhere near my radar but different strokes for different folks.