superkix

Miyato played the aggressor here and kept on him with kicks and groundwork, forcing Tamura back to the ropes. He dumps Tamura on his head with a backdrop suplex and Tamura's selling hard but the fight's still in him. Miyato keeps shutting him down with strikes, hitting a solebutt, a high kick and hard knees to keep him down for the TKO win. Quick and hard.

This was decent, with plenty of wild and loose strikes from both sides. There was some slop to this match but Funaki had some cool takedowns, including a nasty reverse cravate and the double arm suplex into the butterfly lock. The most compelling stuff came during Anjoh's legwork, which was sold well by Funaki and had Anjoh circling with kicks like a shark in bloody waters. Funaki gets a little revenge with some big spinning back kicks but when he tries to finish Anjoh off with a German suplex, Anjoh snags an arm and takes him down with the double wristlock for the submission win.

Onita is such a little shit in this match, only gaining some sort of advantage by cheap shotting Aoyagi. He attacks him from behind, avoiding most of Aoyagi's kicks and managing a few takedowns and outlasting the first round with a single leg crab hold. Aoyagi exacts his revenge in the second round, knocking Onita out of the ring with his big flurry of karate kicks. Onita keeps getting pummeled into the corner and when the referee intervenes, Onita takes advantage and clobbers Aoyagi with a lariat.There are plenty of cheapshots in the ropes and even Aoyagi doesn't care anymore and he's just putting the kicks to the grounded Onita. Onita fires off a backdrop, Aoyagi responds with a koppou kick. The Gi comes off and after Aoyagi spin kicks Onita out of the ring, he follows him out, taking the fight to Onita's familiar grounds, and he comes back busted open. The last few minutes of the match see Onita just getting destroyed by kicks in the ring. Whenever he's able to get up, he's stumbling, hanging onto the ref, before Aoyagi shuts him down again. After Aoyagi takes him out with a big kneel kick, the towel's thrown in and Aoyagi wins via TKO...but Onita ain't happy about it. A wacky clash of styles and Onita being the scummy, lowblowing Onita we've all come to love.

This was more of a methodically-paced defensive contest, with both guys wary of strikes, backing into corners and trying to wear each other out on the canvas. It may not be as "exciting" as other UWF bouts but it's worked smartly. The don Fujiwara lets Yamazaki know just how hard his forehead is early on as he lunges in with a headbutt during a lock up. Yamazaki's able to avoid some of Fujiwara's signature offense but he can't manage any traction either. They try to chop each other down with kicks but in a nice move, Yamazaki holds onto Fujiwara's legs to prevent the down. Yamazaki misses a lot of his big kicks and at times, it appeared as though he was holding back. But Fujiwara, as always, is an absolute joy to watch in the ring. When he's got Yamazaki in a leglock, he holds on through Kazuo's kicking. When he catches a foot against the ropes, he hangs on and turns it into a fisherman suplex, not letting go upon impact. When Yamazaki tries for a sleeper hold, Fujiwara snatches a foot and twists, then grabs the other and does the same thing. He dodges a solebutt attempt and curtsies. A lot of the knock downs come from body shots in the corner or against the ropes and there's quite a bit of back-and-forth legwork. They spice things up in the final few minutes as they trade punches, slaps, kicks, with Fujiwara sandbagging after he eats Yamazaki's knee. Yamazaki's able to deliver the German suplex hold but he can't maintain the bridge as he's wore the fuck out. He signs his own death certificate when he headbutts Fujiwara because...well, Fujiwara is going to headbutt you right back and after he conks him with one, he picks up the TKO victory. A differently worked/paced match but still an absolute pleasure, thanks to Fujiwara's appeal.

This was a super duper juniors exhibition, with lots of slick back-and-forth mat-tastics and a bubbling aggression that didn't quite pop. Instead, they unload almost all of their offense and it's pretty great. Liger drops a boss diving elbow, suplexes Sano from inside the ring and drops him to the ground, and then follows that up with a big somersault senton from the top rope to the floor. Not to be outdone, Sano rallies back with lots of kick variations and he goes up top and uh, maybe slips or maybe kicks Liger on the floor. Some of Sano's stuff isn't quite as squeaky clean as in later matches but he's trying everything, hitting a German suplex hold and a dope arm trap suplex floatover for a two count. They both collapse on the top rope backdrop attempt and the match ends on a double KO. Weird finish but it works and sets up the subsequent rematch.

Yamazaki brings his hunger, his speed and counterwork, and the dreaded single leg crab to top boss Maeda. He's able to outmaneuver Maeda at the outset, stunning him with some kicks -- in fact, there's a lot of dueling kicks in this match. Maeda was good here, although it did seem he was brushing off some of the shoot-style ring rust. He was able to plant Yamazaki with his capture suplex, land some extra nasty kicks, and finish him off with the katahajime after catching him with the rolling heel kick. Yamazaki's a perfect underdog here with the crowd behind him throughout. The single leg crabs added some drama to the match, with Maeda's struggle giving the Yamazaki fans some hope for their boy. He's able to hit the German suplex hold and a belly-to-belly before they both start emptying the kick tank down the home stretch. Yamazaki lays Maeda out with beautiful high kick to head but he can't keep him down and in the end, Maeda submits him with the crowd chanting Yamazaki's name. An entertaining return to form with the promotion "ace" taking out the fiery underdog in Yamazaki.

They’re back at it, this time with a little more seriousness and a little less umphs behind the strikes. The slower-paced matwork dominates the opening of the match, with Takada being dominated by Maeda. Takada’s looking for an answer to Maeda’s holds and kicks but can’t find it as Maeda overwhelms him with strikes and keeps him going back to the ropes with the wakigatame. There’s some really terrific selling from Takada in these moments, crumbling from the heavy blows as he desperately tries to fight back, exhausting his outs between the rope breaks and the falls. There’s a glimmer of hope as he levels Maeda with a big kick but Maeda’s able to take back control on the mat, once again forcing Takada to his home away from home with a leglock. Something seems to snap inside Takada as he comes back swinging and kicking, knocking Maeda down with a solebutt and high kick, slamming him with the belly-to-belly. There’s a great little moment when Maeda tries to trap Takada’s arm for the crossface chickenwing and Takada counters with the single leg crab hold to force the rope break. The final minute or so of the match was awesome, as the score is tied and they’re just unloading with big ass kicks. Takada lands a high kick, Maeda collapses, quickly trying to stand on rubber legs but failing as the fans go nuts for Takada’s TKO victory.

There's a lot to digest but on a whole, it's a pretty spectacular display of athleticism and endurance. I can see where some might be turned off by this as it's a lot of takedowns, counters, and matwork but they manage to keep the drama going and the crowd engaged throughout. I'll hit on a few of my favorite moments instead of regurgitating sixty minutes worth of action.Early on, Inoki stuns Fujinami with a takedown but when he tries for a high kick, Fujinami catches the leg and turns it into a giant swing to set up the figure-four leglock. I love the Indian deathlock teases and when Inoki's able to lock it in, he turns it into a bow-and-arrow hold, then goes back to the Indian deathlock, then again to the bow-and-arrow hold, but this allows Fujinami an opportunity to escape and in turn, cinch in the dragon sleeper. Fujinami's use of the choke was awesome, with the ref reprimanding him between counts. Inoki scores a two count off a German suplex hold and Fujinami takes a breather on the outside, returning to barrage Inoki with headbutts, hitting a Billy Robinson-style backbreaker to once again set up the figure-four. This time, they end up falling out of the ring with the hold still applied! With Inoki struggling back into the ring, Fujinami continues targeting the leg with kicks and a sasorigatame. Inoki was really terrific in the last half of the match, getting pissy with Fujinami when he tries for the octopus hold, peppering him with slaps, then straight punches, before taking him down with the enziguri. He uses a seated torture rack and when Fujinami escapes, Inoki backdrops him. At this point, they're trying to wear each other down on the mat and as Inoki starts building some momentum, hitting a double arm suplex, Fujinami's able to cut him off with the octopus hold. Inoki's tried just about everything to beat Fujinami but he can't do it and in the end, you really see the desperation as Inoki repeatedly tries to pin Fujinami before the time limit expires. If you've got the patience and time, check this one out. It's the last of it's kind in a lot of ways as the style transitions into what would become the more fast-paced, bomb-dropping routine of the 1990's.

Yamazaki rules in this match. He's such an awesome fiery underdog and of the shoot-style bunch, he's one of the better sellers, especially here. The way he screams and scrambles on the armbar, or rolling out of the ring after the leglock. The crowd was brewing throughout, heating up early on when Takada reaches in during a lock up and smacks Yamazaki. Takada zeroes in on Yamazaki's leg with some snug kicks and working in the single leg crab hold. When Yamazaki comes at Takada with knees, Takada drops him with a hard right. Takada was Takada here, wrestling like he's got something to prove, but Yamazaki hung on, surviving the belly-to-belly and dragon suplexes. He's able to connect with a high kick but after all that punishment, he collapses in exhaustion. I loved the German spot, with Takada struggling to break out of the rear waistlock and Yamazaki headbutting him to deliver the German siplex hold for two. A couple of high kicks later, the underdog Yamazaki picks up the victory and the supportive crowd is stoked. Tons of fun.

Maeda bled a whole lot here, it was crazy. Such a big moment when he collapses upon entering the ring, and then he's at the mercy at big grunt Saito. Good comeback story, great performance from Maeda, and Saito doing what Saito does, which works.

I think Ishikawa/Nomura is my current match of the tournament.

This match is incredible and my favorite tag match of the decade. It has everything I love about professional wrestling, from great psychology and selling to the unruly nature of the match and the escalation of emotions and hostilities. Everyone plays their respective roles so well, to the point that grumpster Tenryu is more concerned about beating on an injured Choshu outside of the ring then what’s happening to his partner inside. Jumbo immediately goes after Choshu’s taped ribs and in one of the best moments of the match, he slaps Yatsu silly and throws him into his corner so he can tag Choshu back in. When Tenryu comes in, he’s double teamed at once -- actually, twice, taking an assisted piledriver. He’s able to put on the figure-four leglock but Choshu’s able to roll to his corner, where Yatsu flies in with a diving elbow drop to Tenryu while Tsuruta takes advantage and stomps at Choshu’s prone ribs. Tsuruta and Tenryu continue targeting Riki’s ribs with Jumbo tearing away some of the protective tape and putting him in the cobra twist. Chaos unfolds as backdrops are…well, dropped, brutal lariats are thrown, and a chair is used against the recovering Choshu. Tenryu continues attacking Choshu while Yatsu works away on Jumbo, busting him open on the ringpost before unloading his offensive arsenal, hitting a piledriver, a backdrop, and a backbreaker before poorly applying the sansori-gatame, which is broken up by Tenryu’s nasty lariat. Choshu is the thorn in Tenryu’s side during the finishing stretch, thwarting his pin attempts on Yatsu, and while Yatsu is able to hit a big German suplex hold for a nearfall, Tenryu at last puts him down with the powerbomb to win it.

I feel like this Is a match of firsts but maybe I’m mistaken. The first apron suplex spot? The original bombfest? I mean, right out of the gate, Tenryu clobbers Choshu with a lariat, before following up with a ton of offense, including a jumping piledriver and DDT. When he’s unable to seal the deal as quickly as he’d like, a grumpy Tenryu starts putting some nasty boots to Choshu, not giving him an inch. Choshu’s finally able to fire off a beautiful belly-to-back suplex for two, following it up with a lariat. His sasorigatame attempts are unsuccessful and Tenryu’s able to find an opening, delivering a sheer-drop powerbomb for a nearfall. The finish is awesome, as the two fight on the apron and Choshu kills him with a backdrop onto the apron, winning via countout. This ruled.

Kind of a mess but fun – Sergei’s almost filled the Willie Peeters role for 92-93 with his explosiveness but lack of actually connecting. He does have some cool suplex throws and slams, and when he’s on the ground, he’s grabbing arms, legs, chokes. Naruse is, more or less, trying to weather the storm of Sergei’s barrages and find a submission. He’ll throw a couple of knees here and there, but he’s mostly attacking the legs on the mat. This went a little long as they kind of struggle to get anything cinched in, with Sergei ultimately submitting him with a kneebar. Sergei is dope but his sweet spot is under 10 minutes.

Yeah, you're basically giving a platform for idiots to say idiotic "fake science" things to easily impressionable listeners.

This match is the culmination of the entire rivalry and embraces the viciousness of shoot-style through Tiger’s strikes and Fujiwara’s grappling. Fujiwara puts Tiger through the ringer on the mat, making him work for his rope breaks and at times, refusing to let him out of his grasp. He’s spry and self-assured, bouncing around the ring and looking maybe five years younger here. But once again, he’s starkly reminded of his own kryptonite when Tiger mule kicks him off and punts him in the ribs. As Tiger’s aggression becomes more and more intense down the stretch, Fujiwara’s resolve wavers and ultimately, he’s conquered by Tiger’s kicks – the viewer left with a lasting image of Fujiwara as Tiger’s foot slips through his desperate fingers and he crumbles in complete exhaustion. Awesome match and my second favorite of the series. It's a shame this does not exist in full.

This was most evenly matched in terms of modifying offense and defense for combat. For Tiger, he obviously practiced his arm takedowns and holds in between matches, whereas Fujiwara’s plan is a simple one – catch a kick, trip the leg, and submit. Tiger doesn’t make it easy for him to pull off, as he’s able to counter the catch with a kick or a takedown of his own. Tiger comes at him harder, faster, repeatedly hacking at Fujiwara’s leg with strikes to prevent him from being able to stand on his own two feet. The punishment and perseverance on Fujiwara’s part pays off in the long run, as he’s finally able to catch the Tiger by the tail (or, in this case, the foot) and lock in the kneebar for the submission.

Fujiwara is constantly aware of his positioning in the ring and Tiger's proximity to the ropes, scooting back when he’s got him in a leglock to prevent the break. When Tiger’s on the offensive, Fujiwara retreats to the corner in defense, cognizant of his weakness to Tiger’s strikes. Tiger nearly overwhelms him again with strikes until Fujiwara starts lobbing punches of his own and shoot piledrives him to red light Sayama’s drive. There’s effective simplicity in Fujiwara’s execution of the final submission -- the way he maneuvers himself around Tiger’s body with the arm in tow, patient yet methodical as he seeks out an opening and quickly cranks on the elbow to tap Tiger.

A fun exhibition match for Todorov, who was really good at tying Gotchev up in interesting predicaments. He keeps trapping the arm, whipping him down, going for armbars. Gotchev is less of a finesse guy and more of a rough and tumble guy. He isn’t much of a striker but he’ll dump Todorov with a fireman’s carry, or his awesome bearhug suplexes, and when he’s got him on the mat, he keeps trying for a choke. Cool submission finish too.

A pretty fun, extended squash, with Nagai controlling most of the match. He's throwing suplexes and attacking the leg with submissions, popping Naruse with kicks to the leg and the ribs. At one point, Naruse catches a kick and uses a cool waterwheel drop. But that’s about it. Nagai knees him in the face, kicks him in the head, and finally submits him with the armbar.

Hasn't this been the case for awhile now? Since like...Fozzy?

Love this match wholeheartedly. This is two guys going out there with something to prove. In the case of Maeda, he's the reigning king of shoot-style. He's got a status quo to maintain and Takada's the pesky teenager trying to the keys to dad's car. The striking in this match is no joke, the takedowns and suplexes awesome, and mixed into the groundwork are some really neat moments. After a couple of love taps to warm up the fans, Takada goes in for a takedown and Maeda catches him with a reflec kick before taking him to school with the educated feet. Maeda's takedowns and counters are almost self-regulating, and he's able to slip out of a lot of Takada's submission attempts on the mat. When Takada looks like he's in control, Maeda slaps on the cross armbreaker early on and Takada freaks his way to the ropes and retreats to the corner, only for Maeda to follow the trail of blood and get back in the hunt. When they're on their feet striking, Maeda catches the leg and slams him with a capture suplex in almost one fluid motion. The selling in this match is pick and choose -- it's blatant at times and good when it needs to be but you know, that's mas o menos the standard for shoot-style wrestling. Takada is more of the offender in this case but Maeda does a terrific job selling the leg as Takada relentlessly attacks it with kicks and holds. The way he grabs a leg and steps into the opposite leg before laying back with the hold was sweet. Takada's on it in the final minutes, as he's able to block another capture suplex attempt, cracking Maeda with a high kick to the head, slamming him with the belly-to-belly, and locking in the reverse armbar. He counters a German suplex hold with another armbar and gets a nearfall off of a dragon suplex hold but the king still wears the crown. When Takada tries to take him out with a rolling kick, Maeda catches the attempt and hits his German suplex hold, transitioning into the crossface chickenwing to tap Takada out. Not as true "shoot-style" as their follow-up match in November but definitely the most entertaining match of their rivalry.

For fifteen minutes -- no strikes, one suplex, lots of grappletime. Greco's swift and sneaky, able to evade a lot of Ishikawa's gruff old man attempts. They're both largely looking for chokes with Greco quick to apply the leg scissors. When Greco tries for the out-of-nowhere leg takedown, Ishikawa's able to snag an arm with his legs and get the cross kneebar on but Greco uses a rope break. Ishikawa throws Greco with a German suplex but can't capitalize as Carl's able to put him in a swanky scissored armbar and then a front necklock to force him to the ropes. The way Greco cranks his legs around Ishikawa's neck during the follow-up guillotine is awesome but the veteran grabs an arm and lays back, forcing Greco back to the ropes. They stand, they mutually grab the ropes because they want this to end, and the last couple of minutes are about as aggressive as this match gets, with lots of cool holds and slip outs. In the end, Greco cinches in a cravate and picks up the impressive win over Ishikawa. A matwork wet dream.

This was part of the '88 BOSJ tournament. Hase gets punished by Takada early on in this match-up, taking some nasty kicks to the face and really struggling to stay on his feet in a terrifically sold performance. But he goes from nearly being KO'd on the mat to firing off a quick German suplex hold at the snap of a finger. The selling, more or less, goes out the window in favor of back-and-forth offense, with Hase managing to pull off his signature Northern Lights suplex hold for a two count. Takada tries to suplex Hase from the top rope but they end up collapsing to the outside and brawling over the barricade, which results in a draw. This had its moments but these two would go on to have a superior match the following month for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title.

Backlund in UWF, looking bewildered as ever but somehow managing to pull it off, with his "whoa whoa-ing", his silly taunts, and his vicious elbow shots to counter Takada's stiff kicks. Backlund's quirkiness adds charm to the match, a fun, almost unpredictable element that distinguishes this from a lot of other shoot-style bouts of the 80's. I won't go through the whole match because at times, it's all over the place, but there are so many cool touches and moments. When Backlund is on the mat, working the arm, he throws his weight into the hold. He has answers for Takada's offense -- at one point, taking a rush of knees from Takada and turning into a backdrop before immediately going into a reverse armbar and forcing Takada to use another rope break. Once Backlund's nose is bloodied, his intensity picks up and his elbows are some of the best thrown. The work on the mat becomes more desperate, the strikes less yielding. One of my favorite moments of the match comes when Backlund uses a fireman's carry slam to put Takada in leglock and Takada responds by heel kicking his way out of it. He really takes it to Backlund in the final minutes with his kicks, using a belly-to-belly slam to set-up a calf slicer, turning that into a single leg crab. With Backlund's face a bloody mess, Takada slaps on the double wristlock, the match ends, and Backlund's like "what the heck?" -- great, great stuff. Watching Backlund fight his way out of this giant predicament of a match was a blast.