UWF Create (8/13/1990)
Masahito Kakihara vs Yusuke Fuke
Finally! We get new young lions debuting in UWF, and it is none other than Masahito Kakihara and Pancrase legend Yusuke Fuke. As expected, these two did not disappoint. They were hungry and eager to impress the crowd after spending years in the UWF dojo. I think Kakihara gets a bit overlooked in terms of shoot-style phenoms, because he was very good right out of the gate. Fuke is impressive as well and is more than willing to trade blows with Kakihara, who already has some very vicious strikes. They kept up a very good pace for 15 minutes and didn't slow down at all, which is pretty neat. There's a very cool spot in the end where Kakihara reverses a leg trap into a jumping knee, and the arena goes crazy. I was pretty surprised by how good this was. ****1/4
Bart Vale vs Tatsuo Nakano
This match felt very disjointed at times. Nakano and Bart Vale did not have good chemistry at all. Still, things do pick up in the end when Vale decides to go to his strengths in striking, and Nakano settles into a more comfortable role of being the gritty underdog instead of trying to work as a technical match with Bart. The finish is neat, with Vale doing another shoot-style Crucifix powerbomb. Other than that, this felt very flat. **3/4
Bert Kops Jr vs Minoru Suzuki
This was a very interesting and gritty match. It almost felt like a shoot at times. Kops Jr would later be known as one of the Dutch RINGS guys, and he was decent here. I think he had a good dynamic with Suzuki, and there was a constant sense of danger throughout. It's kind of interesting to have a random Dutch guy beat Suzuki, but perhaps it was a favor for ole' Chris Dolman. ***3/4
Akira Maeda vs Yoji Anjo
The second half of this match is pretty enjoyable. The first half is a bit slower, but I think the pace was decent overall and it didn't seem disjointed. Maeda did a great job of playing off his consecutive losses and making himself seem vulnerable to an upset from Yoji Anjo. Anjo was hungry and wasn't afraid to take it to Maeda. He managed to get Maeda into several threatening moments, but couldn't find a way to put him away for good. The second half of the match benefited quite a bit from Maeda's vulnerability, and the crowd was quite invested in Anjo as a result. ****
Dick Vrij vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara
This was pretty entertaining overall. Fujiwara and Vrij have great chemistry, and it created a very good dynamic that centered around Vrij trying to play Fujiwara's game and get inside his head with some antics and somewhat impressive grappling. Of course, Vrij's strength was his striking, and he didn't shy away from that when he needed to punish Fujiwara. Fujiwara resorted to a defensive strategy, trying to lure Vrij into corners when he could to trap him, but Vrij seemed wise to this. There was a pretty funny moment where Vrij rubbed Fujiwara's head after the referee broke up a stalemate near the corner, and Fujiwara returned the favor just a minute or two later. When Vrij seemed to get the upper hand, Fujiwara revealed he still had an ace up his sleeve. The crowd loved this as well, and they seemed quite confident that Vrij could actually beat Fujiwara. ****
Masakatsu Funaki vs Nobuhiko Takada
Funaki's impressive run in 1990 continues, and he is absolutely dynamite in this match. Takada almost seems too relaxed initially, and even gets caught off guard by just how explosive Funaki is. Takada has to resort to bringing the match to the mat to try and slow Funaki down, but Funaki pushes the pace and gets things going on his feet whenever he can. Takada grows more annoyed in this match, which is very interesting because he begins to taunt Funaki in a way. This is evident towards the end, when he finally gets pissed off enough to launch some very stiff shots right on Funaki's face. He almost seems to dare Funaki to shoot on him, and Funaki returns fire in kind, and almost rearranges Takada's face as a result, resulting in a bloody nose and a cut near Takada's eye. There are some slow points in this match, but they pick up quickly, and the last few minutes or so are very much worth the wait. An underrated UWF gem. ****1/2
UWF Move (9/13/1990)
Masahito Kakihara vs Yusuke Fuke
These two deliver yet again with another fun, all-action match that saw neither really let up. The hunger in these two was very evident, and they spared no expense in delivering an intense match with plenty of stiff strikes. The fact that Kakihara was so good at this stage in his career is a revelation for me, and Yusuke Fuke was right there with him. Fuke seemed to pick up on a few things from their previous encounter and was more comfortable in baiting Kakihara to set up a counter-offense, especially on their feet. There are some really nice moments in this match, especially when Kakihara catches Fuke with a wheelhouse kick, and then towards the end, when Fuke hits Kakihara with a sick jumping knee to set up a single-leg Boston crab for the finish. ****1/4
Shigeo Miyato vs Bart Vale
Not a bad outing from either. Vale was allowed to play to his strengths with his striking (although he was pretty light), and Miyato played the role of the underdog, which allowed Vale to dictate the match as the tall, imposing American. The resulting dynamic was pretty smooth, although the match lacked a sense of urgency that probably could have helped elevate it. ***
Minoru Suzuki vs Tatsuo Nakano
I love the Nakano/Suzuki pairing. They both recognize what makes each other tick, and they allow the space necessary for their best traits to shine. Nakano and Suzuki both get the chance to play the bully role in this match, which is a bit unique. Nakano knows Suzuki's skills are quickly surpassing his own, and he tries to resort to brute force to get the upper hand. Suzuki is just too good on his feet, though, and on the mat, Nakano cannot keep up with him. Nakano starts off the match as the antagonist, but Suzuki takes over that role pretty quickly, and this makes for a very interesting match structure. Suzuki's nastiness shines through at the end, where he applies a very painful-looking heel hook, which makes Nakano tap. ****
Yoji Anjo vs Johnny Barrett
Not bad at all. This match had a bit of a disjointed start, but things picked up after the second half when Barrett and Anjo developed a bit more chemistry. Barrett was pretty solid in this match. He presented as a bit of a threat to Anjo on the mat, which Anjo needed to neutralize through striking. Barrett isn't my favorite UWF wrestler, but I thought this was a good showing. Anjo was up to his usual standards, and these two things prevented the match from being a snoozer. ***1/4
Akira Maeda vs Nobuhiko Takada
This was a very unique Takada/Maeda bout. It went much shorter compared to their previous matches, and they leaned more into the grappling side of things for most of the match, with striking playing a role towards the end. It almost felt like a Pancrase match at times, although the grappling wasn't as advanced. In a sense, this is the most realistic Maeda/Takada match I've seen, and it felt like either guy could win. Maeda seemed to be in control for most of the match, at least until Takada started creating distance to fire off his strikes. There was a good tease at the end with Takada catching one of Maeda's kicks, threatening to reverse it into a takedown and submission. Maeda manages to corral Takada, though, and sets him up for a rolling armbar. The crowd audibly deflated at the end because it seemed like they were caught by surprise by how short this was. Not for everyone, but I quite enjoyed how different this was. ****1/4
Masakatsu Funaki vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara
This was pretty awesome. Fujiwara looked very sharp on the mat, going toe-to-toe with Funaki in terms of grappling. Both wrestlers were very creative and smooth on this front. I don't want to say this is the best I've seen Fujiwara look in more modern shoot-style grappling, but it is pretty close. Funaki seemed to be taking it easy with Fujiwara at times, not really exerting himself, knowing it wouldn't take much to wear down Fujiwara, who can't keep up with him, even when the latter is going at 50-60%. Funaki also has the edge in striking, and despite Fujiwara's best efforts to play the defensive game, Funaki is too quick. Funaki also has a great sense of timing his strikes and going for Fujiwara's weak spots, such as his legs. There is also an awareness by Funaki to avoid getting drawn into corners with Fujiwara. All of this results in Funaki slowly taking control of the match, and Fujiwara becoming more exhausted as a result. He can't do much. It's like watching an older soccer/football team set up to play a deep block against a much younger, quicker, and more explosive team that knows all the former's weak points. This resulted in a very compelling sporting narrative. The upset is inevitable; it's only a matter of how long Fujiwara can hold before he breaks. Excellent match. ****1/2
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