Control21

I'm still not sure what a "top draw" means exactly but he was a consistent headliner for the first UWF, and headlined a fair number of shows for the second UWF as well. Almost 50% of the shows he was on for the second UWF had him in the main event. The main events he was in for NJPW 1986-1988 drew considerably well. That's about 6 years or so right there combined. His PWFG promotion faced obstacles, with half of his roster leaving in 1992 to form Pancrase. The PWFG Tokyo Dome show wasn't a sellout like UWF U-Cosmos was, and that seems to be a knock against him, but they still drew 20,000 or so (40,000 in total was the reported attendance, but most of that was paper). But that shouldn't be a significant knock against him considering he was drawing houses of 10,000+ constantly for UWF 2.0

I wrote an article outlining the case for Fujiwara's candidacy. Hopefully, it changes a few hearts and minds. https://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2023/10/25/won-hof-2023-the-case-for-yoshiaki-fujiwara/ I think the idea that he couldn't draw crowds needs to be put to rest. The data I found clearly says otherwise. If Fujiwara isn't a draw, then I don't know how you define "draw."

Skipping the undercard matches is fine with me. Eager to see how this tournament continues to shape up, although I'm a bit sad to see ZSJ exit early. I wonder if SANADA can make a run?

Fighting Network RINGS - "Mega Battle Tournament 1996: First Round" October 25th, 1996 Aichi Gymnasium Nagoya, Japan Attendance: 5,006 The RINGS theme plays in the arena as Lenne Hardt, a newcomer and talented voice actress/announcer, introduces the Mega Battle Tournament participants as they form up in the arena with a healthy reception for all, but especially for Kiyoshi Tamura and Yoshihisa Yamamoto. Lenne Hardt's unique and charismatic style of announcing quickly becomes apparent. Akira Maeda and Yoshihiro Takayama get a huge reception too, and Akira Maeda speaks to the fans, thanking them for coming. Maeda says his time off from injury has been difficult, but he has been training hard and chose Takayama as his opponent specifically because he believes he is a formidable opponent. Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs Grom Zaza The Georgian grappler with a background in both amateur wrestling and SAMBO presents a tough challenge for Yamamoto, but the RINGS dojo product comes firings back around the 12:00 mark after being down 5-3 on points to score a knockdown on Zaza. Yamamoto manages to grapple with Zaza and secures a victory after locking in his opponent with a triangle armbar Zaza taps and the fans celebrate as Yamamoto advances! Yamamoto defeats Zaza via submission (triangle armbar), 12:42 Sanae Kikuta vs Todor Todorov Todor and Kikuta ensure the fans have an exciting match, as both pull out some slick grappling maneuvers and submission attempts. Todorov roughs up Kikuta a few times with his flashy throwing maneuvers and shoot suplexes. Kikuta holds steady though, and stays in the match that is fairly even throughout. Kikuta finds angles through this great counterwork to trap Todorov in a few submission attempts, and Kikuta has the lead of 4-2 near the 11:00 mark. After Todorov lands a a high-angle belly-to-belly suplex on Kikuta, Kikuta is forced to work from the bottom and manages to sweep Todorov before establishing side control and a keylock which gives him the victory! Todorov is frustrated but shows good sportsmanship by shaking Kikuta’s hand to healthy applause for both competitors. Kikuta defeats Todorov via submission (keylock), 11:35 Kazushi Sakuraba vs Mitsuya Nagai Sakuraba gives Nagai all he can handle, and Nagai tries to maintain control of the match through his striking skills. Sakuraba wants to keep the match on the canvas but is willing to trade blows with Nagai when needed, and shows off some of the striking skills he learned in the UWFI dojo through Muay Thai training. Nagai gets more frustrated with himself as he is unable to find much of an opening, with Sakurba using great defense and quick counterwork. Nagai manages to score a knockdown, which gets the match at 5-2 near the 10:30 mark in Sakuraba’s favor. Nagai attempts to launch a fierce comeback, with the crowd favoring the RINGS dojo product as he shows good fighting spirit. Sakuraba has other ideas, and manages to score a surprise Judo throw followed by a cross armbreaker for the submission victory! Nagai shakes Sakuraba’s hand but walks to the back quickly, looking upset. Sakuraba celebrates in the ring as the crowd shows their appreciation for the newcomer as well. Sakuraba defeats Nagai via submission (cross armbreaker), 11:16 Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs Dick Vrij The Dutch kickboxer opens up an early 4-0 lead as he scores two quick knockdowns on Kohsaka, who has to adjust his gameplan quickly as Vrij looks to establish himself once again as one of the most dangerous strikers in RINGS. Kohsaka settles in and mixes up his great grappling skills with some respectable palm strikes as well. Vrij steadily loses his momentum as Kohsaka manages to get him to the ground a bit more midway through the match. Vrij is a decent grappler and can defend himself when needed, but Kohsaka is too much of a killer on the canvas and he eventually gets back into the match at 4-2, still in favor of Vrij. Vrij turns up the heat a bit and looks for the knockout blow, but begins to get Kohsaka on his backfoot. As Kohsaka looks to be out of sorts and on the verge of being knocked out, Vrij launches a high kick which Kohsaka somehow counters! Kohsaka’s counter comes by the way of a vicious palm strike which sends Vrij into a daze. Kohsaka follows up with a palm strike combo, and Vrij is sent to the canvas! Vrij tries to beat the ten count but stumbles all over. Ryogaku Wada finishes the count and calls for the bell. Kohsaka wins via KO! Kohsaka defeats Vrij via KO, 12:51 Bitsadze Tariel vs Nikolai Zouev A contrast in style as Zouev, the SAMBO-based grappler, has to work his way through the massive Bitsadze Tariel, who is a Kyokushin Karateka. Tariel appears to have the advantage early, as he mixes in well-timed strikes and clinches to dictate the match. The Georgian jumps out to a 2-0 lead after scoring the first knockdown in the match. Zouev gets back up quickly and readjusts his gameplan as he lets the Georgian kick him some more, this time the SAMBO specialist is ready and gets Tariel down the mat after catching one of the kicks for a single-leg takedown. Zouev manages to get Tariel to spend more time on the canvas, where Zouev’s opponent is quite uncomfortable. The match evens up at 2-2 after Zouev forces Tariel to go for the ropes twice. As one would expect, Zouev isn’t particularly flashy with his submission skills like Volk Han is, but he gets the job done through his finesse and ability to find opportunities to lock in a submission. Tariel manages to get some more offense in though, and things are tied at 5-5 in an excitingly even match heading into the 11:00 mark. Zouev is one step ahead of Tariel here, and he manages to turn one of Tariel’s clinch attempts into a leg sweep takedown. Zouev quickly finds a heel hook for the submission victory. Zouev defeats Tariel via submission (heel hook), 11:22 Kiyoshi Tamura vs Mikhail Ilyukhin The first meeting between these two was as exciting as you would expect, with both competitors being well-conditioned and having the ability to combine their athleticism with natural grappling ability. Tamura appeared to be too quick for Ilyukhin at first, but the Russian quickly adapted and found the pace needed to keep up with his opponent. Most of this match occurs on the canvas, and there is a ton of great counterwork. The ebb and flow of this match is back and forth, with Tamrua and Ilyukhin trading periods of dominance on the mat. Tamura’s hyper-realistic transition skills are enough to give him the points when needed. Ilyukhin’s strength and SAMBO skills present some opportunities for him and manages to nearly submit Tamura with a cross-ankle hook, but Tamura manages to get the ropes just in time. Tamura shows off his striking ability towards the end of the match and catches Ilyukhin off-guard with a series of high kicks. Tamura follows up by getting his opponent to the canvas with a tricky feint and quickly locks in a rear-naked choke near the center of the ring. Ilyukhin thinks about trying to fight out of it but chooses to tap once the inevitable becomes clear. Tamura defeats Ilyukhin via submission (rear-naked choke), 14:40 Volk Han vs Masayuki Naruse Volk Han and Masayuki Naruse are familiar with each other, having a series of great bouts earlier in the decade. At this point, Volk Han is widely recognized as the secondary star to Akira Maeda and the most formidable foe in RINGS. Naruse is a lot more experienced, but as he finds out during this match, Volk Han is just too good at this point. The Dagestani SAMBO specialist puts Naruse through another masterclass in submission grappling, and Naruse isn’t able to get much going here. He does appear to put up a fight at one point when he manages to knockdown Volk Han with a nice striking combo, but Han gets back up and sticks to the same gameplan. Even as Naruse escapes a double wristlock attempt from Volk Han, the technical wizard manages to end the match with another amazing submission hold, this time it’s a combination of an ashi-kansetsu leg-lock and a kubi-hishigi neck crank. Han defeats Naruse via submission (leg-lock into neck-crank), 10:24 Semmy Schilt vs Frank Shamrock The two former Pancrase stars square off and deliver a very exciting match that is full of great striking and grappling. Schilt, the 6’11 Dutchman, has tremendous reach and keeps Shamrock busy throughout the match. Shamrock has to be smart and uses brief opportune moments to close the distance. Schilt appears to be in control after knocking down Shamrock twice in the first few minutes. Shamrock establishes himself in the match though, and gets a point on the board after managing to take down Schilt with a nice double-leg takedown, and then finding a kimura from side control. Schilt reaches for the ropes easily, and the referee stands both back up. Schilt still poses a significant threat to Shamrock though, and with a 6-1 lead after scoring another knockdown, Shamrock appears to be in real danger. The American manages to get the Dutch giant to the canvas again, and this time he keeps him on the mat for a longer period. This gives Shamrock the chance to wear down Schilt and snag a katagatame. This hold prevents Schilt from using his reach to go for a rope break, and Schilt appears to pass out instead of tapping. The referee is quick to break the hold as Schilt fades out and gives Shamrock the victory. Shamrock defeats Schilt via submission (katagatame), 9:45 Akira Maeda vs Yoshihiro Takayama Akira Maeda’s long-awaited return from injury is finally here, and his opponent is given the chance to prove himself in a very high-level spot despite not being in the Mega Battle Tournament. Takayama takes the initiative and immediately goes on the offensive. Using a mix of his trademark kicks and knees from the clinch, Takayama throws off his senior opponent very early, and Maeda is forced to contend with the young upstart more than he expected. Despite being in better shape than the last time we saw him, Maeda looks slow and a bit behind Takayama’s movements. Takayama appears to have endless energy as he keeps bringing it to Maeda, delivering sweet combos and nice strikes as he looks for an early knockdown. Maeda manages to get something going with some low kicks followed by fists to Takayama’s abdomen, but Takayama is very determined to win this match! The crowd gets more behind Maeda as he appears to be in danger, and this gives Maeda the second wind needed to get back into the match and assert himself. Takayama probably avoided going to ground with Maeda as he knew Maeda was a lot more experienced here, and he realizes that quickly as Maeda manages to take him down. Maeda is an expert at positioning, and he slows down the tempo as he patiently looks for submission attempts. Maeda gets a shoulder hold near the ropes, which finally forces Takayama to go for the ropes to break it. The next part of the match is quite thrilling as Maeda and Takayama trade knockdowns, with both demonstrating their powerful kicking abilities. While they go down to the mat a few times, this match is mostly a slugfest and Takayama proves to be resilient even as the jam-packed Aichi Gym is fully behind their hero. With the match tied at 6-6 heading into the 15:00 mark, Takayama unleashes everything he has on Maeda. The two continue to go at each other like heavyweight prize fighters, and Takayama manages to pull off the shocking upset as he knocks down Maeda two more times, with the last coming through a series of knees to Maeda’s abdomen. The crowd is in shock as the bell rings and Takayama is declared the winner. Maeda embraces Takayama and the two hug as Takayama has his hand raised by RINGS' president and ace. Takayama defeats Maeda via TKO, 17:09 The crowd is in shock still, but they are still pleased by the outcome and some chants for Takayama can be hard as the two work their back behind the curtains. The RINGS commentary team recap tonight's events and hype up the next show in November for the second round of the Mega Battle Tournament. Akira Maeda gives his comments backstage and says Takayama was too quick for him tonight, and that he has a bright future in RINGS. Maeda says that it will be interesting to see who wins the Mega Battle Tournament and that a lot of people looked strong tonight, including Yamamoto. Maeda suggests that Takayama should face the winner of the Mega Battle Tournament sometime next year. Maeda finishes the interview by saying that he wants another challenge next month, and has an opponent in mind, mentioning Ricardo Morais from Brazil as a possibility. The show closes off with the WOWOW end credits and sign-off.

Card Announcement: Fighting Network RINGS - "Mega Battle Tournament 1996: First Round" October 25th, 1996 Aichi Gymnasium Nagoya, Japan Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs Grom Zaza Sanae Kikuta vs Todor Todorov Kazushi Sakuraba vs Mitsuya Nagai Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs Dick Vrij Bitsadze Tariel vs Nikolai Zouev Kiyoshi Tamura vs Mikhail Ilyukhin Volk Han vs Masayuki Naruse Semmy Schilt vs Frank Shamrock Akira Maeda vs Yoshihiro Takayama

If there's one thing Bob Backlund hates, it's probably being pinned by a small package! Actually, he probably hates more things than that, but you get the picture. Windham beats Owen Hart this time, but I have the feeling he'll be seeing him again down the line with the roles reversed perhaps...

JT Southern seems like a good fit for Music City...fun fact...JT Southern actually wrestled in UWFi for a few matches as he was one of the guys from Tennessee recruited to UWFi by Shinji Sasazaki. Let's just say his time there wasn't memorable. Miss Kentucky continues to make her presence felt. I wonder if this is the start of her "Reign of Terror."

Ron Garvin vs Bob Orton is a great finale to the Starrcade Series. Fright Night looks solid from top to bottom. Looking forward to the Four Corners elimination match. I'm rooting for the Zero Fighters myself.

I personally enjoyed that and picked up on it. It definitely seemed like something an 80s episode of SNME would do sometimes. The 80s were a crazy time I guess...

David Taylor in AWA seems like a perfect fit. Uh oh, Sgt. Slaughter is angry on a mission, look out!

Great to see Little Guido get some shine! I always thought he was underrated. Looking forward to Battle of the Belts

Jim Cornette really adds a lot of flavor to SMW, which already had tons of flavor! Really good stuff all around.

Fall Brawl delivered as expected. It's good to see the Latin Connection with gold around their waists The clash between Tarzan Goto/Abdullah and DiBiase/Williams lived up to the hype. It'll be interesting to see how the Samoan Swat Team does in WCW. The Horsemen face a setback after losing to Sting and Luger, but what other schemes do they have...

Interesting idea. I think one of the big what-ifs for NJPW is if COVID-19 never happened and they had a normal 2020.

That was jam-packed with action! Hogan losing the belt was a bit shocking, but I guess you should never underestimate the Macho Man. The Rockers are red-hot and have the world at their finger tips. Really enjoyed reading this, made me feel like I was in 1988!

The Varsity Club is in WWF! They are going to make some waves, for sure. SNME is looking pretty good, plenty of action top to bottom for that event. Hogan vs Savage is going to be interesting.

1). I've never been a fan of NJPW's tag team division so I don't disagree here. This is one of Gedo's weak points. 2) I think they should go back to simplicity when it comes to the G1, BOSJ, and NJ Cup. The expansion of those tournaments over the years has diminished their quality somewhat. Going back to a 16-man tournament for the NJC and two blocks of 10-12 for the G1 and BOSJ would probably be the best course of action. You have to leave some guys out then, but those tournaments should be the best of the best. 3) I agree here, the KOPW title hasn't added much and it's a cute gimmick that gets old quickly unless you get cool matches out of it like the O-Khan/Shingo match. 4) I like the NEVER Openweight title on paper, but the booking is lacking sometimes. I think NJPW would be better off by bringing back the IC title again, but that will never happen. The US title should probably be retired. 5) HOT seems like an independent unit already, it's only a formality. But in general, I find the House's shtick very tiresome. The same goes for the new "War Dogs" Bullet Club...at this point, the Bullet Club gimmick has run its course. I'm a firm believer in that. It's reaching NWO levels of creative fatigue. New Japan should borrow from Dragon Gate's playbook and disband factions more often...freshen things up once in a while.

A very good show in Calgary. Looking forward to the showdown between Haynes and Windham.

Oh sorry, guess I missed that. But yeah, I'm cool with that too.

Heyyyy...I had a lot of money riding on Kamala! I guess that's why you shouldn't bet on pro wrestling outcomes. Ron Garvin probably deserved that win though. I guess we'll see if he faces Orton or Manny Fernandez, but Orton vs Garvin sounds like a top-tier match-up

Another fantastic episode of NWA. I enjoy reading these and you put a lot of fine detail into this. Lots of good matches on this card, with the main event and Taz vs Chris Benoit standing out.

Jim Cornette is back in SMW! Fireworks are going to in plentiful supply with him around. Can't wait for the Halloween show!

Wasn't Perfectly Straightedge booking WCW or did he step away? It's fine with me too but I was just curious.

The Rockers are on fire! I'm tipping them to beat the Rogeaus next, but let's see if I am right... Can't have a classic 1980s WWF episode without the Ultimate Warrior squashing some poor guy. As always, I really enjoy the format you use and the authenticity you bring to these write-ups.