Control21

Billy Jack gets a big win over Bob Backlund! Nice to see a PCW mainstay get a well-deserved victory, in the main event to boot. Interesting contrast between the Eugene and Portland cards, with a different flavor of sorts in each. The Hashimoto/Footlose vs Albright/Chono/Tenryu match might have been the eye-catcher for the week.

Didn't see that upset coming! I'm sure that will make things a bit more interesting in the A block as Rob Fuller is now only a point behind. Can Kamala keep his momentum going after that? B block has some key matches coming up too. I agree with the others on the Perez/Sawyer feud, definitely interesting to follow.

Great stuff as always. I didn't see the first part with Cody Michaels beating Bill Ash coming! Miss Kentucky continues to make things interesting as Jamie Dundee isn't for turning. You are really finding your groove with this format. Music City keeps me entertained.

Another fun-filled episode of WWF! The British Bulldogs vs The Steiner Brothers sounded great. The Savage/Hogan promos were well done too. Definitely looking forward to seeing what the rest of the month has in-store!

UWF Newborn adds Masashi Aoyagi, Gerard Gordeau, and Naoki Sano. Bringing my roster to 35 for the month.

(A bit of a long "newsletter" style post this week, as I try to cover all bases in UWF and related happenings. Hope you enjoy reading!)

Good to see the RnR Express back in SMW. I enjoyed reading this episode. It will be interesting to see how the tag team tournament shakes out with all the veteran teams. Dutch Mantell has a lot on his wands with Jim Duggan.

Comebacks: Mitsuharu Misawa Charisma: Yoshiaki Fujiwara Being a face: Antonio Inoki Being a heel: El Satanico Brawling: Terry Funk Athleticism: Kiyoshi Tamura On the mic: Nick Bockwinkel Ring IQ: Bret Hart Highest floor: Volk Han Highest ceiling: Kenta Kobashi Big matches: Akira Maeda Bumping: Mick Foley Best punches: El Satanico Best knees: Dick Vrij Best kicks: Kiyoshi Tamura

Honestly, I prefer NJPW shows without AEW guys because the relationship is really one sided

This match really flies under the radar if you ask me. It holds up well with every viewing. Karelin looks pretty solid here I think and the crowd eats it up the whole way. Maeda plays his part of course. It's Aleksandr freakin' Karelin. I'm surprised this match isn't more well known.

The NWA hasn't lost a step at all. The next card looks very interesting.

Can anyone stop Barry Windham? He seems to have an Anaconda grip on the belt. As always, another good series of shows that certainly keep up with the expectations west coast wrestling fans are probably developing by this point.

Reno Riggins is quickly making a name for himself. Another very good show for Music City Wrestling. I'm enjoying seeing how this all organically develops.

I'm loving the Atlas-Nikita buildup. Kerry von Erich in AWA has been very interesting, and War Games should be a blast. Going to be interesting to see how far The Sheik goes in AWA and how many people he defeats before he gets bored.

The Rockers are taking WWF by storm. Really fun events this week. A little bit of something for everyone.

Bill Kazmaier and Yamada/Hiroshi Hase continue to make a good impression. Can anyone stop Kamala or Bob Orton?

UWF Newborn – “Fighting Network Nagoya” September 26th, 1988 Tsuyuhashi Sports Center Nagoya, Japan Attendance: 5,000 (sold out) Before the show starts, the UWF theme plays in the arena and each competitor is introduced individually with loud receptions for the returning Akira Maeda, Nobuhiko Takada, and Yoshiaki Fujiwara, who gets his first main event tonight. Akira Maeda takes the microphone and welcomes the fans, thanking them for their continued support. He says he looks forward to facing Yoji Anjo and being in the ring again. Maeda also talks about his trip to the Soviet Union and promises good things in the future for UWF, noting that Billy Robinson is also in Seoul to help scout talent that will be coming in the near future. Fujiwara speaks afterward and says that he is eager to face Dick Vrij in the main event, putting over the Dutch kickboxer as a dangerous opponent. Erik Paulson vs Yasuto Sekishima In a battle between two of Sayama’s Shooto students, Sekishima got the better of Erik Paulson. A good display of grappling and striking from both, as both were able to demonstrate the modern techniques both learned in Shooto. Erik Paulson’s catch wrestling skills proved dangerous at times, and Sekishima had to have good counterwork to survive. Paulson got an early 1-0 lead through rope breaks, but Sekishima didn’t panic and remained in the match by slowly working for openings and wearing down his opponent through his striking abilities, where he had the advantage. By the 10:00 mark, both wrestlers were tied at 2-2, and Sekishima was able to snag one of Paulson’s legs for a kneebar in the center of the ring for the submission victory. Sekishima defeats Paulson via submission (kneebar), 10:28 Mark Fleming vs Wayne Shamrock The young and up-and-coming Wayne Shamrock meets a formidable opponent in Mark Fleming, who makes his debut in UWF Newborn and already comes in with a reputation with the audience as a prized student of Lou Thesz. Fleming immediately illustrates why this is the case as he clinches with Shamrock right after the opening bell and locks him in for a powerful belly-to-belly suplex. Shamrock has to quickly recover as Fleming immediately drags Shamrock back up to his feet and hits him with another suplex variation, this time a German suplex. The crowd is in awe as Fleming grabs Shamrock’s legs and tries to lock in a full Boston crab. Shamrock scrambles to the ropes before Fleming does any lasting damage, but the message has been sent. Shamrock tries to stake his territory in striking as the two resume the match, but Fleming shows that he is just as dangerous here as well with well-timed palm strikes. Shamrock isn’t able to get anything going in this match as he is outclassed by very well-conditioned Fleming, who takes the lead in the match with a 2-0 advantage after sending Shamrock to the ropes again and hitting another devastating German suplex which forces a ten count on Shamrock. Shamrock gets back up but is eventually submitted by Fleming around the 7:00 mark as the former student of Thesz locks in an armdrag into a shoot STF variant in the center of the ring. Shamrock taps and Yuji Shimada raises Fleming’s arm in victory. A solid applause comes from the crowd as they welcome a well-respected wrestler back to Japan. Despite the hot 2-0 start, Shamrock still has a lot to learn. Fleming defeats Shamrock via submission (STF), 7:34 Chris Dolman vs Shigeo Miyato Dolman, the Dutch judoka and SAMBO champion is a tough outing for Miyato as the UWF native talent seeks to build on his win against Yoji Anjo. Dolman isn’t afraid to grapple with Miyato, as he manages to get his opponent to the canvas early. Dolman uses smart positioning to control Miyato on the mat, and while he may not have the speed some other wrestlers may have, he lures Miyato in and snags limbs when it counts. Miyato struggles with his defense as Dolman continues to apply the pressure, and looks for an opportune ude-garami (arm entanglement lock) when he gets side control. Miyato is near the ropes and escapes without much fuss, but he doesn’t find any relief over the next few minutes as Dolman stays on top of Miyato and gets him back to the canvas. Over the next several minutes, Dolman gets a 2-0 lead through rope breaks. Miyato, determined not to have another one-sided match, comes alive and begins to detect opportunities to apply counterwork on the canvas as Dolman’s submission skills begin to become more dangerous. Miyato manages to get into a leg lock battle with Dolman, where he somehow gets the better of Dolman and gets a heel hook on his opponent. Dolman is quick to grab the ropes and Miyato enjoys his first point as the match is 2-1 through Dolman’s second rope break. Miyato evens the match at 2-2 after he gets a knockdown on Dolman, using a combination of strikes and kicks to get the curly blonde Dutchman down to the canvas. Dolman is quick to get up by the count of five and launches his own comeback as he manages to catch Miyato with a nice judo throw. Dolman immediately applies a kneeling rear-naked choke on Miyato and gets it in tight as Miyato decides to pass out rather than tap. Dolman celebrates his victory as Miyato’s fellow UWF young lions work to wake him back up. Dolman defeats Miyato via submission (rear-naked choke), 11:07 Yorinaga Nakamura vs Kazuo Yamazaki There is a warm reception for both competitors by the fans as they are clearly intrigued by this clash between two of Sayama’s earliest students. Yamazaki and Nakamura test each other out early with measured strikes, using quick low kicks to keep each other moving. In the early part of the match, it looks like Yamazaki is on the front foot as his strikes land a bit more than Nakamura’s, and Nakamura seems to be hesitant to close in on his opponent for now. But as Yamazaki grows into the match, Nakamura starts to find his openings and lands several hard counters with palm strikes, as he changes the momentum of the contest. Nakamura clinches with Yamazaki, and he appears to have the advantage on the canvas as Yamazaki, while a good grappler in his own right, has trouble shaking off his opponent who is very competent when it comes to looking for limbs and locking them in when it counts. Yamazaki is forced to the ropes twice in the following few minutes and Nakamura grabs an early 1-0 lead on points. Yamazaki evens the match back to 1-1 when he lands several hard low kicks to Nakamura’s legs, followed by a pointed kick to Nakamura’s abdomen. Nakamura faces a ten count but gets back up without any drama. The match continues on the canvas, and Yamazaki appears to grow more comfortable as he is able to contend with Nakamura’s quick grappling abilities, something we’ve seen with other Shooto wrestlers so far. Perhaps drawing on the lessons Sayama taught him, Yamazaki goes up 2-1 after sending Nakamura to the ropes after a Kimura lock attempt. The key moment in the match comes around the 15:00 mark when Yamazaki lands a series of high kicks, followed by a Sayama-style roundhouse to the same spot in Nakamura’s abdomen that he hit earlier. The precision of the roundhouse sends Nakamura to the canvas and he is unable to beat the 10 count this time. Nakamura and Yamazaki bow to each other and shake hands as the crowd applauds both. Yamazaki defeats Nakamura via KO, 15:31 (Yamazaki celebrates his victory) Akira Maeda vs Yoji Anjo Yoji Anjo proves to be a feisty opponent for Akira Maeda. Anjo is undeterred by the size of the challenge Maeda presents and comes out swinging against his opponent. To the delight and shock of the crowd, Anjo lands an early knockdown in the opening few minutes. A hard palm strike catches Maeda by surprise and he falls to a knee as Motoyuki Kitazawa, the referee, begins a 10 count. Maeda takes a moment to compose himself, perhaps thinking in his head of how he will punish the young Anjo, and gets back up. Of course, Maeda does punish Anjo as he comes back with some very stiff high kicks. Anjo is immediately on the backfoot as Maeda’s storm of strikes comes fast and furious. It doesn’t take long for Maeda to get a 2-1 lead in the match and regain control by the 5:00 mark. Anjo tries to keep up the pace, but Maeda has very little problem dealing with his opponent as he shakes the ring rust off. Anjo tries to clinch with Maeda, but Maeda illustrates this was a mistake on Anjo’s part by setting him up for a Capture Suplex. The suplex hits cleanly and Anjo deals with the pain as Maeda immediately turns him over for a single-leg Boston crab. Anjo scrambles to the ropes quickly, but within the next five minutes, Maeda establishes a larger lead as he bosses Anjo around the ring. Grappling or striking, Anjo can’t seem to land any points but he keeps trying anyway. With a 4-1 lead, Maeda presses further as Anjo attempts to launch a comeback. Anjo does manage to score another knockdown on Maeda as he hits his superior with a nice palm strike combo. Perhaps we are seeing early flashes of “Mr. 200%” here? In any case, Maeda gets up quickly again and decides to erase any hope Anjo has of doing any more damage by landing several more high kicks, which staggers Anjo. Maeda follows up with a devastating German suplex. Maeda ends the match by locking Anjo in a Kesa-gatame (scarf hold). Anjo tries to break free, but has no choice but to tap as Maeda secures another victory. Maeda defeats Anjo via submission (Kesa-gatame), 13:45 Nobuhiko Takada vs Bart Vale (Bart Vale preparing before the show) Despite his loss in the previous event, Bart Vale had a good showing and presents a formidable challenge to Takada. Vale opens the match with some flashy kicks which catch Takada off-guard a bit, but Vale’s opponent manages to keep his footing. With his superior reach, Vale keeps Takada at length and lands some hits when it counts. Takada decides to keep pressing, slowly closing the distance while showing off his own kicking ability. With Vale appearing to have the upper hand at first, Takada demonstrates his technique as he begins to land more strikes, and they get harder and harder each time. The arena shows their appreciation for the audibly hard kicks being exchanged, and Takada looks quite confident. Over the next few minutes, Takada scores an early knockdown after a low kick connects, which also causes Vale to lose his balance and fall to the canvas. Motoyuki Kitazawa begins a ten count, but Vale responds promptly. Vale scores his own knockdown soon after as he catches Takada with a sharp high kick. Takada has no trouble responding to the ten count as well, and the match continues to prove quite even until Takada gets the match to the canvas. Vale knows this isn’t where he wants to be and tries to break Takada’s grappling, but Takada keeps his opponent to the canvas, along with the advantage. Vale’s weakness on the canvas eventually gives Takada a 3-1 lead on points as Vale spends a bit more time there throughout the next half of the match, and struggles to escape most of Takada’s submission attempts. Around the 14:00 mark, Vale attempts to score a knockdown by launching several high kicks, but Takada catches one of them and holds onto Vale’s leg as he reverses the kick attempt into a single-leg Boston crab. Vale proves resilient at first, but Takada grabs Vale’s other leg and the full Boston crab proves to be too much for Vale, and the position in the center of the ring doesn’t help either. Takada defeats Vale via submission (Boston crab), 14:41 Dick Vrij vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara As the two make their way to the ring, the crowd makes it known that they are firmly behind Fujiwara as the experienced veteran faces off against the Dutch kickboxer. The match starts with Vrij testing his reach against Fujiwara as he delivers a series of low kicks, but Fujiwara isn’t afraid to close the distance as he finds the range needed to land several palm strikes to keep Vrij honest. Fujiwara moves around on the canvas like he relishes the challenge, looking to cause damage to his opponent early. The Dutchman fires back with more kicks and palm strikes, but Fujiwara presses on, looking to grapple with his opponent. The two clinch up for the first time and Fujiwara gets the advantage as he locks in Vrij with a side headlock while bringing him down to the mat. Fujiwara maintains the hold as Vrij scrambles to the nearest rope, using his leg to break the hold. In the early part of the match, this becomes the theme as Fujiwara gets Vrij down to the canvas a few more times and easily outgrapples his opponent. Vrij is forced to the ropes again after Fujiwara tries to lock in a standing Kimura lock. Now behind 1-0, Vrij looks to assert his advantage with his striking and applies a bit more pressure on Fujiwara as the two face off again. Vrij manages to score a knockdown soon after, which Fujiwara gets up from by the count of five. Vrij, feeling the momentum, keeps the kicks coming and Fujiwara goes on the defense where he is very comfortable. Fujiwara blocks several kick attempts and catches one, attempting to bring Vrij down to the canvas again. Vrij blocks the attempt and manages to clinch up with his opponent to get in the position to land several sharp knee strikes to Fujiwara’s abdomen. Fujiwara falls to the canvas again and Vrij now has a 2-1 advantage as Motoyuki Kitazawa calls for another count. Fujiwara has a hint of frustration on his face as he gets back up. As the match enters into the next phase, much of the same theme continues as Fujiwara shows off excellent defense and counterwork, but just seems to be unable to get Vrij where he wants him on the canvas and Vrij escapes his clutches a couple of times without using the ropes. Vrij eventually builds a 4-2 advantage after knocking down Fujiwara two more times with some sharp kicks. At the 17:00 mark, both look gassed, and Fujiwara catches another high kick from Vrij, but Vrij finds the energy to clinch with Fujiwara again and hits him with a combo of knee and palm strikes to score the fifth knockdown. Dick Vrij scores the upset over Fujiwara! Despite the crowd being somewhat disappointed that their favorite lost, they show appreciation for the kickboxer from Holland as he raises his fists in the air. Fujiwara comes over and they both shake hands as Dolman enters the ring to hug his fellow countryman. Vrij defeats Fujiwara via TKO, 17:24 After the match, Vrij celebrates a bit more before Fujiwara acknowledges the fans and returns the appreciation they give him by bowing. Fujiwara returns backstage as the UWF theme plays once again in the arena, sending the fans home happy.

I don't think he would crack my top 200 as of now. A lot of his matches fall flat with me. I think Ospreay sums up some of the issues with the "Fight Forever" style of wrestling that is so dominant in today's industry. A lot of his matches are about getting moves in and letting his opponent get their moves in as well, but there is a serious lack of urgency and struggle.

Fighting Network RINGS - "Maelstrom VII" September 25th, 1996 Nakajima Sports Center Sapporo, Japan Attendance: 4,117 The RINGS theme plays in the Nakajima Sports Center as the wrestlers are introduced one by one as they make their way to the ring. The WOWOW broadcast team of Takayanagi, Kumakubo, and Akira Maeda go over the matches scheduled for tonight's event and they hype up Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs Frank Shamrock, Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura, and Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs Andrei Kopylov in the main event. Scenes of Sakuraba getting ready in the dressing room are shown as they also promote Sakuraba's debut tonight. They also mention Semmy Schilt and Hiromitsu Kanehara, who making their debuts as well. Semmy Schilt vs Wataru Sakata A good debut for Semmy Schilt as the 6’11 Dutchman from Pancrase makes quick work of Wataru Sakata. Sakata does try to put up a fight, but Schilt has too much of a reach and too much power for the young RINGS homegrown talent to overcome. As you would expect, Schilt uses his striking ability somewhat methodically to dispatch Sakata and wins the match via TKO within 8 minutes. Every time Sakata tried getting back up to launch a comeback, Schilt had an answer. Even when Sakata was able to grapple with Schilt, Schilt did not have much issue fending his opponent off. Schilt defeats Sakata via TKO, 7:21 Christopher Haseman vs Masayuki Naruse Haseman, the lone RINGS Australia representative, has become quite a solid wrestler since his debut in 1995. Naruse has become one of his main rivals in the promotion and the two have had solid matches before. This would be no different as they put on a spirited match for the next 9 minutes. Haseman and Naruse spend the first few minutes of the match grappling on the canvas, with Haseman proving very adept at preventing Naruse from using his quickness to gain an advantage. Haseman appears to have the strength to keep Naruse where he wants him at times, and this leads to an early 2-0 advantage for Haseman as Naruse grabs the ropes to prevent an early submission. The match heats up as it continues, with Naruse getting several opportunities to hit Haseman with slick striking combos. Haseman’s defense is good enough at first, but Naruse keeps finding openings. Haseman tries to get Naruse down to the canvas again and even manages to find a cross-armbreaker near the ropes, which Naruse escapes. Naruse and Haseman measure each other up afterward, and Naruse lands a wicked spinning backfist after Haseman appears to relax a bit too much. Haseman tries to beat the count but is unable to, and Yuji Shimada waves for the bell. Naruse defeats Haseman via KO, 9:38 Mitsuya Nagai vs Hiromitsu Kanehara Tonight’s show will be notable for the debut of Kazushi Sakuraba later on, but another talented wrestler from UWFi makes his debut here as Kanehara squares off against a RINGS mainstay in Mitsuya Nagai. The pace is quite strong from the start, with Kanehara eager to show off his skills against Nagai on the canvas. Kanehara gets the early advantage as he gets Nagai to scramble to the ropes early after working in an early cross-armbreaker attempt. Nagai answers back with a knockdown by landing a kicking combo on Kanehara, catching his opponent off-guard. Kanehara doesn’t have much trouble beating the count, and the match continues the pace as it evolves into a sort of grappler vs striker match with Nagai embracing his inner kickboxer more and more. Kanehara does demonstrate why he is considered to be the best grappler in UWFi behind Sakuraba by getting Nagai down to the canvas when needed. Kanehara gets a kani-basami on Nagai and tries to work in a leg lock but Nagai is quick to find the ropes again. Tied at 2-2, the two fight for the advantage again after Yuji Shimada stands both back up. By the 10:00 mark, Kanehara is working with a 4-2 advantage after he gets the better of Nagai again on the mat. Nagai, sensing he needs to win the match with his striking, begins to apply pressure on Kanehara. As Kanehara clinches with Nagai, Nagai gets the advantage and lands several knee strikes to Kanehara’s abdomen. Kanehara tries to stay on his feet but this proves to be a fool’s errand as Nagai eventually knocks him down again. This time, Kanehara doesn’t beat the 10 count. Nagai defeats Kanehara via KO, 11:06 Yoshihiro Takayama vs Dick Vrij Takayama, coming off his win last month against Bitsadze Tariel, is facing a determined Dick Vrij after facing somewhat of an upset at the hands of Mitsuya Nagai. Vrij comes out swinging, keeping the RINGS newcomer busy as he demonstrates why he is the most feared striker in RINGS at the moment. Takayama is caught off guard several times, giving Vrij an early score as Takayama falls to the canvas by the second minute. Takayama quickly brushes himself off though, and the two begin to engage in a very good striking battle. Lots of strong kicking as Takayama shows off his strength against Vrij, and lands a few combos against the Dutchman. Vrij is undeterred though, and as the two exchange knockdown attempts, he grows more dangerous as he works to find the openings Takayama leaves due to his inexperience against the Dutch Terminator. By the 7:00 mark, Vrij leads 6-4 after scoring another knockdown, this time catching Takayama by surprise as he shoots for one high kick, which Takayama blocks and then immediately lands another on the opposite side. Takayama attempts to get the match to the canvas, and the two have their only grappling battle of the match, which Takayama gets the better of after finding Vrij’s back for a rear-naked choke. Vrij quickly goes for the ropes, however. Vrij decides to dispatch Takayama soon after they stand back up, landing his own palm strike combo on the newcomer, before landing a mid-roundhouse kick to Takayama’s abdomen. Takayama goes down again and struggles to stand back up as the referee finishes up the 10 count. Takayama attempts to raise his fists in time, but the referee, Ryogoku Wada, decides he has seen enough anyway. Takayama looks a bit frustrated and disappointed as Vrij has his hands raised in victory. Some in the crowd, firmly behind Takayama, make their displeasure known to Wada. Vrij defeats Takayama via KO, 9:25 Kazushi Sakuraba vs Nikolai Zouev One of the hottest free agents in Japan has finally arrived in RINGS after weeks of speculation. Sakuraba’s talent is already well known, but now he has to prove himself in RINGS. His first opponent is a very talented grappler, Nikolai Zouev, a SAMBO specialist and champion, and a RINGS fan favorite. Sakuraba comes into the arena to a warm reception and is ready to go as they lock up after the bell sounds. Sakuraba immediately shows off his quickness and speed, finding openings left and right as Zouev scrambles to defend himself. Zouev’s experience pays off as he holds off Sakuraba despite his hyper-speed transitions on the canvas. Zouev smartly uses his legs to reverse a cross-armbreaker attempt from Sakuraba, pinning Sakuraba to the canvas as he uses his intelligent counterwork to find Sakuraba’s legs for a double cross heel hook. Sakuraba goes to the ropes early, and the crowd applauds the two as they stand back up. The match continues and mostly remains on the canvas as this proves to be an excellent grappling affair. Zouev and Sakuraba exchange several ropebreaks over the next five minutes before they engage in one of the few striking exchanges of the match, with Sakuraba getting the better of Zouev. Zouev manages to stay on his feet and manages to Sakuraba back to the canvas with an arm drag takedown. They resume their battle on the canvas, and it is a bit of a stalemate as Sakuraba is unable to seriously endanger Zouev with a submission despite his athleticism and quickness. In a way, Zouev’s calmness is key as he continues to react to the moment and uses his great defense to keep himself in the match. The match is tied 5-5 with rope breaks aplenty as it heads into the 13:00 mark. Finally, as Zouev attempts a huzinga roll on Sakuraba, Sakuraba’s persistence in the transition game pays off as he reverses the hold in time and catches Zouev’s legs for a surprise toe hold. The simple yet effective submission is enough to catch Zouev off guard, and the blonde Russian has no choice but to tap as Ryogoku Wada calls for the bell. Sakuraba celebrates his victory in front of an approving crowd and a few chants of “Saku-ra-ba!” break out. Sakuraba defeats Zouev via submission (toe hold), 13:25 Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs Frank Shamrock Tsuyoshi Kohsaka comes out to the arena to The Stone Roses’ “Driving South” and prepares to face one of his toughest opponents yet as the debuting Frank Shamrock follows. Shamrock has earned a great reputation in Pancrase and has become one of the best shootfighters and grapplers in the world in 1996. Kohsaka, despite all of his natural talent, may be unprepared for someone of Shamrock’s caliber. This doesn’t deter Kohsaka though. As the bell rings and Kohsaka and Shamrock measure each other up and trade tentative strikes, Kohsaka looks for an early opportunity and clinches with Shamrock while looking for a double leg takedown. The attempt nearly forces Shamrock through the ropes and out of the ring, and the referee breaks the two up. The two quickly resume the match and Kohsaka holds his own, proving to be a very capable opponent for Shamrock. Shamrock, of course, has a great sense of timing and appears to be in control of the match at times, but Kohsaka is very comfortable despite the opponent he is facing and the two engage in some excellent grappling counterwork on the canvas over the next several minutes without exhausting any rope breaks. A key moment comes at the 11:00 mark when Shamrock blocks a double-leg takedown attempt from Kohsaka and manages to transition into a guillotine choke, giving Kohsaka something to think about while near the ropes. Shamrock appears to lock this one in deep, and Kohsaka quickly goes for a rope break to avoid any further complications. Despite the setback, Kohsaka doesn’t appear to be too bothered and goes back to work with Shamrock as the match resumes. They engage in a bit of a striking battle, exchanging palm strikes before Shamrock backs Kohsaka into a corner and clinches with him as he lands several knee strikes to the abdomen and Kohsaka’s face. Kohsaka holds his own and is granted a reprieve when the referee notices a cut above Kohsaka’s eyebrow. Kohsaka’s cornermen work on the cut briefly before the referee, Ryogoku Wada, has the two resume the match again. Kohsaka keeps up the energy, and even manages to get Shamrock in a dangerous spot as he applies a Tate-shiho-gatame (full mount) on Shamrock, and slowly works in a kata-gatame (shoulder hold). Shamrock appears to be in a bad spot, but as expected, Shamrock works his way out of it with an intelligent sweep. Kohsaka continues to look to get even with Shamrock and grows even more energetic as the ring announcer calls out the 20 and 25-minute mark. As the match nears its conclusion, Kohsaka manages to get Shamrock on the canvas again and works for a last-minute “catch” with an ude-garami (entangled arm-lock). Shamrock remains calm and works from defense for the time limit expiration and the 1-0 advantage. The referee calls for the bell and Shamrock soon celebrates his victory as the expected decision is confirmed by the judges. Shamrock shakes Kohsaka’s hands and shows his appreciation for the challenge Kohsaka posed. The crowd applauds both in what can be described as a bit of a grappling masterclass. Shamrock defeats Kohsaka via decision, 30:00 Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura Tamura has already made his mark in RINGS since his debut in July, beating the likes of Dick Vrij and Maurice Smith. This will be his first encounter with the Russian “Command SAMBO” master from Dagestan. Kiyoshi Tamura and Volk Han both enter to warm receptions from the crowd, with “Flame of Mind” and “Second Rendez-Vous” both blaring from the PA system respectively. As one would expect, the two get off to a quick start. Volk Han almost immediately snags Tamura with a gyaku-ude-garami (entangled armlock) and turns it into a double-wrist-lock suplex. If the move had any effect on Tamura, he doesn’t let it be known as he recovers very quickly to engage with Volk Han on the canvas. Han tries to find a cross-armbreaker, but Tamura is quick to get out of the confines of Volk Han’s limbs and instead goes for his opponent’s legs for a kneebar. Han counters as well, and finally locates the opening needed for the cross-armbreaker. Kiyoshi Tamura scrambles for the ropes with his legs quickly, and Volk Han gets his first point in the first minute. Both competitors continue to deliver in a high-paced match, with both dedicating the majority of the time to the grappling arts on the canvas. After getting an early 2-0 lead, Han finally has to use the ropes to escape a clever knee-bar attempt from Tamura. As the two stand back up, Tamura shows off his patented sharp kicks and palm strikes, which throw Han off-balance. Han maintains his balance though, and clinches with Tamura before finding the positioning needed for a naked strangle choke, but Tamura shows off his great awareness by applying pressure on Han’s lower legs with a hiza-tori-garami (knee-entanglement), using his arms. The crowd is loving this as Tamura is forced to go for another rope escape as Han finds Tamura’s back for another rear-naked choke attempt. By the 7:00 mark, Tamura is facing a 4-1 deficit and reacts by slamming his foot into Han’s abdomen for a thrust kick, which knocks down the Russian and gives Tamura his first knockdown. Han gets up quickly, and the two resume as Tamura continues to throw several calculated strikes to get the advantage. The two resume the grappling battle on the canvas, allowing Tamura to snag Han in a Fujiwara armbar. Han is near the ropes, and senses this, going for another quick escape from Tamura’s clutches. The crowd applauds both competitors and Han comes firing back with some unique-looking strikes that he is known for. He slams his knee into Tamura’s face and Tamura gets knocked down. Tamura beats the 10 count at 8 but Han maintains a 6-4 advantage at the 10:00 mark. The match reaches its climax when Tamura clinches with Han and attempts to lock in a rear-naked choke, but Han shows off his ability to pull submissions out of nowhere by finding one of Tamura’s arms for a double-wrist-lock while locking in Tamura’s legs with his own. Tamura has no choice but to tap! “Second Rendez-Vous” plays in the arena again as Motoyuki Kitazawa raises Volk Han’s arm in victory. Volk Han and Tamura shake hands, and surely this won’t be their last encounter. Han defeats Tamura via submission (double-wrist-lock), 10:41 Andrei Kopylov vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto Despite Yoshihisa Yamamoto’s decisive loss to Ricardo Morais last month, Yamamoto has a chance to redeem himself in a second consecutive main event. Andrei Kopylov, another Russian icon in RINGS, poses another huge test as well. Yamamoto comes out to a supportive crowd, but will it be enough? As Kopylov finds out, Yamamoto is determined to get back on track. The two get started on the canvas, with Yamamoto being quick to look for openings that Kopylov has, hoping to snag a limb for an early submission victory. Kopylov has great defense though, and keeps Yamamoto at bay. Yamamoto keeps the pressure on though, and as the two expand the match to the stand-up, Yamamoto’s striking abilities give the RINGS dojo product a 4-0 advantage heading into the 5:00 mark as he scores two early knockdowns. Kopylov is forced to readjust and gets more determined to keep the match on the canvas, and closes the gap to 4-3 soon enough as Yamamoto finds himself on the back foot in the grappling game. Kopylov is experienced enough to outsmart Yamamoto, especially as Yamamoto is a bit too eager to prove himself again. After exhausting several rope breaks, Yamamoto slows down and prevents any unnecessary mistakes by being smart and more calculated. As Kopylov goes for a double-leg takedown around the 13:00 mark, Yamamoto works to position himself to take control of Kopylov’s back. Kopylov struggles to break free, but Yamamoto’s persistence finally pays off as he locks in a Katahajime and forces the Russian to tap. Yamamoto immediately jumps and celebrates with the crowd as he appears to have erased the nightmare from last month. Motoyuki Kitazawa raises Yamamoto’s arm in victory as Yamamoto looks a lot happier than he was four weeks ago. Yamamoto defeats Kopylov via submission (katahajime), 13:21 Yoshihisa Yamamoto celebrates in the ring a bit more as Andrei Kopylov gives him a hug. After Yamamoto delivers comments backstage, in which he recognizes that he has more work to do to regain his top spot in the promotion, the WOWOW broadcast team recaps tonight's events and they promote the first round of the annual Mega Battle Tournament next month. Akira Maeda says that he will not be in the tournament to allow for new talent to shine, but says he will return to the ring next month to face an unnamed opponent. The bracket is revealed before the WOWWOW broadcast signs off to the ending theme from Apollo 13.

Card Announcement: Fighting Network RINGS - "Maelstrom VII" September 25th, 1996 Nakajima Sports Center Sapporo, Japan Semmy Schilt vs Wataru Sakata Christopher Haseman vs Masayuki Naruse Mitsuya Nagai vs Hiromitsu Kanehara Yoshihiro Takayama vs Dick Vrij Kazushi Sakuraba vs Nikolai Zouev Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs Frank Shamrock Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs Andrei Kopylov

LOS ANGELES TIMES - THE SEOUL GAMES / DAY 4 : TWIN TROUBLE : Koslowski Brothers Are Best Bets for a U.S. Medal in Greco-Roman Wrestling (September 20th, 1988) (A pretty interesting article I found from 1988 that has some relevance for this timeline.)

Yeah, I didn't think this match was a MOTY contender. It was a good match if you like watching two guys crisply get their moves in, but I didn't get any sense of struggle or urgency in this match. A lot of this match felt like both guys were going from spot to spot, and the closing stretch is what you would expect out of an Ospreay match.

A night full of unexpected twists and turns, and the Dibiase/Williams feud with Gary Hart is heating up. Once again, Piper had some moments of gold on this show.

I thoroughly enjoyed both of these shows. You are very good at capturing the uniqueness of these studio-based promotions and all the colorful characters that pass through their doors. The Nashville audience certainly got their money's worth at the Fairgrounds.