Control21

I didn't list any Japan/Mexico workers as they would not be eligible to be drafted

Here's the list of 1991 rookies I was able to verify using https://prowrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Category:1991_debuts and https://ainsworthsports.com/pro_wrestling_athlete_rankings_by_rookie_year_1991.htm. Like last time, I cross-checked this list with Wikipedia, Cagematch, Wrestling Data, and various other biographical sources. In some cases, like the Dudleys, their biographies are insistent on their careers starting in 1991, although sources like Cagematch don't list their matches from that year. I assume they got their start in very small local promotions and records of those matches were hard to track down. I'm sure I missed a few, so feel free to add names once you can verify that they are eligible. Ace Steel Douglas “Adam Flash” Becker Alex Wright Bart Gunn Bubba Ray Dudley Buck Quartermain Chad Silvenski Chaz Warrington Chris Michaels Chubby Dudley Colin McKay D-Von Dudley Frank Andersson Glenn “Disco Inferno” Gilbertti Gregory “The Hurricane” Helms James “Nunzio” Maritato Jeff “Metal Maniac” Miller Jeff Farmer Jim Steele John “Horace the Psycopath” Devine John Saxon Kelly Wolfe Mark “Van Hammer” Hildreth Michael Manna Michael Maverick Michael Modest Pat “Simon Diamond” Kenney Randy “Swoll” Thornton Rick Michaels Robert “Mo” Horne Robert Thompson Rock Stevens Ross Greenberg Scott Ashworth Sean “Val Venis” Morley Steve “Navajo Warrior” Islas Steve Bradley

I don't do any grappling myself or anything (although I hope to change that soon). I just try to recall things I've seen in shoot-style, MMA, or competitive sports like Judo.

I've been having this issue for a while too.

UWF Newborn – “UWF ’90 2nd” March 28th, 1990 Osaka, Japan Osaka-jō Hall Attendance: 16,000 (sold out) Broadcast: WOWOW (live) The UWF theme opens up the live broadcast on WOWOW. The commentators are introduced for the evening, and they break down the lineup for tonight. Finally, the lights dim and Nobuyuki Furuta announces the show's opening. The wrestlers march out to the UWF theme, and as expected, Sayama, Maeda, Fujiwara, Fujinami, and Ogawa all get pretty heavy cheers. Maeda, being the hometown favorite, gets the loudest. Volk Han is also notably becoming more and more of a fan favorite. Sayama, Backlund, Fujinami, and Maeda give the opening remarks. Sayama and Backlund promise a great main event and predict their own victory. Yusuke Fuke vs Manabu Yamada Fuke and Yamada made sure to put on a good opener, and both wrestlers displayed improving technical qualities in a hard-fought and energetic match. Yamada seemed to gain the upper hand at first, catching Fuke with several quick takedowns that opened up opportunities for submission attempts. Fuke’s strategy of quickly going for the ropes to break Yamada’s press paid off, and Fuke grew into the match as Yamada continued to exhaust a good amount of energy to build up an early lead on points. Fuke found ways to counter Yamada’s quick leg takedowns and started to show his opponent that his grappling abilities were just as dangerous. Fuke wasn’t as explosive as Yamada was, but his ability to pinpoint openings gave Yamada a lot of trouble, and eventually, Fuke was able to crawl back into the match with Yamada maintaining a 2-1 lead. Yamada opted to display his striking skills, and this created a new dimension in the match where Fuke wasn’t prepared at first. Yamada caught Fuke with a sharp spinning backfist, which earned him a knockdown and a 3-1 lead. Fuke remained undeterred and found a way to remain in the match despite Yamada regaining the advantage. A breakthrough eventually came when Fuke caught one of Yamada’s high kicks and turned it into a single-leg Boston crab in the center of the ring. Yamada attempted to reach the ropes, but Fuke did well to keep his opponent away by dragging him back towards the middle. Yamada had no choice but to tap. Fuke defeats Yamada via submission (single-leg Boston crab), 10:11 Naoyuki Taira vs Masahito Kakihara After an impressive start to his career in Sayama’a Shooto gym, Naoyuki Taira has earned a lot of plaudits within the UWF’s dojo system. The young, dynamic grappler has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. On the other hand, Kakihara has earned himself similar rave reviews as a bit of a young prodigy. As expected, the two gave the fans in Osaka-jo Hall their money’s worth early with an excellent match that displayed the strengths of both wrestlers. The fireworks-worthy start saw both slugging at each other with a variety of strikes, and both earned themselves a knockdown in the opening few minutes. Taira further demonstrated his unique skillset by taking down Kakihara with an impressive flying armbar that popped the Osaka crowd, and Kakihara was frustrated by Taira’s quickness with such a maneuver. On the ground, Taira had the advantage with Kakihara not being able to keep up with Taira’s quick transitions. Kakihara wanted this match fought on their feet, and he did everything possible to get it back to that playing field. Kakihara’s quick hands gave him the advantage here, but Taira’s quick proved to be equal trouble in measure. The two pushed each other to the 15:00 time limit, and the crowd was very appreciative of the effort and energy both competitors put into the match. 15:00 draw Yoji Anjo vs Naoki Sano Naoki Sano has had a bumpy road in his UWF career so far, but he was looking to secure a vital win tonight against a tough and scrappy opponent. Anjo has had a bumpy road as well, but he has also had more luck than Sano so far. In any case, Anjo was up to the challenge tonight. Sano was agile on his feet and aimed to get the steady Anjo off-balance before going for a takedown, but Anjo adjusted to Sano’s gameplan and entered into a bit of a methodical grappling-based match with Sano. Sano focused on getting Anjo with a double wristlock while Anjo seemed to prefer going for Sano’s legs, particularly with a heel hook or kneebar. Neither seemed to find the upper hand, with both trading a few rope breaks to even the match at 1-1. Anjo attempted to mix things up with some strikes and was partially successful as he drew Sano into an exchange that led to a knockdown for Anjo, giving him a 2-1 lead. Sano responded by countering with a German suplex and started to focus on keeping Anjo grounded a bit more. Sano sensed that he had the advantage here, and this eventually was proven true. Anjo and Sano settled into a patient contest on the mat, and Sano eventually found an opening and secured a double wristlock from side control. Anjo struggled to break loose but eventually tapped out, giving Sano the hard-earned victory. Sano defeats Anjo via submission (double wristlock), 12:19 Masakatsu Funaki vs Wayne Shamrock These two have become quite familiar with each other over the past few years, having crossed paths several times. Funaki has become the leading young star of UWF, and Wayne Shamrock has been steadily working his way up as someone who poses a legitimate threat to anyone with his growing skillset in catch wrestling and muscular strength. Right from the opening bell, Shamrock took it to Funaki and exerted himself against his opponent. Funaki found himself constantly pressed by Shamrock, who aimed to close the gap as often as he could and utilize his impressive takedown and suplex abilities. Funaki’s defense was pretty solid, and he avoided the worst. Shamrock did manage to take Funaki to the mat with a leg trip and the two had a bit of a mat contest in the opening few minutes. Both were pretty evenly matched and the back-and-forth on rope breaks sort of served as proof positive. Funaki’s striking skills gave Shamrock a bit of trouble when they were on their feet, but Shamrock continued to press his opponent, utilizing his strategy to exercise his advantage in strength. Funaki’s defense was tough to track, but Shamrock’s belly-to-belly suplex was enough to get Funaki back to the mat. Shamrock had the advantage this time, constantly jockeying for position and even surprising Funaki at times with his speed on the mat. Shamrock got another rope break from Funaki after a heel hook attempt, and the match resumed back on their feet, with Shamrock leading 2-1 on points. Funaki was able to score a knockdown after a palm strike combo to tie things up at 2-2. Shamrock beat the ten count and responded quite well. Shamrock delivered a combination of German suplexes on Funaki, dazing his opponent. With the opening, Shamrock opted for a third and bridging German suplex for the pinfall attempt. 1…2….3!!!! Shamrock scored the huge win and he celebrated accordingly. Shamrock defeats Funaki via pinfall, 15:27 Atsushi Onita vs Naoya Ogawa The “young punks” of UWF were bound to meet eventually, and this match certainly had quite a bit of buzz heading into it. Ogawa’s pedigree as a Judo prodigy is hard to ignore, but Onita’s ability to reinvent himself as a Luta Livre specialist over the past few years is also quite noteworthy. The fans were the loudest they had been all evening once the opening bell sounded, and Onita landed a few stiff palm strikes on Ogawa to open the match. Ogawa was forced to recalibrate quickly, with Onita attempting to catch his opponent by surprise. Ogawa attempted to close the distance, but Onita caught him with a stiff kick to his abdomen. Ogawa keeled over, giving Onita an opening to grapple with his opponent for a takedown attempt. After a brief struggle, Onita took Ogawa down with a single-leg takedown and quickly established a superior position over Ogawa. Ogawa seemed overwhelmed, even a bit nervous. Onita quickly got his first rope break of the match after a kneebar attempt. Ogawa eventually settled into the match and started to give Onita more trouble with a defensive approach. Ogawa’s ability to counter on his feet allowed him to score a few Judo throws on Onita before attempting several submission holds. Both wrestlers secured a point after another scramble on the mat, and Ogawa seemed a bit more dangerous now. Onita didn’t change his strategy though, and kept mixing things up with strikes and takedown attempts to throw Ogawa off his game. This seemed to be more successful as the match matured, with Onita landing more strikes and softening up his budding rival in the process. Ogawa had been impressive in UWF thus far, but tonight he found his neutralizer in Onita, who had a great strategy. Ogawa’s ability to defend and launch strikes was questionable outside of his ability to catch and reverse one into a throw. Onita found an advantage and continued to follow up on it. In the end, a series of palm strikes and kicks was enough to get Ogawa down. Onita immediately jumped on his opponent and finished him off with a knee scissors for the submission victory. Ogawa was very frustrated and stormed off as Onita celebrated his win. Onita defeats Ogawa via submission (knee scissors), 13:34 Tatsumi Fujinami vs Joe Malenko After his huge win over Akira Maeda in January, Fujinami was looking to keep up the momentum. Joe Malenko would be a tough challenge due to his technical ability and similar skillset to Fujinami. Both being students of Karl Gotch, they were quite familiar with each other. The familiarity proved key to the match as they both engaged in a methodical affair, with Fujinami relying on some clever tricks and entry techniques to try and catch Malenko by surprise, who relied on a more patient and conservative approach. Rope breaks were few and far between at first in a mostly grappling-based contest. The fans were treated to a scientific display of wrestling though, and they enjoyed the clash in approaches. Malenko finally scored a breakthrough when he captured Fujinami with a headlock takedown, turning it into an armbar. Fujinami felt trapped and had to fight for the ropes to escape Malenko’s grasp. Fujinami found more luck in the next phase of the match and found ways to predict Malenko’s movements. Malenko settled into a more defensive stance, which allowed Fujinami to build up some momentum. Malenko attempted to reverse a double wristlock attempt from Fujinami, but Fujinami found a way to grab Malenko’s leg for a takedown and turned the scramble into a kneebar attempt, which forced Malenko to the ropes for the first time. After another nice exchange from both on the mat, Fujinami scored the first point of the match by forcing Malenko to the ropes again. The American was finding himself in a bit of a hole, but he managed to climb his way back into the match after catching Fujinami with a side suplex, and then going for a cross-armbreaker attempt. The match remained 1-1 on points for another good while before Fujinami caught Malenko with a surprise pinning combination on the mat. Malenko’s shoulders were held down long enough for Fujinami to secure the victory. Fujinami defeats Malenko via pinfall, 17:02 Akira Maeda vs Andrei Kopylov Coming off his loss against Tatsumi Fujinami, Akira Maeda was looking to get hot again. Andrei Kopylov was a formidable opponent. A SAMBO heavyweight, Kopylov lacked Volk Han’s flash but had the same ability to pull holds from out of nowhere. Maeda had faced Volk Han twice already and was familiar with how the SAMBO specialists approached their bouts in UWF. Regardless, Kopylov proved to be a tough opponent out of the gate as he neutralized Maeda’s grappling and gave him a ton of trouble with a variety of takedowns, and even a few creative suplex throws mixed in. Maeda, being the hometown favorite, had the crowd behind him early and they were of course quite thunderous in offering motivation. Kopylov continued to go to work on his opponent and got a rope break from Maeda fairly early on in the match after catching Maeda by surprise with a heel hook attempt. Maeda had to re-adjust his gameplan and attempt to keep Kopylov at more of a distance with his striking skills. Kopylov wasn’t as strong as Maeda in this regard, but he did offer some powerful kicks and body strikes designed to throw his opponents off-balance. Maeda gained some momentum as Kopylov kept taking some hits to his legs and abdomen from Maeda’s kicks. Kopylov attempted to close the distance but Maeda was more prepared this time and managed to wrestle Kopylov to the mat and gain a dominant position on his opponent. Kopylov attempted to work from the bottom but didn’t find much success against Maeda, who used his size to his advantage. Both found themselves back on their feet again, and Maeda scored the first point of the match with a high kick to Kopylov’s head. Kopylov responded quickly to the ten count but got a taste of what made Maeda dangerous. Maeda got Kopylov to the mat again and worked for a cross-armbreaker attempt near the ropes, but a clean break was eventually forced after they got too close to the ropes. Kopylov settled into the bout a bit more, and he found success in blocking Maeda’s kicks and turning them into takedown opportunities, including a beautiful double-leg. The next few minutes saw Kopylov and Maeda engage in a battle of wits and leglocks, with Kopylov attempting to find the winning combination. Kopylov eventually gained a point back after forcing Maeda to the ropes again, tying the match at 1-1. A similar pattern followed in the next exchange, and eventually Maeda and Kopylov found themselves tied at 2-2 heading into the 15:00 mark. Kopylov continued to pose more of a threat to Maeda on the ground, but Maeda was able to pick his spots with his striking and the Russian Sambist’s momentum slowed. Maeda caught Kopylov with a Capture Suplex down the finishing stretch and quickly locked in a kneebar which forced the Russian to tap. Despite Kopylov’s best efforts, Maeda came away as the victory. Maeda defeats Kopylov via submission (kneebar), 20:05 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Volk Han Styles make fights, or so the saying goes. While this would normally apply to something like a striker vs a grappler, it could easily apply to a match where a catch wrestling demon like Yoshiaki Fujiwara encounters a SAMBO wizard for the first time. Osaka-jo Hall was buzzing for this match. Both wrestlers were well received by the crowd upon making their entrances, and they quickly went to business as soon as the bell sounded. Volk Han baited Fujiwara with a cheeky offer of a handshake, only to quickly turn it into a kami-basami takedown, and the crowd roared immediately as Fujiwara scrambled to get to the ropes to avoid Volk’s early heel hook attempt. Fujiwara had to quickly adjust to Volk Han’s explosiveness, who surprised his opponent again with a standing armbar attempt that was turned into a double wristlock suplex, but Fujiwara was able to defend just in time and prevented the devastating move from being executed. Fujiwara was able to escape the hold and show off his takedown maneuvers by getting the Soviet with a double leg. Fujiwara returned the favor from earlier by trying a heel hook of his own, which forced Volk to the ropes to even things up. As expected, this turned into a grappling contest with Fujiwara using his calculated approach to nullify Volk’s trickery and explosiveness. Regardless, Volk remained very adept at finding angles to attack Fujiwara’s limbs. Fujiwara’s defensive expertise was the key factor though, and his counterwork was enough to get another rope break from the Dagestani to establish a 1-0 lead on points. Back on their feet, Volk nearly caught Fujiwara with a spinning backfist, but Fujiwara managed to grab Volk’s hand out of thin air and turned it into a ripcord headbutt that totally caught the Osaka crowd in awe. Fujiwara displayed that he was capable of creating magic out of thin air as well, and Volk Han was down for a ten count. With a 2-0 lead, Fujiwara appeared to be in the driver’s seat. Volk managed to beat the ten count just in time and had to adjust his gameplan a bit. Instead of trying to catch Fujiwara by surprise, Volk tried to beat Fujiwara at his own game with a more cautious approach and managed to take things to the mat again after catching Fujiwara with an uranage. The Soviet SAMBO wizard managed to get a point back on more familiar territory, forcing a rope break from Fujiwara after he managed to lock in a cross-armbreaker. Fujiwara didn’t waste any time to reassert himself into the match and softened up his opponent with a series of body punches that knocked Volk to the mat again for another ten count. At 3-1, Fujiwara was in the driver’s seat. Volk fought back and managed to get back a point from Fujiwara after a few more minutes of mat-based warfare. Fujiwara caught Volk with a side suplex, followed by a German suplex. This was enough to create an opening for a Fujiwara armbar. Locked near the middle of the ring, the Soviet chose to tap out. It was a great effort from Volk Han, but Fujiwara was just a little better. Fujiwara defeats Volk Han via submission (Fujiwara armbar), 16:22 Satoru Sayama vs Bob Backlund The big main event for the evening finally arrived, and the Osaka crowd was the loudest they had been all evening, perhaps besides Maeda’s entrance earlier. Satoru Sayama received a hero’s welcome in any case, and the Undisputed World Champion proudly wore his belt as he made his entrance into the arena. Sayama seemed to be in the best shape of his UWF career and walked with an aura of confidence. Bob Backlund walked in with a similar display of confidence, but perhaps this was out of necessity as he knew the challenge that was laid before him. Billy Robinson entered the ring and held up the title for the crowd, with both men in their respective corners awaiting the opening bell. That came soon after the in-ring introductions and Masami Soranaka doing his check on both men to see if they were ready. Sayama opened the proceedings by delivering a series of kicks to Backlund, forcing the American to go on the back foot. The reigning champion dictated the match in the opening few minutes, and it seemed like Backlund could not do anything to close the distance. While Backlund appeared to have worked on his striking game a bit, offering up a few low kicks of his own, he was clearly not at the level Sayama was in this regard. Sayama continued to press the issue until he managed to score an early knockdown on Backlund after a series of kicks to his thigh and abdomen. Backlund beat the ten count quickly and immediately went for a sweeping takedown on Sayama to get his opponent to the mat. Sayama’s defense was solid, and Backlund struggled at first, but the Connecticut native finally managed to get his opponent to the mat and he immediately established side control as he attempted to work a double wristlock. Sayama was tricky to deal with on the mat and didn’t give up anything easy. His counterwork frustrated Backlund, but the American finally secured a cross-armbreaker attempt, which gave Sayama enough to think about going for a rope break. The match continued to carry a similar theme, with Sayama controlling the match with his striking, which forced Backlund to go for takedown attempts and suplexes more often. Backlund was successful to a degree as he used his improved quickness and natural strength to catch his opponent with well-timed attempts, but Sayama was no slouch on the mat. Sayama was quicker and seemed to have a sense of when and how to counter certain grappling techniques from Backlund. Backlund worked hard though, and managed to stay in the match with pure grit. After a double underhook suplex on his opponent, Backlund managed to score a knockdown on Sayama, which took the crowd by surprise a bit. The match now stood 2-2 on points, and Sayama didn’t waste any time in going back to work. The champion returned the favor with a high-angle German suplex, which appeared to stun Backlund. Sayama enjoyed a brief reprieve while Backlund had to beat another ten count. Fighting through more strikes again, Backlund wrestled Sayama back to the mat with a waistlock takedown. Sayama reversed Backlund’s attempt to work for a double wristlock and managed to secure a rear-naked choke, which forced Backlund to reach for the ropes with his legs. Back on their feet, Backlund charged at Sayama as soon as he could and cornered him into the turnbuckle as he unleashed a series of body punches as if he were a professional boxer. Sayama answered back with a few sharp kicks, but Backlund got the better of Sayama again and did enough to secure another knockdown. Sayama appeared to be a bit gassed, with Backlund’s punches perhaps taking a lot out of him. With the match tied 3-3 on points, the crowd was captivated by the hard-fought match. The 20:00 mark had passed, and there was a palpable sense of urgency. The score of 3-3 eventually turned into a score of 4-4 after both men exchanged more rope breaks on the mat, perhaps trying to buy time and conserve energy with a more cautious approach. After Backlund caught Sayama with a heel hook after a high kick attempt, Sayama went for the ropes quickly to get back on his feet and launch even more strikes. Backlund, surely battered and bruised by now, worked through another series of kicks from Sayama and closed the distance again. This time, Backlund started to work for an Olympic slam with the time limit approaching, but Sayama caught him by surprise with a flying triangle. As Nobuyuki Furuta announced that one more minute was remaining, Backlund was caught in no man’s land by Sayama’s triangle choke. He was refusing to tap. Perhaps trying to secure a draw and a more inconclusive result, Backlund remained reluctant as the crowd was deafening. Time was ticking. 30 seconds left! Backlund was starting to fade, and the Soranaka had just enough time to check on Backlund. He was out cold. Soranaka called for the bell and Sayama celebrated an epic victory. Sayama defeats Backlund via TKO, 29:47 After the great main event, Backlund slowly recovers from being put to sleep. At first, he appears quite angry, but anger eventually gives way to admiration and respect for Satoru Sayama as he offers a handshake. Sayama accepts, and they both raise their arms in the air for the crowd. There is even an embrace as well. Backlund leaves the ring to give Sayama his moment. Billy Robinson and Lou Thesz enter the ring to award Sayama his belt and officially validate his second defense as Undisputed World Heavyweight champion. The crowd chants "Say-ama!" as he bows in all four directions. The commentators recap the evening and sign off as Sayama continues to celebrate in the ring. UWF's next show will be on April 27th in Kanegawa, Japan! The show will feature Tatsumi Fujinami vs Nobuhiko Takada and Akira Maeda vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara! Renowned British grappler Dave Taylor will also make his debut. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' "I Won't Back Down" plays as the credits and highlights roll.

Card announcement: UWF Newborn – “UWF ’90 2nd” March 28th, 1990 Osaka, Japan Osaka-jo Hall Yusuke Fuke vs Manabu Yamada Naoyuki Taira vs Masahito Kakihara Yoji Anjo vs Naoki Sano Masakatsu Funaki vs Wayne Shamrock Atsushi Onita vs Naoya Ogawa Tatsumi Fujinami vs Joe Malenko Akira Maeda vs Andrei Kopylov Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Volk Han Undisputed World Heavyweight Title Match: Satoru Sayama(c) vs Bob Backlund

WCW might be the most storyline-rich promotion right now. Lots of interesting angles going on, especially with Sting. Also, the roster is delivering top-to-bottom.

Another good slate of shows from PCW. Malenko vs Blackman stood out in particular. I'm surprised Williams couldn't overcome Ricky Steamboat, but I suppose he is on the top of his game right now

The Road to WrestleMania is heating up! Bad News Brown vs Hiroshi Hase sounded like a great match. Hopefully, those two share some of the spotlight at the big event. I'm also enjoying your use of Vader so far. He feels like a big deal. Speaking of a big deal, Kevin von Erich seems to making a breakthrough in 1990.

Lots of interesting things going on in the USWA. Poor Chris got a hearty "welcome" from Curt Hennig. I like the duel-promotion system you are running. Can be a lot of work, but it's also interesting to see how these two operate under the USWA umbrella. It seems like the fans are getting their money's worth.

It's always money when Hulk Hogan and Stan Hansen square off, and AWA certainly has a high-value match in the making there. David Sammartino vs Jim Neidhart sounded like a tremendous match. David Sammartino scored a huge win there. Been a very fun year for AWA so far.

UWF Newborn – “Free Fight Holland ‘90” February 21st, 1990 Amsterdam, Netherlands Sport Hall South Attendance: 3,900 Broadcast: WOWOW (taped) (watch from 6:33 to 9:35 to get a sense of what the Dutch UWF guys were up to around this time) Kiyoshi Tamura def. Bert Kops Jr via submission, 1R of 3, 3:33 In a match featuring three five-minute rounds, a rapid and quite intense match saw Tamura overwhelm Bert Kops Jr on the mat with impressive submission wrestling skills. Tamura secured the rear-naked choke and got the hooks in, forcing Kops Jr to tap. Willie Peeters def. Naoyuki Taira via KO, 2R of 3, 1:22 Taira put up a spirited performance against the Dutch street fighter, but Peeters displayed some cool-looking takedown attempts and heated strikes to put his opponent away. A sharp kidney punch did the job and Taira was out for the count. Minoru Suzuki def. Marcel Haarmans via pinfall, 11:33 Haarmans was a disciplined wrestler and was able to match Suzuki's grappling skills, but Suzuki had a lot of fire in him and was determined to get the job done. A back-and-forth match eventually went in Suzuki's favor and the UWF prodigy was able to put his opponent away with a bridging German suplex. Masakatsu Funaki def. Tom von Maurik via submission, 9:33 Masakatsu Funaki did not know much about his opponent, who was another Dutch grappler from Dolman's gym in Amsterdam. Regardless, Funaki was able to get the job done. Tom had a bit more muscle than Funaki but was slower on the mat, enabling Funaki and his smooth transition game. Funaki caught Maurik with a heel hook in the middle of the ring to secure the victory. Andy Hug def. Kevin Kastelle via KO, 1R of 3, 0:59 In a total mismatch, Andy Hug dominated Kastelle with a series of furious strikes. Kastelle had no defense, and could not withstand the attack for long. A sharp kick to the head put Kastelle away for good. Duane Koslowski def. Fred Hamaker via pinfall, 10:49 Koslowski found himself against another amateur wrestler. While Hamaker wasn't as decorated as Koslowski and did not have the same pedigree, he put up an honorable fight against the American Greco-Roman wrestler. The two impressed the Dutch crowd with some clever mat wrestling and reversals. Koslowski's quality proved to be the important factor in the end and secured the pinfall after a series of impressive suplex throws. Gerard Gordeau def. Bart Vale via KO, 12:11 Gordeau and Vale put on a decent display of striking, with the art of kickboxing in full display. Vale's conditioning was not as good as Gordeau's and the American kickboxer found himself struggling down the stretch. While neither was good on the mat, both decided to buy some time there. In the end, Gordeau got the well-earned victory with a series of kicks and punches with his gloves. Wily Wilhelm def. Vladimir Berkovich via submission, 7:24 The Dutch Judoka was up against a good opponent in Vladimir Berkovich and the two were quite evenly matched in terms of strength. Both managed to impress the crowd with some huge throws, but Wilhelm's mat game was just a bit better and he managed to submit the Soviet wrestler with a shoulder lock after a harai-goshi. Dick Vrij def. Masashi Aoyagi via TKO, 12:06 The Dutch kicking machine had by far the most cheers of the night from the Dutch fans, and he made sure to put on a very impressive display against Aoyagi's karate skills. The two engaged in a very stiff encounter. Neither held anything back, but Vrij eventually pulled out the win after a series of knockdowns finally took Aoyagi out of the match. Akira Maeda def. Chris Dolman via submission, 15:11 Chris Dolman gave Akira Maeda everything he could handle as he used his strength to give Maeda a ton of trouble on the mat, but Maeda's striking skills and refined submission background earned him the advantage as the match went on. Dolman had the fans behind him and urged him on, but Maeda refused to go down. After a swift Capture Suplex, Maeda locked in an Achilles hold and eventually managed to force Dolman to tap after he refused for a brief moment. (OOC: My bad! I got sidetracked with LSAT studying and thought this show was scheduled for the 26th when it was meant for the 21st. This is a more condensed version of my usual format as I planned a bit of a break for this month, but expect your normal programming to resume next month.)

UWF Newborn never had a title in real life, so it is hard to say. UWFi had Lou Thesz's title (which is the angle I have borrowed) and it headlined every show it was defended on. The thinking here was that while Maeda/Fujinami was a major attraction, there was an equal amount of buzz (for different reasons) around Sayama defending the title against a legit shooter from Brazil. I guess I was trying to convey the uncertainty of a defense against such an unknown in the shadow of a Maeda/Fujinami match.

A huge loss. Gran Hamada was one of the best to do it. A constant innovator and someone who helped pushed pro wrestling forward in a lot of ways. RIP

This match is a masterclass. Not only in pure technique but how to make someone look dominant while keeping the loser relatively strong. Inoki had no answer for Roland Bock, and as the rounds progressed (10 European rounds), this became more clear. Bock dwarfs Inoki in size and sets the tone early on by suplexing Inoki and dominating him on the mat. This rarely happened at the time, although it probably didn't surprise the German crowd too much considering Bock's status in Europe. Inoki has his moments, and this isn't a total squash, but Bock just keeps pressing him and Inoki's exhaustion sets in pretty quickly. Towards the end, they both get pretty feisty and Roland gets rough with Inoki by delivering several headbutts, choking him with the ropes, and suplexing him at will in the 9th and 10th rounds. Inoki survives and goes the distance, but he does not look like the demi-god he was going into this match. On the other hand, Roland looks like a true monster and a force of nature. There's no running of the ropes in this match. It's just a pure fight between two superb wrestlers who begin to hate each other as the match progresses. It's a shame we didn't get more prime Roland footage because he looks tremendous here. A true classic for the books. *****

Randy Savage in Memphis is always a blast. I think you are using him well here. Curt Hennig vs Jerry Lawler was a great main event too, I could picture it very easily.

Goto finally got the monkey off his back. It feels surreal, but he did it. Best NJPW show top to bottom since COVID hit. Three MOTY contenders in Boltin/Takeshita, Tsuji/Kidd, and ZSJ/Goto.

AWA in Milwaukee was a very good show. Hogan and Patera re-igniting their old rivalry was a good way to cap things off. Cactus Jacks is having a great run this year. He looks like he is ready to break through and become one of AWA's primary attractions.

A pair of great main events this week with Eddie vs Regal and Rose vs Steamboat both being clinics

https://www.themat.com/news/2025/february/09/1988-greco-roman-olympian-duane-koslowski-65-has-passed-away Duane was an incredible athlete and wrestler. He had a handful of matches in pro wrestling as well, most notably against Ken Shamrock and Nobuhiko Takada. I don't think he ever had a "bad" match either. RIP.

Great work as always. All of these creative angles are interesting to follow and there's always something that makes Bluegrass one of the most interesting promotions east of the Mississippi.

Heenan with 1,500 friends? The man sure knows how to inflate his numbers. SNME will be a blast. You've set up that event quite nicely.

I'm really enjoying WCW in 1990 so far. I love the idea of a Owen and Davey tag team at this stage. They could be the next great tag team. Liger vs Muta should be awesome. Can't wait for that match

Oh yeah, there are definitely great matches that involve targeting certain limbs over extended periods. Like you said, it has to be done extremely well. Unfortunately, there's a lot of "limb work" today that is pointless and goes nowhere. Nothing is more frustrating than seeing someone like Ospreay forget to sell a leg that just got attacked and somehow summoning the strength to do one of his high-spot moves.