Control21

UWF Newborn Title History: TBD

The card for UWF Newborn "Starting Over" at Korakuen Hall on July 11th has been announced. UWF Newborn – “Starting Over” July 11th, 1988 Korakuen Hall Tokyo, Japan Yoji Anjo vs Tatsuo Nakano Nobuhiko Takada vs Shigeo Miyato Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Osamu Kido Akira Maeda vs Kazuo Yamazaki Also announced was the UWF Newborn ruleset. Matches can only be won by submission, knockout, or TKO. Unlike the first UWF iteration, pinfalls will not be used. Wrestlers will have five knockdowns each. During a knockdown, a 10 count will be given for the wrestler to recover and signal they can continue the match. After all five knockdowns are used, the opponent will win via TKO. Rope escapes can be used to "escape" submission holds. After two rope escapes are used, it will be considered a knockdown. Rope escapes can be used after that, but another pair will result in another knockdown, and so on. The time limit for each match will be thirty minutes. Any attempt to force the opponent out of the ring on purpose will result in a disqualification. Closed fits are prohibited. Palm strikes can be used on any part of the body except for the groin, same for kicks. When the opponent is down on the canvas, palm strikes will also be allowed. "Soccer kicks" will be prohibited when the opponent is on the canvas grounded. Headbutts will also be permitted unless the opponent is grounded. If a match goes to the time limit, the wrestler with the most points scored will be declared the winner. In the case both wrestlers are even on points, members of the UWF Newborn committee will decide the winner. Tag team matches will also be recognized under the new UWF Newborn ruleset. Tag team matches will also have a time limit of 30 minutes. Instead of five knockdowns, each wrestler will have three knockdowns that can be deducted. The same rules apply above. Tag team matches will also be held in an elimination format, meaning if one wrestler is submitted, KO'd, or TKO'd, the other wrestler on the same team can continue and win the match by eliminating the other two wrestlers on the opposing team.

The Return of the UWF: Shinji Jin announces the formation of UWF Newborn

UNIVERSAL WRESTLING FEDERATION (JAPAN) “UWF Newborn” Owner: Shinji Jin Promoter: Akira Maeda Honorary Chairman: Lou Thesz Commentators: Sōichi Shibata, Kenichi Takayagi, Sadaharu Tanikawa, Shogo Tanaka Referees: Masami Soranaka, Motoyuki Kitazawa, Yuji Shimada, Ryogaku Wada Ring announcer: Nobuyuki Furuta Trainers/advisors: Karl Gotch, Billy Robinson Location: Tokyo, Japan Historical Background UWF Newborn, established in 1988, was the resurrection of the original Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) in Japan, which was active from 1984-1985. UWF was created by Hisashi Shinma in the wake of a scandal that caused heavy turbulence for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Antonio Inoki used NJPW’s surging profits to offset a risky investment into a biotechnology company in Brazil. Inoki had immediately became a pariah and stepped down as company president, and Shinma, an important figure in NJPW that also spearheaded the Tiger Mask gimmick, was fired. Before the first UWF show, it was presumed that Antonio Inoki would be the leader of the new promotion, joining his friend in launching a venture into the world of professional wrestling. However, TV Asahi grew weary of continuing their relationship with NJPW without Inoki, and Inoki found himself back in power before long. Without Antonio Inoki, UWF’s would-be TV partner in Fuji Television withdrew from its business relationship. Without Antonio Inoki, UWF would launch with several other NJPW wrestlers who decided to take a chance with the new promotion, most notably Akira Maeda, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Nobuhiko Takada, and Satoru Sayama, the original Tiger Mask. UWF would become known for launching the “shoot-style” revolution in Japan. The first few UWF shows were an eclectic mix of traditional pro-style wrestlers, Lucha Libre practitioners, and the former NJPW talent mentioned above that were eager to try something new. Satoru Sayama was the most vocal of the group and saw an opportunity to take the promotion down a more realistic and grounded path. Sayama’s stance led to a clash with Hisashi Shinma and the creator of the Tiger Mask gimmick was soon shown the door. With Sayama’s crew effectively in charge, UWF was quick to fully embrace “shoot-style,” and the promotion featured matches that were considered revolutionary at the time. Gone were Irish whips and other less realistic aspects of wrestling. As the era-defining clash between Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Sayama’s new persona, Super Tiger in December 1984 suggested, the new flavor was realistic submission holds, martial-arts-inspired kicks and strikes, and suplexes that were now devastating outside the confines of traditional pro-wrestling. This is where the phrase (and eventually UWF Newborn’s tagline) “Kick Submission Suplex” derives from. The first UWF would not last long. By 1985, financial problems were becoming apparent. Without a major TV deal, the promotion faced long odds. Even with the growing popularity of “shoot-style” among the hardcore fanbase in Tokyo, a stable future was out of reach. Even within the revolutionary group of Sayama and Maeda, problems were beginning to develop and egos clashed. Akira Maeda personally felt that Satoru Sayama was beginning to exert too much control, and was pushing his ideas over others. Things came to a head in a faithful match in September 1985, where Akira Maeda legitimately injured Sayama with real kicks. Maeda was fired, and Sayama soon left himself after other wrestlers within UWF felt there was no reconciliation. Without Sayama or Maeda, UWF would meet its fate and cease to exist in late 1985. Maeda, Takada, Fujiwara, Yamazaki, and company would have no choice but to return to NJPW. But this would prove to be a boon to them. Maeda had established himself as a legit “tough guy” in the eyes of an increasingly younger, more in-tune wrestling fanbase in Japan. The UWF brand was cemented the night Maeda made things real with Sayama. Antonio Inoki recognized this and quickly established a “war” between UWF’s returning stars and other NJPW talent. This was perhaps the first major example of an “invasion” angle in professional wrestling, one that would be emulated years later with UWFi, an off-shoot of UWF Newborn. Akira Maeda, now the face of UWF and the “shoot-style” revolution, was seemingly set for a moneymaking feud with Antonio Inoki. Unfortunately for Akira Maeda, what was the gift of popularity through the act of shooting also became a curse. Maeda, perhaps feeling the occasional need to prove his credentials, found himself getting into ugly situations. The first occurred in April 1986. During a match with Andre the Giant, Maeda started to become frustrated with his drunk opponent who was not in the mood to sell. Maeda kicked Andre’s legs repeatedly, and Andre soon decided to lie on the canvas to be pinned. Maeda refused to do so, prompting Inoki to come out to ringside and call for the end of the match. This perhaps was the moment that ended any hope of a program between Antonio Inoki and Akira Maeda. Despite this incident, the UWF vs New Japan feud would continue into 1987. The popularity of the UWF stars delivered strong attendance and gate records for NJPW. TV ratings would suffer however, although some attribute this to an unfavorable timeslot while others attribute it to a frustrated casual audience that had become accustomed to the faster-paced style of NJPW over the increasingly realistic approach the company was taking at the time. In November 1987, another faithful incident occurred. During a six-man tag team match, Maeda took matters into his own hands and decided to deliver a shoot kick to the face of Riki Choshu while he was putting Osamu Kido in a Scorpion Deathlock. The kick resulted in a broken orbital bone for Chosu, and Maeda quickly found himself in hot water. Choshu was sidelined for a month, and Maeda was suspended. The company offered Maeda a chance to lift his suspension in exchange for going on an excursion to Mexico to learn Lucha Libre, but Maeda promptly refused this offer. In February 1988, Maeda left New Japan along with several of his UWF allies, including Kazuo Yamazaki, Nobuhiko Takada, Shigeo Miyato, and Yoji Anjo. This is where our story begins. But with a twist.* *Editor’s note – To present an interesting alternate reality, this iteration of UWF Newborn will include the scenario where somehow Akira Maeda and Satoru Sayama were able to make amends. This will be explained later. In reality, Sayama left professional wrestling altogether in 1985 and established an organization called Shooto, which was focused on the art of shoot wrestling and shoot boxing. It was functionally the first organized MMA promotion in the world by 1988 and would later become famous for exciting lightweight grapplers and shoot boxers that defined the early MMA era of the 1990s. But what if Sayama was able to train some of his best students as shoot-style wrestlers instead? What exactly is “shoot-style” wrestling? “Shoot-style” wrestling, as explained above, was a style of professional wrestling in Japan that arose out of the UWF revolution in the mid-1980s. The style was focused on incorporating more realism into matches, and this meant submissions, strikes, and a general structure heavily influenced by catch wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, and other martial arts such as karate (Akira Maeda himself was a karate student). Often confused today to be “fake MMA,” it was meant to be a more distilled version of the strain of professional wrestling that defined “Puroresu.” When Karl Gotch came to Japan in the 1960s, catch wrestling quickly became popular with the viewing audience and he was presented as a credible, realistic foil to the national hero at the time, Rikidozan. Of course, one of Rikidozan’s students was Antonio Inoki. Inoki, also trained by Karl Gotch, adopted the phrase “strong style” for his vision of professional wrestling. This was focused on a credible presentation, incorporating everything he learned from Rikidozan and Karl Gotch to have a sports-focused approach with realistic moves. Inoki would also become famous for doing “mixed fights” with other combat sports practitioners, including Muhammad Ali and Willem Ruska. This is what essentially inspired the UWF crew, who went further in terms of realism and presenting what they considered to be “real wrestling.” To put it simply, “shoot-style” represents what professional wrestling looks like if you take it back to its roots as a contest between catch wrestlers and mixed it with influences from other combat sports. Of course, even in shoot-style, things are still pre-determined, and Maeda’s shoot kicks, however critical they were to the popularity of the style, are not necessarily common occurrences! (More to come tomorrow! Stay tuned!)

Hey all, are you still looking for new writers? I'd be interested in taking part in this project. I have a particular interest in shoot-style and 1988 is right around when UWF Newborn in Japan is taking off, so I would love to cover that promotion if possible! I'm not sure if this only focused on US territories or not but I saw someone write for NJPW earlier in this project. Thanks!

Daisuke Ikeda in RINGS

Good to see your thoughts again KB8. Did you watch the Maeda vs Yamamoto match from January 1996? I thought it was one of Maeda's best matches and it set up the table quite well for RINGS' 1996. It just makes Yamamoto's downfall a lot sadder too.

Victor Zangiev The archetype of the burly strongman from the Soviet bloc. Zangiev would become one of the most recognizable and impactful foreigners from the late 1980s for Puroresu. Even influencing video games such as Street Fighter. Zangiev would make his debut in 1989 for NJPW after Antonio Inoki visited the Soviet Union and negotiated access to two Russian amateur wrestlers (Salman Hashimikov was the other). Zangiev was perhaps the more charismatic of the two and was capable of having good matches. Seemingly a natural, Zangiev became one of the most formidable outsiders in 1989. Zangiev would later work on several UWFi shows. Recommended matches – vs Shinya Hashimoto (4/24/1989) vs Nobuhiko Takada (10/8/1994) w/Vladimir Berkovich vs Naoki Sano & Yoji Anjo (8/18/1994) w/Salman Hashimikov vs Kazuo Yamazaki & Yoji Anjo (6/10/1994) Taiji Ishimori One of the more talented junior heavyweights in wrestling since the mid-2000s. Ishimori has made a name for himself in NOAH and NJPW. He has combined his considerable athleticism with technical skills and a knack for inserting a ton of energy and excitement into his matches. While other wrestlers like KUSHIDA and Hiromu Takahashi may overshadow him, he still has quite a resume and continues to deliver worthwhile matches. His consistency and output warrant at least a conversation. Recommended matches – vs Hiromu Takahashi (6/4/2018) vs Hiromu Takahashi (6/21/2022) w/KENTA vs Kota Ibushi & Naomichi Marufuji (7/15/2007) w/Naomichi Marufuji vs Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki (6/13/2012) vs Dragon Lee (5/3/2019) Hiroyuki Ito Making his debut in Kiyoshi Tamura’s U-Style, Hiroyuki Ito was a talented grappler and shoot-style underdog. He was quite decent and had several worthwhile matches with Kiyoshi Tamura, Kyosuske Sasaki, and Ryuki Ueyama. After U-Style’s closure, Ito would go on to further ply his trade in NJPW, Futen, Battlarts, and Big Mouth Loud. His output remained consistent and is probably worth a closer look. vs Kiyoshi Tamura (8/18/2004) vs Manabu Hara (4/24/2005) vs Yuki Ishikawa (4/19/2006) vs Ryuki Ueyama 10/6/2003) Naoyuki Taira “The Real Baki the Grappler,” Naoyuki Taira was a talented shootboxer that eventually tried his hand at pro-wrestling, and was quite good at it. Taira spent most of his time in BattlArts, but also appeared in RINGS for a handful of shoot matches. Taira distinguished himself with flair and style and often appeared quite competent in terms of building match structure. Perhaps he falls in a Kohsaka-esque category of wrestlers who were just really good with a small body of work. vs Alexander Otsuka (5/11/2000) vs Carl Malenko (7/20/2000) w/Kazunari Murakami vs Yuki Ishikawa & Carl Malenko (9/7/2000)

Dokonjonosuke Mishima Dokon only had a brief run in U-Style, but he delivered in almost all of them. One of the most unique JMMA fighters also proved why he could have been one of the most unique wrestlers in the 2000s if he had continued his career. He’s a bit like Megumi Fujii in the sense that he deserves a nomination based on how unreal he was in a worked format. His matches against Tamura, Manabu Hara, and Kyosuke Sasaki are worth checking out. Recommended matches – vs Kiyoshi Tamura (4/6/2003) vs Manabu Hara (2/4/2004) vs Kyosuke Sasaki (6/29/2003) vs Kiyoshi Tamura (8/7/2004) vs Crafter M (12/7/2004) Wataru Sakata Sakata was a RINGS dojo product and spent most of his career in shoot-style before working Zero-1 and HUSTLE in the 2000s. He wasn’t the flashiest of wrestlers but was a solid hand for the RINGS undercard for several years before becoming a similar roster member for more diverse promotions. He went from facing the likes of Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, Nikolai Zouev, and Kiyoshi Tamura to going face-to-face with CW Anderson, Jun Kasai, Tenryu, and Super Crazy. Certainly a colorful career worth examining. Recommended matches – vs Hiromitsu Kanehara (6/20/1998) vs Kiyoshi Tamura (7/20/1998) vs Masayuki Naruse (12/13/1997) vs Naohiro Hoshikawa (12/15/2002) vs Genichiro Tenryu (3/12/2006) Ryuki Ueyama Ueyama was one of the last UWFi dojo trainees along with Daijiro Matsui. Both would become JMMA-focused guys but Ueyama had some runs in the squared circle as well. After the end of UWFi, Ueyama would try his luck in KINGDOM, RINGS (although most of these matches were probably shoots), U-Style, DDT, HEAT-UP, and even a match in AJPW! As you would expect from someone who was trained in the UWFi dojo, Ueyama was technically proficient and capable of working a sound match. Another guy who I think deserves some examination here. vs Seichi Ikemoto (10/9/2004) vs Hiroyuki Ito (2/15/2003) w/Seichi Ikemoto vs Kiyoshi Tamura & Takaku Fuke (12/7/2004) vs Ryuji Hijikata (4/12/2003) vs Daisuke Nakamura (3/19/2015) w/Kiyoshi Tamura vs Hidehisa Matsuda & Yuki Kotake (6/29/2007) Osamu Kido Karl Gotch’s unheralded student and “son.” Kido was a proficient technician and became a staple in NJPW from its conception all the way into the 1980s and 1990s. Kido was also a key piece in the early years of the UWF revolution, participating in its first iteration. Later in the 2000s, Kido would make a stop in Big Mouth Loud and had a hand in training Shinsuke Nakamura in the NJPW dojo. A very underrated wrestler and one that probably merits his own thread based on a very consistent body of work. Recommended matches - vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (9/6/1985) w/Akira Maeda vs Kengo Kimura & Tatsumi Fujinami (8/5/1986) w/Keith Haward vs Akira Maeda & Pete Roberts (12/5/1984) w/Akira Maeda vs Antonio Inoki & Yoshiaki Fujiwara (12/10/1986) vs Tatsumi Fujinami (2/6/1991)

Masakazu Maeda! I was thinking about him too actually. It's incredible how good he was. Apparently, he felt wrestling wasn't for him and left the business altogether.

Yeah, some of the guys I listed have way more matches than some of the others OP mentioned but still, guys like Kohsaka only have about ~20 matches and I foresee a lot of people using the "but he only has 20 matches" argument by 2026.

Dokonjonosuke Mishima is another name that comes to mind. Only had a few matches in U-Style but he was incredibly good. Might deserve a Megumi Fujii-esque nomination.

Some names that I would have in my top 100: Nikolai Zouev Mikhail Ilyukhin Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (Top 10 for me) Andrei Kopylov Grom Zaza Carl Greco Yoshihisa Yamamoto They probably won't make my top 100, but Bas Rutten and Caol Uno probably deserve a shout too. Uno's match against Kohsaka on the last RINGS show was some really tasty stuff. Frank Shamrock and Daisuke Nakamura had a great match on U-Style's last show. Nakamura has had a few more matches since then. If you throw in Frank Shamrock's shoots against Kohsaka and Tamura from RINGS, his case gets even stronger. I want to say Valentijn Overeem as well, just for his match against Tamura in 1999 that was a work, but very well done. Other names that come to mind: Aleksander Karelin (had a worked match with Maeda on a RINGS show, he carried a presence in that match that made it feel quite special) and Hideo Tokoro (who showed how promising he could have been as a pro-wrestler in the worked grappling tag he had on a RIZIN show with Sakuraba vs Tamura and Wanderlei Silva).

El Desperado A very talented wrestler that has vastly improved his resume over the past four years or so. The "lost" NJPW young lion has become a very versatile wrestler proficient in technical wrestling, Lucha Libre, the modern NJPW "house style," and even deathmatches. He has become an important piece to the NJPW Junior Heavyweight division and is a fan favorite for many. In many ways, he mirrors Hiromu Takahashi to some degree. Desperado is able to convey emotion in his matches to a very palpable degree, a gift that not many wrestlers have. Certainly, someone that could contend for the lower half of a few Top 100 lists. Recommended matches - El Desperado vs Jun Kasai (9/12/2022) El Desperado vs Hiromu Takahashi (12/11/2020) El Desperado vs Francesco Akira (5/21/2023) El Desperado vs Kazuchika Okada (3/2/2022) El Desperado vs Kota Ibushi (3/4/2021) El Desperado vs Titan (5/26/2023) El Desperado vs Dragon Lee (6/3/2018) El Desperado vs Hiromu Takahashi (5/22/2018) El Desperado vs Kota Ibushi (2/11/2014) Kyosuke Mikami vs Hiromu Takahashi (8/24/2010) Hiromu Takahashi One of the best junior heavyweights over the past decade. Hiromu Takahashi is a very gifted wrestler who knows how to work the modern NJPW formula, and by extension, most other modern styles as well. Hiromu Takahashi is also a master of conveying emotion and utilizing psychology in his matches to insert a vivid sense of tension and danger. He has developed memorable rivalries with the likes of KUSHIDA, Dragon Lee, El Desperado, and Taiji Ishimori. While he is still relatively early in his career, I think he has put together a very solid case for one of the best junior heavyweights of all time and could be a contender for some Top 100 lists. Recommended matches - Hiromu Takahashi vs Taiji Ishimori (6/4/2018) Hiromu Takahashi vs Will Ospreay (1/4/2020) Hiromu Takahashi vs Will Ospreay (2/10/2018) Hiromu Takahashi vs Will Ospreay (6/9/2018) Hiromu Takahashi vs KUSHIDA (6/11/2017) Hiromu Takahashi vs KUSHIDA (1/4/2017) Hiromu Takahashi vs Dragon Lee (2/11/2017) Hiromu Takahashi vs Ryu Lee (2/9/2020) Dragon Lee vs Kamaitachi (1/24/2016) Dragon Lee vs Kamaitachi (3/20/2015) Dragon Lee vs Kamaitachi (12/4/2015)

I agree with CheapPop, this was a really interesting match that showed Volk Han's more strategic side. His match with Grom Zaza a few months later is another great example of this. We saw this side of Volk Han in his shoots against Nogueira and Hinkle, so it makes sense we see that here in a more grounded RINGS match. Neither use rope breaks that much as they sort of try to out-grapple each other with some nice wrestling and counterwork. Kanehara appears to be sharper at first, but Volk Han's experience comes into play and he catches Kanehara with one of his trademark SAMBO takedowns for the kneebar finish. A nice taste of Volk Han in a different, more realistic setting. ****1/2

This is a RINGS match that has flown under the radar a bit. I thought this was really good. It was more reflective of the realistic approach RINGS was taking by 1998, in the spirit of Pancrase but there's plenty of excitement here if you enjoy some stiff striking and several spirited grappling exchanges. I never thought of Haseman as a fluid wrestler but he was surprisingly able to do some cool stuff with Sakata. Sakata had some great counterwork that made these grappling exchanges believable and compelling. Both eventually go down their last point thanks to several rope breaks and knockdowns. The last minute had a nice closing stretch with both throwing some pretty stiff bombs. Probably the best match these two had in RINGS. ****1/2

With Nikolai Zouev's passing last year, watching this match is almost a punch in the gut because it is a great reminder of how criminally underrated Zouev was. This was a great match and a match that probably deserves to be on any Tamura compilation. Tamura's quickness and speed is matched really well here by Zouev's more methodical approach, but the Russian has a few tricks up his sleeve as you would expect. ****1/4

I thought this was really good and a reflection of the modern approach RINGS was taking due to the influence of Pancrase and the techniques modern MMA was developing at the time. I don't think they were doing "Fake MMA" though, this is "wrestling" distilled in its purest form from two very good "modern" grapplers both highly trained in the art of catch wrestling. It's not as exciting or epic as Kohsaka vs Tamura from 6/27/1998, but I still very much enjoyed this match. ****1/2

I think this was a work. If I am not mistaken, Meltzer mentioned several times in the Wrestling Observer that RINGS adapted their matches due to the popularity of Pancrase, this included tighter, more realistic matwork like this match and shorter matches on the upper-half of the card. It could have been a worked shoot, but I'm not sure. Either way, I really enjoyed this match when I watched it a while back. I gave it ****1/2 but I'm a sucker for the more realistic RINGS stuff like Tamura vs Kanehara a year later.

Tamura had a great 1998 that goes under the radar. Classics against Ilyukhin, Kohsaka, and Yamamoto and carries a few others like Vrij and Sakata to good matches as well. I would say 1998 was his best year overall but 1999 and 1996 come close.

Misawa probably, but Volk Han has a good case here as well. Had some great matches with Yamamoto, Maeda, and Kopylov.

Volk Han is a strong contender here. Had the epic trilogy with Tamura and Kohsaka, and had a few other solid matches along the way.

Akira Maeda's 1988 run is up there among the best in-year runs ever, IMO.

Akira Maeda is in contention here. Ric Flair probably runs away with it but Maeda had a strong 1989.

It's a shame we don't have more footage of him, but we have shows why he was so highly regarded. My personal belief is that if someone wants to rank him high based on available footage + historical documentation + his lineage of trainees and his influence on the development of the industry in Japan, they should feel comfortable doing so.