Control21

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.

His AJPW and NOAH stuff has aged particularly well I think.

Immediate names that jump out to me are Volk Han, Kiyoshi Tamura, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, and Minoru Suzuki

I know I'm resurrecting an old thread but I've been watching some GCM: Contenders stuff and figured it was worth pointing out. It was a grappling promotion similar to Quintet and it had some really good matches and moments, including a TK/Suzuki vs Uno/Shibuya tag. They didn't have too many shows and were mainly active from about 1999-2002/2003, but lots of high-level stuff.

Volk Han is currently #2 on my list, just behind Bret Hart for me. I consider both of those guys two of the greatest natural performers to ever grace the ring.

I'm continually put off by this guy. He always felt like a slimy character to me. Just a clout chaser and grifter.

Albright will definitely make my Top 100. Pound for pound, one of the best and most exciting gaijin heavyweights during the 1990s along with Steve Williams and Stan Hansen.

Masayuki Naruse While never a major star or a main event player, Naruse was a very skilled wrestler who was very capable of working a solid pro-style or shoot-style match. Naruse came out of Maeda's RINGS dojo and became a key undercard player during the promotion's history, eventually finding his way to become a secondary star and fan favorite. Naruse would win RINGS' Light heavyweight title, although he didn't defend it very often, if at all. Naruse would later find himself as a common participant in Inoki-ism era NJPW during the early 2000s. Someone who could work very hard to put on a good, entertaining, and hard-hitting match. Recommended matches - vs Volk Han 10/25/96 vs Dieusel Berto 9/10/93 vs Wataru Sakata 12/23/97 vs Kiyoshi Tamura 8/28/98 vs Volk Han 5/22/99 w/El Samurai vs Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru 9/23/2002 Mitsuya Nagai A well-traveled shoot-style veteran that has been going strong since the 1990s. Nagai was a product of Maeda's RINGS dojo and became one of the key native mid-carders for RINGS up until he left the promotion in 1997 due to a disagreement with his mentor (Maeda, of course). Nagai was very raw at first, but quickly became a solid pro-wrestler and had some great matches with the likes of Volk Han, Yamamoto, and his dojo partner, Masayuki Naruse. Nagai would later try his hand at kickboxing and would later participate in BattlArts, NJPW, AJPW, NOAH, and GLEAT. He was also a key figure in the early years of post-NOAH split AJPW as an undercard worker. Not the flashiest name, but someone with a lot of longevity. Recommended matches - vs Volk Han 4/24/93 vs Volk Han 12/24/94 vs Nikolai Zouev 12/19/95 vs Yamamoto 3/18/95 vs Naruse 12/16/94 vs Kawada 3/3/2001 vs Kojima 3/24/2002 w/Kakihara vs Shinya Makabe & Yuji Nagata 6/8/2001 w/Dajiro Matsui vs Minoru Tanaka & Masakatsu Funaki 12/30/2021 Dick Vrij A kickboxer built like a bodybuilder, and one from Holland. This would becomome a common theme in Kakutogi in the decade following Dick Vrij's debut in UWF in 1989. Perhaps one of the first true monster heels in shoot-style. Dick Vrij had the look of a crazed man who couldn't work a lick, but was actually very good in the ring and only improved in time in terms of being able to construct a solid shoot-style match. He was a key part of Akira Maeda's RINGS promotion in its early years and provided Maeda with a credible main event rival to help build cards around. Dick Vrij's involvement with Chris Dolman and his dojo would eventually see guys like the Overeem brothers and Gilbert Yvel make their way over to Japan. Perhaps not a heavy contender for most top 100 lists, but certainly name that merits some consideration. Recommended matches - vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara 11/29/89 vs Akira Maeda 5/11/91 vs Akira Maeda 8/1/91 vs Volk Han 8/21/92 vs Volk Han 7/13/93 vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto 7/18/95 vs Masayuki Naruse 11/22/96

1975 - Antonio Inoki (or Jack Brisco, hard choice here), Billy Robinson, Nick Bockwinkel 1985 - Akira Maeda, Nobuhiko Takada, Yoshiaki Fujiwara 1995 - Volk Han, Kiyoshi Tamura, Kazushi Sakuraba 2005 - Kevin Randleman (of HUSTLE fame!), Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, Frank Shamrock (He wrestled in U-STYLE in 2005!) 2015 - Shinsuke Nakamura, KUSHIDA, Katsuyori Shibata 2022 - Yu Iizuka, Daisuke Nakamura, Takuya Nomura

I don't think that's fair. There's no doubt Funaki vs Rutten was a great pro-wrestling style fight (Takayama vs Frye, Sato vs Uno, and Sakuraba vs Newton are also examples of this), but Funaki had some great pro-wrestling matches during his career, including vs Nakano, Maeda, Suzuki (their UWF match was basically a preview of Pancrase), Anjo, and his AJPW matches with Suzuki and Suwama. A lot of his PWFG stuff is underrated too, which I've been meaning to take a closer look at. On Pancrase, it's an interesting topic because there are a few Pancrase matches included in some of the yearbooks here. Pancrase was 95% a shoot, with perhaps a handful of worked matches here and there but it should be considered a shootfighting promotion. With that said, Pancrase should also be considered a branch of the "Long UWF" and an integral part of the evolution of Kakutogi and pro-wrestling as both separate and interconnected entities. Without UWF, there wouldn't be Pancrase, and without Pancrase and UWF, who knows where Japanese MMA ends up by the 2000s. This doesn't even consider the importance of catch wrestling and the influence it had on Puroresu in general. This is why I don't mind when people consider Sakuraba's impact on JMMA when evaluating his career as a pro-wrestler because he always considered himself a pro-wrestler as a fighter and without his journey through the ranks of Takada's dojo, who knows if we even hear of him. If people want to consider Funaki's work in Pancrase, it shouldn't be discouraged as long as it doesn't form the primary foundation of their argument (he was a damn good pro-wrestler too, and is still going strong).

Per the Russian SAMBO federation, Nikolai Zouev passed away on May 21st from "heart issues." Of course, deaths are irrelevant to this project but I figured it was worth noting. Perhaps people will take the time to view some of his work. He will probably not make a ton of lists but he was a solid wrestler and I think some of his stuff is worth checking out anyways, especially his matches against Volk Han and Tamura. There are now a ton of RINGS shows uploaded on Youtube. Rest in peace.

I checked out his matches against Marufuji and Sugiura from 2021. I thought both were really good. Especially against Marufuji in August. He still can deliver if you ask me.

He did some stuff in early 2000s NJPW. He doesn't have the most prolific resume but I remember his match(es) against Nagata being good.

I think Sakuraba was easily one of the best guys in UWFi and Kingdom by the time he came around. I guess that's a more subjective issue but his matches with Tamura and Kanehara were just so good from a technical perspective.

He didn't have many matches but the natural talent skill and had is too much for me to overlook, and it clearly translated to the MMA world. I think that speaks volumes, and he always considered himself a "pro-wrestler" so it's hard to ignore that factor. His matches with Kanehara, Tamura, and Otani are among my favorites. He's still going strong today, and his longevity is hard to overlook now as well.

Ahh, I couldn't find it on Peacock so I suppose it's nice to have it on Youtube.

Has this video been around for a while? First time I've seen it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1bUGi-wGaI

I would say it is definitely worth revisiting. This thread was a great guide for me when going through each year and it made me understand some of the matches a lot better.

Yeah, their roster was tailor-made for it. I think Steve Yohe commented in one of the Observers about how RINGS' was wasting its very talented roster by going for more shoots. Maybe Maeda was under pressure with the dwindling attendance numbers and the rise of PRIDE, but they definitely could have remained a "pro wrestling" promotion. The WOWOW issue was a factor as well, they were slowly cutting back more funding starting around 1999 and Maeda's ally with the company was on the verge of departing or had already left at that point (can't remember). Maeda probably made some stupid decisions way before 1999 as well, such as killing off Yamamoto's push by throwing him against Ricardo Morais right before Tamura came in.

The best of RINGS 1999, which would be their final 8 months or so before they became a full MMA promotion. With 1999 finished, I can truly say RINGS was truly one of the best promotions of all time, and while their early years may seem lean compared to the roster they had in 1996-1999, I think this thread fully illustrated how fun it was. WOWOW's production was also very innovative for the time, and it might be one of the best TV runs for a promotion no one ever talks about. Without further ado... Volk Han vs Hiromitsu Kanehara (1/23/99) Pretty good match overall. Perhaps one of Volk Han's more realistic matches and Kanehara's similar approach to shoot-style makes it all come together. 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 Kiyoshi Tamura vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (1/23/99) For a 9-minute match, this was really good. Kohsaka really shows his quality as a grappler in this match and has Tamura on the backfoot throughout. Tamura has his moments of course, but can't seem to figure out Kohsaka as he has superior counterwork as evidenced by the finish, where he catches Tamura with a beautiful Judo throw and quickly gets him with the juji-gatame. Some nice striking as well where Tamura is able to hurt Kohsaka the most by throwing some wicked knees and palm strikes. This match was also a great example of how to work a realistic match with intricate grappling and realistic matwork and still make it exciting. ****3/4 Valentijn Overeem vs Kiyoshi Tamura (2/21/99) Not to be confused with their 1998 shoot. This was a worked match, and Overeem and Tamura did things pretty stiff here as Tamura gets a tooth knocked out and some wild strikes are thrown. Overeem is very competent here and both have very tight grappling and counterwork with very few holes. Good stuff overall. **** Akira Maeda vs Aleksandr Karelin (2/21/99) This was quite entertaining, and it was a spectacle. Karelin looks solid here and Maeda makes sure to make Karelin look like a star. 10 minutes of great action in a once-in-a-lifetime match. We get a Karelin lift too! **** Hiromitsu Kanehara vs Kiyoshi Tamura (3/22/99) Some may find this match boring due to the highly realistic approach they took, but for a pro wrestling match, this was highly technical with a lot of state-of-art grappling techniques and counterwork that did not look out of place with the rapidly evolving world of MMA at the time. Tamura and Kanehara looked like equals here, and neither really had the advantage until about 14-15 minutes into the match when Kanehara starts to tire and Tamura forces him to use a rope escape several times. Basically, this was worked version of a high-level Pancrase match. Really nice stuff overall. ****1/2 Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto (5/22/99) This was an excellent shoot-style battle between two of RINGS dojo products at the peak of their respective careers. Yamamoto is a vicious striker and mature grappler, and Kohsaka is becoming a modern MMA fighter with a lot of experience across the work-shoot spectrum. Lots of hard strikes exchanged here with very little matwork, but Kohsaka seems to get the best of Yamamoto when he manages to get him on the canvas. Yamamoto's grappling isn't terrible, but seems to prefer his striking power and keeps launching on Kohsaka. Kohsaka fights back with a wicked series of knee strikes and kicks of his own, but Yamamoto manages to outlast another attempt from Kohsaka to get the submission and then knocks Kohsaka out with more hard palm strikes. I thought this would have been a real classic if it went another five minutes, but what we got is still fantastic. ****3/4 Kiyoshi Tamura vs Bitsadze Tariel (5/22/99) Better than their previous encounter. Pretty heated exchanges and Tamura gets Tariel on the canvas a few times. Tamura goes for the KO but realizes he can't knock down the big guy and settles for the submission finish at the end. **** Grom Zaza vs Volk Han (6/24/99) Pretty entertaining shoot-style match that saw both men work a more realistic and methodical style compared to their earlier matches. Very solid counterwork and grappling that wouldn't look out of place in a real fight or a Pancrase match. Zaza looked like he had more energy here, but Volk Han still put on a solid performance and even teased a soccer kick at one point. **** Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto (6/24/99) This was a beautiful match. RINGS' last great masterpiece before they became a full-time MMA promotion. Kiyoshi Tamura and Yoshihisa Yamamoto are intertwined to some degree, as Yoshihisa Yamamoto's ascendency in RINGS came to a screeching halt when Kiyoshi Tamura joined the promotion in 1996 and became the hot new star immediately, surpassing Yamamoto as the company's new ace. The two met in a fateful "worked shoot" match in the 1996 RINGS Mega Battle Tournament where Tamura got the best of Yamamoto. Ever since then, the two had legitimate heat between each other. They would meet again on 9/21/1998 where the two produced another classic that was full of the same tension that defined their relationship. This match wasn't any different. Moments before the bell, Tamura slaps Yamamoto as Yamamoto attempts to shake his hand. From the opening bell, the two immediately go to war on the canvas they try to out scramble each other, with Yamamoto trying to prove that he's much better at Tamura's own game. They have a grappling battle for the first five minutes or so, with each trading favorable positions with some great counterwork and positioning. Neither wants to use a rope break, and we get an extended battle on the canvas where they both utilize the ground and pound that is now allowed in RINGS (to a certain degree, closed fists are only allowed for body shots). We get some stiff punches as a result, which seem pretty effective at weakening holds. As the minutes wear on, they both become more desperate to win the match and start launching vicious palm strikes. Yamamoto in particular appears to be more willing to expend energy trying to KO his chief rival. They both get even on points as they both manage to force each other to use one rope escape with clever submission attempts. From about 11-12 minutes on, this becomes more evident and Tamura appears to be shaken up quite a bit. From about 15 minutes on, we get the best five minutes of stand-up that you might ever see in wrestling, with the crowd fully invested and boiling hot as they exchange more palm strikes that would belong in a heavyweight fight. Yamamoto manages to knock Tamura down at about 18:30 into the match, with 1:30 left in the 20:00 time limit. Tamura appears to be finished but launches back with some beautiful Muay Thai-style strikes that catch Yamamoto off-guard. The score is evened up at around 19:00, and they both spend the last minute looking for the final KO blow. Tamura manages to get Yamamoto down to the canvas one last time and tries for the heel hold but Yamamoto defends himself and time expires for the draw. The Korakuen Hall crowd praises both men and they launch into a "RINGS! RINGS! RINGS! " chant that perhaps marks the last great moment for RINGS as a professional wrestling promotion. This is one of the great wars in wrestling you'll ever see, and one that is very much like Shibata vs Okada or Kawada vs Misawa in its own unique way. Incredible. ****** Hiromitsu Kanehara vs Wataru Sakata (8/19/99) Pretty decent Pancrase-esque shoot-style match that is really trimmed down to the basics. That isn't a bad thing, but this was a pretty methodical match and we didn't get much sense of urgency until the last few minutes. Lots of smart grappling and positioning techniques, however. **** Bonus recommendations - Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs Gilbert Yvel (4/23/99) This was a shoot, but it was pretty damn entertaining and without gloves, it looked more like a Pancrase fight. Yvel pulls out some crazy knee strikes and Kohsaka looks outclassed at times, but Kohsaka is pretty much a modern MMA fighter at this point and holds his own until the referee is forced to stop the fight because Kohsaka gets beaten up pretty badly. Ref stoppages for blood and knee pad checks make things drag on at times. ****1/4 Kiyoshi Tamura vs Frank Shamrock (4/23/99) Maybe one of the best pure grappling fights ever? Maybe not it wasn't a grappling match strictly, but the level of work and skill involved in this fight is incredible. Like Kohsaka vs Yvel, this didn't have gloves and looked like a Pancrase match, and it was similar to the Shamrock vs Kohsaka fight from 1997 in that it looked like a pro wrestling match more than a modern MMA battle. Shamrock nearly has Tamura in the first minute, but Tamura gets the rope escape and we get a pretty even fight afterward with some very smart positioning and counterwork by both. 1999 contender for best shoot fight of the year. *****