Control21

Another year, another ballot Yoshiaki Fujiwara will probably miss for reasons only known to God.

The Starrcade Series has been very interesting so far. Big John Studd is holding his own at the top of the rankings, although some quality wrestlers are not far behind him. Similar situation in the B block with King Kong Bundy leading the charge, but Harley Race and Ron Garvin are right on his heels. Too early to tell where this is heading but it's certain to be great.

AWA is heading into the late part of the year with some good stuff happening. Looking forward to Hogan vs Fujinami! Should be a thriller

MVC are rampaging through PCW. Can anyone stop them? It's going to be interesting to see if anyone can step up to them, but I don't think that will be anytime soon!

Really loved this edition of SNME, some great matches lived up to their potential, especially the main event. I'm sure Martel and Muta delivered in terms of quality despite the dusty finish. Also, really nice to see Andre the Giant with the WWF title again (well, briefly at least)!

UWF Newborn - "U-COSMOS Grand Prix 1989: First Round" September 27th, 1989 Tokyo NK Hall Chiba, Japan Attendance: 7,000 (sold out) Broadcast: WOWOW (live) The UWF theme opens the show and after Nobuyuki Furuta's opening announcement, we get the full parade of wrestlers to a raucous crowd in Tokyo NK Hall. We get a few opening words from both Akira Maeda and Nobuhiko Takada, as well as Vader who is brief but to the point. Vader promises a quick victory and a demonstration of why he is "the one to beat" in this tournament. Lou Thesz, also in attendance tonight, gives some remarks as well and says he is honored to open the inaugural U-COSMOS Grand Prix and poses with his "historical world heavyweight championship," which will of course be the grand prize of the tournament. The WOWOW commentators go over tonight's tournament bracket and lineup, and things get underway soon after with the opening bell. Minoru Suzuki vs Yoji Anjo A very competitive opener between Anjo and Suzuki saw the latter take the initiative from the start, with Suzuki going for a host of takedowns to get Anjo to the canvas, Anjo seemed to be frantic in his defense as Suzuki had a great sense of urgency with his submission offense. Suzuki found openings early, and quickly racked up several points through rope breaks as Anjo seemed to be struggling under the spotlight. The Tokyo crowd got behind Suzuki more as the match went on, which made Anjo’s job even more difficult. Anjo managed to settle into the match to a degree, but Suzuki seemed to be the driver of this match for most of the duration. Anjo shined when he used his quickness to counter some of Suzuki’s proficient grappling, but this was Suzuki’s night. With a 3-2 lead on points going into the final few minutes, Suzuki regained control and finished the match with a double wristlock takedown that ended as a submission, with Anjo tapping out reluctantly. Suzuki defeats Anjo via submission (double wristlock), 11:31 Norman Smiley vs Erik Paulson Norman Smiley found a tougher match than expected with Erik Paulson, who was quite crafty with a variety of strikes and submission attempts that seemed to fluster Smiley at first. Paulson found ways to threaten Smiley seemingly out of the aether, and Smiley had to rely on his defense to weather the storm during the first few minutes of the match. The Gotch-trained wrestler from Northampton eventually made some key adjustments and started to regain control of the match as Paulson found his strikes being better timed by Smiley, who used them to reverse his fortunes to surprise Paulson on the mat with some slick grappling. Smiley also used a more methodical approach to control the tempo, which played into his favor. The match settled at a 2-2 tie on points, with Smiley almost submitting Paulson with an Achilles hold before Paulson got the ropes to break the hold. Paulson attempted to surprise Smiley with a high kick, but Smiley caught it and did a beautiful counter that turned a strike into a crucifix pinfall for the victory. Smiley defeats Paulson via pinfall, 13:49 Dennis Koslowski vs Shigeo Miyato The U.S. Olympian never seemed in danger against Miyato, who at times did challenge his opponent on the mat, but Dennis Koslowski was in full control and out grappled his opponent. Koslowski had a very technical and smooth approach, flustering Miyato with effective freestyle wrestling takedowns and reversals. Miyato’s opponent steadily built up a 3-0 lead on points after Miyato kept going for the ropes to escape Koslowski’s submission attempts. Miyato tried re-establishing himself by going for more of a strike-based approach, but Koslowski held his ground despite being knocked down. After Miyato tried repeating his success, Koslowski stunned Miyato with a powerful Dragon suplex that was turned into a full-nelson for a submission victory. Koslowski defeats Miyato via submission (full-nelson choke), 10:47 Volk Han vs Wayne Shamrock It seemed like the UWF fans in NK Hall were anticipating this match quite a bit based on their reactions to each entrance and the match itself. Perhaps for good reason, as both Volk Han and Wayne Shamrock have proven themselves to be dangerous opponents while making a name for themselves with their abilities. Volk Han seemed to have the upper hand at first, luring Shamrock into situations where he could utilize his joint control techniques to take the offensive. Shamrock attempted to flip his way out of Han’s trademark wrist control, but Volk immediately took him to the mat and got control of Shamrock’s legs for a leg lock attempt. Shamrock rolled his way out for his first rope break, and this continued to be a problem for Shamrock as Volk continued to hunt for ways to catch his opponent by surprise. Shamrock made some adjustments and attempted to overpower Volk with a variety of suplex attempts. The Dagestan grappler found himself being tossed around but eventually found a way to counter one of the attempts into a double-wristlock takedown. While Shamrock was rapidly improving as a wrestler, Volk’s ability to counter and reverse holds became Shamrock’s weak point as he could not match the SAMBO specialist’s timing. At times, the two engaged in brief striking battles and Volk’s unorthodox striking moves sometimes caught his opponent by surprise as well, including a spinning backfist and an axe kick. The latter resulted in a knockdown for Volk as he gained a 2-1 lead on points. Shamrock attempted to use his muscle power to overwhelm Volk again with strong takedowns and another suplex attempt, but Volk caught Shamrock off-guard again with a rolling kneebar that ended as a submission victory. Han defeats Shamrock via submission (rolling kneebar), 13:21 Masakatsu Funaki vs Chris Dolman Funaki has enjoyed a very strong 1989, firmly establishing himself as perhaps the brightest young talent in UWF. While many in the Japanese press were predicting a deep run in the tournament for Funaki, Chris Dolman had other ideas. The Dutch judoka presented a formidable challenge to Funaki, and Dolman pressed the initiative from the opening bell. Dolman used his sizeable frame to smother and slow down Funaki, particularly on the mat. Funaki had to rely on a more strategic approach when it came to his grappling as Dolman controlled the opening few minutes with a cautious approach, often frustrating Funaki with simple but effective submissions as he constantly tried to make Funaki work to get out of his predicament. A forearm choke was eventually enough to cause Funaki to scramble to the ropes for the first rope break, and Dolman seemed pleased with his approach. Funaki continued to struggle as Dolman made life difficult for him, using his size and Judo skills to keep his opponent on the defensive and often leveraged the weight difference to easily get Funaki on the canvas again with a variety of throwing techniques. Dolman established a solid 2-0 lead on points after he continued to press Funaki with a basic but effective submission-based approach. Funaki enjoyed certain stretches of the match where he mixed things up and utilized strikes to catch Dolman by surprise, and a series of low kicks to Dolman’s left knee ended in a knockdown, getting Funaki back into the match at 2-1. But Funaki continued to make the mistake of trying to prove a point on the canvas, and Dolman eventually lured Funaki into a rear-naked choke from which there was no escape. Much to the surprise of a lot of people in the crowd, Dolman was advancing. Dolman defeats Funaki via submission (rear-naked choke), 15:09 Super Vader vs Tatsuo Nakano Vader wanted to prove a point right away, and he did. The spirited Nakano put up a fight, but this was a total mismatch. For every palm strike or low kick Nakano got on Vader, the super heavyweight responded with a devastating body punch of his own. The crowd cheered wildly for Nakano every time he got a hit on Vader, but Vader quickly silenced them with a huge fallaway slam. About three minutes into the match, Nakano started to feel the full force of Vader’s power as he fell victim to a nasty German suplex. Nakano was completely dazed, allowing Vader to finish off a very quick but frantic match with a massive face-first powerbomb, which busted open Nakano’s nose for extra effect. With a near-lifeless Nakano face first on the mat and dripping blood from his nose rapidly, Ryogaku Wada didn’t bother finishing the ten count and immediately called off the match in favor of Vader. Vader defeats Nakano via KO, 4:07 After the match, the bloodied Nakano is escorted out of the arena on a stretcher, and the commentators play up the devastation Vader has left in his wake. Salman Hashimikov vs Dick Vrij In a significant contrast of styles, Hashimikov and Vrij had quite an interesting match. Dick Vrij did everything possible to avoid going to the ground with the accomplished freestyle wrestler, and used rope breaks liberally to escape his grasp every time the Chechen got the Dutchman. The dynamic between the two drew excitement from the crowd, and Vrij found himself down 2-0 quite fast due to his strategy. Hashimikov continued to press Vrij, although Vrij attempted to halt his opponent’s momentum by going for several knee strikes whenever Hashimikov attempted a leg takedown. This resulted in a knockdown in Vrij’s favor, but Hashimikov was quick to get back up. After five minutes, it appeared Hashimikov had the upper hand as he managed to Vrij for a German suplex, followed by a belly-to-belly suplex. Vrij was steadily being worn down, and despite landing more kicks on Hashimikov’s legs, this was Hashimikov’s night and after another German suplex, Vrij went down for another knockdown, taking the match to 3-1 on points. Vrij was resistant to being put away, but his reliance on rope breaks would eventually lead to an exhaustion of all his points, giving Hashimikov the match via TKO. Hashimikov defeats Vrij via TKO, 9:48 Atsushi Onita vs Duane Koslowski Both wrestlers had a methodical approach to this match. Neither was afraid to get down to the mat, and they were quite confident in their abilities. Koslowski seemed to have the edge at first, using his Greco-Roman background to work a variety of upper-body holds whenever Onita managed to get on his feet. Onita would eventually present several challenges for Koslowski though, with his Luta Livre background coming into use. The American was not entirely familiar with Onita’s skill set, but this didn’t deter Koslowski and the two settled into a protracted ground battle on the canvas. The pace was slow, but it wasn’t entirely dry either as the two were capable of creating moments of excitement with their abilities. Onita came up with quick reversals when Koslowski pressed him with a mount, and Koslowski was able to use his Greco-Roman abilities to catch Onita with a surprise throw or suplex. The match settled at 2-2 by the 12:00 mark, with Koslowski getting a knockdown after Onita took his time to get up after a hard belly-to-belly suplex. Onita and Koslowski mixed in strikes here and there, but they preferred to keep this on the ground and the pace started to pick up as both had increasing urgency to advance to the next round. After a brief striking exchange in which Onita created an opening for himself, Onita caught Koslowski with a sweet leg entry that resulted in a knee scissors. Caught in the middle of the ring, Koslowski did his best to escape the hold or ease the pressure, but eventually had no choice but to tap or risk possible injury. Onita defeats Koslowski via submission (knee scissors), 16:02 Akira Maeda & Joe Malenko vs Nobuhiko Takada & Chris Benoit Maeda and Takada were quite familiar with each other. Their partners, Joe Malenko and Chris Benoit respectively, were less so but they immediately found each other worthy opponents as Maeda and Takada both opted for their partners to start the match. Benoit seemed comfortable in this setting and locked up with Malenko as they tested each other slowly but surely. Malenko worked for a double wristlock while Benoit was content with playing defense and going for a leg takedown. The two warmed up the crowd for a great main event as they went back and forth, with neither finding solid momentum. Takada and Maeda soon followed, and they immediately turned up the notch on excitement as they traded a variety of strikes before Maeda took Takada down to the mat. They didn’t waste any movement, but they took their time and a few rope breaks were traded as a result. Whenever Maeda or Takada faced off against their opponent’s partners, they clearly had the upperhand despite Malenko and Benoit making things interesting for them. Benoit and Maeda had an interesting dynamic in particular, and Benoit proved why he was the most highly touted graduate of the Hart Dungeon in recent years. Benoit’s savvy grappling gave Maeda a few fits before the current #1 ranked wrestler in the UWF re-established control after catching Benoit with a Capture Suplex. Takada and Malenko weren’t as explosive, but they showcased highly technical grappling and defensive wrestling in the process. After several minutes of intense tag team action, Takada was eliminated by Maeda after a well-timed high kick allowed Maeda to apply an Achilles hold to submit his foe and eliminate him from the match. Benoit quickly managed to return the favor by catching Malenko in a guillotine choke that also resulted in a tap-out. Benoit and Maeda were the last men standing, and the two managed to take each other to a stalemate for the final few minutes until Maeda caught Benoit with another Capture Suplex. This time, Maeda went for a pin to secure the victory. 1…2…3! Maeda celebrated his victory while Takada regrouped with his partner and patted him on the back for the great effort. Maeda & Malenko defeat Takada & Benoit, 20:04 With a tournament matchup potentially on the horizon soon, Takada and Maeda shake hands, although you could say they were reluctant with the competitive spirit very much a factor for both. Benoit shakes hands with Maeda and Malenko too, and Maeda acknowledges the effort he put in tonight, which the crowd picks up on. Maeda and Malenko soak in the moment a bit more. The WOWOW commentary crew does a recap of tonight's events and analyzes the bracket heading into the next round. They promote next month's show on October 29th in Sendai, which will feature the next round of matches and more! They sign off, and WOWOW's rolling credits follow, set to Queen's "We Are The Champions."

Card Announcement: UWF Newborn - "U-COSMOS Grand Prix 1989: First Round" September 27th, 1989 Tokyo NK Hall Chiba, Japan First Round Matches: Minoru Suzuki vs Yoji Anjo Norman Smiley vs Erik Paulson Dennis Koslowski vs Shigeo Miyato Volk Han vs Wayne Shamrock Masakatsu Funaki vs Chris Dolman Super Vader vs Tatsuo Nakano Salman Hashimikov vs Dick Vrij Atsushi Onita vs Duane Koslowski Special Tag: Akira Maeda & Joe Malenko vs Nobuhiko Takada & Chris Benoit

Very well said. I've had him at #1 for a while and I have found it hard to dislodge him from that spot.

UWF Newborn – “Moscow Martial Arts Festival” August 24th, 1989 Moscow, USSR Luzhniki Stadium Attendance: 70,000 Broadcast: WOWOW (taped) The broadcast on WOWOW opens with a ceremonial lighting of the Olympic torch located in the stadium, with several Soviet and Japanese dignitaries who medaled in previous Olympic events from Judo, Wrestling, and Boxing. In what is described as a "display of peace and friendship," the group gathers to light the torch as one. Orchestral music is heard playing in the stadium as the fans cheer, and then the regular proceedings begin. Nobuyuki Furuta makes the show introduction in the ring, with Japanese translated into Russian for the audience. The parade of wrestlers follows, and of course, the Soviets get the loudest cheers of the late afternoon. Akira Maeda and Shinji Jin give a statement (which is also translated) thanking everyone for coming and for the cooperation of the Soviet government in making this event possible. Aleksandr Karelin is chosen to speak for the home team, and he also thanks the fans for coming and promises a victory over Takada. Some more statements are given by various dignitaries who honor the origins and history of martial arts in both the Soviet Union and Japan. The WOWOW broadcast then briefly plays behind-the-scenes footage of the UWF crew exploring the sights and sounds of Moscow. The commentary crew then break down the matches of the evening before the event gets officially underway. Masakatsu Funaki vs Minoru Suzuki The jam-packed Luzhniki Stadium was treated to an opening bout between two bright talents who are beginning to make a strong push to stake their claim in the UWF hierarchy. Funaki and Suzuki opened things up with a grappling clinic in the first few minutes, wowing the crowd with impressive wrestling and counterwork on the mat. Funaki, in particular, was very sharp as he made things difficult for Suzuki, who had a lot to offer as well. Suzuki attempted to catch Funaki by surprise with a few pinfall attempts, but Funaki was alert and fended his opponent off. Suzuki continued to try and mix things up by trying to outstrike Funaki, and he seemed to have his rival on the backfoot at first as he mixed in various palm strikes and low kicks. Despite Funaki’s attempt at regaining some momentum, Suzuki scored a knockdown to tie the match at 1-1 on points after Funaki established a lead earlier through rope breaks. Suzuki continued to build on his momentum and had Funaki in some dangerous positions on the mat as he was able to find angles to attack Funaki’s legs with a variety of hooking attempts. Funaki weathered the storm though, and eventually found the breakthrough when he caught Suzuki for a huge side suplex that knocked Suzuki right on his neck. Funaki seized the initiative and finished things off with a high-angle Boston crab, which was enough to cause Suzuki to tap out. Funaki gleefully celebrated a huge win in Moscow as a good amount of cheers filled the air. Funaki defeats Suzuki via submission (Boston crab), 12:37 Wayne Shamrock vs Nikolai Zouev Another outstanding display of technical wrestling followed as Nikolai Zouev and Wayne Shamrock illustrated their respective skill sets in SAMBO and catch wrestling. Zouev’s reach made things difficult for Shamrock as Zouev found ways to get his opponent down to the mat and control the tempo in the process. The Soviet crowd provided a second wind for Zouev as well whenever Shamrock tried to reverse his fortunes, but Zouev had a great strategy and kept moving on the canvas while not giving Shamrock any openings either. Zouev scored the first point of the match after sending Shamrock to the ropes twice by the 5:00 mark. Shamrock used the opportunity to get back on his feet again to try and outmuscle Zouev with a show of strength, attempting to set him up for a German suplex. Zouev managed to fend off the attempt and had to defend himself against a furry of strikes from Shamrock, and answered back with a few of his own. Despite Zouev’s position of strength, Shamrock did manage to claw his way back and hit a bridging German suplex for a pinfall attempt, but Zouev managed to kick out just in time. Shamrock continued to press Zouev though, and eventually tied the match back at 1-1 on points after getting a few rope breaks out of Zouev. Zouev answered back with a beautiful rolling kneebar and sent Shamrock to the ropes once again to regain the lead at 2-1. After another striking exchange between the two, Zouev caught one of Shamrock’s kick attempts and kicked his other knee out for a lightning-fast heel hook that forced Shamrock to tap out, delighting the fans in Luzhniki Stadium. Zouev defeats Shamrock via submission (heel hook), 13:18 Volk Han vs Andrei Kopylov Volk Han has had an impressive streak in UWF so far, wowing the Japanese fans with his skilled technique that combines flash with precision. The Dagestani grappler had another opportunity here to add to his win column and get his win back from a formidable Soviet rival. Kopylov, to his credit, has had some impressive wins as well and seemed to have the upper hand over Volk Han at first. Volk wasn’t able to get much going with Kopylov keeping his distance with some strikes and picking his spots to get to the ground with Volk and using a similar strategy that Zouev employed to control the tempo of the grappling. Volk Han was able to break through at times with his counterwork though, and the two built up a 1-1 tie on points several minutes into the match. Kopylov impressed the crowd with some slick throwing techniques, and Volk seemed to be in a pickle as Kopylov managed to score a knockdown a few after with a series of body punches. Just as when Kopylov seemed to be in control after another scramble on the mat led to a rope break from Volk Han, the Dagestani grappler caught Kopylov with a spinning backfist which really impressed the crowd in Luzhniki stadium. Volk regained control of the match and took Kopylov down to the mat with a spinning armbar takedown. Kopylov eventually found himself tangled up with Volk Han, who submitted his opponent with a figure four-esque knee crusher. Han defeats Kopylov via submission (knee crusher), 13:43 Atsushi Onita vs Vladimir Berkovich On paper, Onita appeared to be outclassed against a 6’2 323 lbs Greco-Roman wrestler, but as we have seen, no task seems impossible to Onita who continues to be confident in his abilities. Berkovich immediately tried to use his power to overwhelm Onita with a variety of suplexes, but Onita managed to fight off most of them and only fell victim to one belly-to-belly suplex. Berkovich attempted to keep Onita grounded and even went for a pin attempt, but Onita fought off the big man quite well. Berkovich continued to swarm all over Onita, and Onita found himself in a world of trouble as Berkovich continued to lift him in the air for a few more suplex attempts. With each one, Onita seemed more stunned and the Soviet crowd was firmly behind Berkovich as he gained a point after Onita had the wind knocked out of him for a ten count. A similar story continued for the next few minutes as Berkovich built up a 3-0 lead with Onita taking a ton of punishment from the much stronger wrestler. When Berkovich wrestled Onita to the ground with a Greco-Roman hold, Onita was seemingly struggling to break free but somehow he managed to find a way to catch Berkovich in a triangle armbar, and Berkovich attempted to power his way out of the hold by slamming Onita onto the mat, but Onita kept the hold firmly locked in. With his arm being pulled even tighter, Berkovich had no choice but to relent and tap out, shocking the fans in Luzhniki Stadium. Onita defeats Berkovich via submission (triangle armbar), 9:22 Marco Ruas vs Timur Zalasov Timur Zalasov was a lanky freestyle wrestler who had a significant reach advantage on Ruas, but Ruas was also much more skilled, and determined to beat his Russian opponent. Zalasov’s strategy simply seemed to get Ruas to the ground for a pinfall, but Ruas was just too strong and did not relent. Ruas caused a lot of problems for Zalasov on the canvas, and the Soviet crowd urged on their compatriot as he quickly racked up the rope breaks with Ruas earning a lot of points quickly. It was evident Zalasov was outclassed, and with a 2-0 on points within a few minutes, Ruas went for the kill. Zalasov attempted a side suplex, but Ruas reversed the attempt into an armdrag takedown and snatched a cross-armbreaker in the middle of the ring. Zalasov did his best to reach the ropes but couldn’t quite get there and tapped out. Ruas defeats Zalasov via submission (cross-armbreaker), 6:01 Judo Jacket Match: Bad News Allen vs Grigory Verichev Allen “Bad News” Coage was a 1976 Olympic bronze medalist in Judo and a two-time gold medalist from the Pan-American Games. Even 13 years later, he was still a formidable Judoka. On the other side of the ring was Grigory Verichev, also a Judo bronze medalist from the recent 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Verichev was also a gold medalist from the World Championships in 1987. Verichev was also fourteen years younger than Bad News Allen and seemingly had youth on his side. Allen had the benefit of being much more experienced in the squared circle and is a veteran of a few “Judo Jacket” matches as well. Verichev also had the crowd on his side and this quickly became apparent with the opening bell. Both Verichev and Allen were quite strategic in their approach, like true Olympic Judokas. Allen seemed to favor a more offensive approach and pressed Verichev in the opening minutes, with Verichev doing well to fend off Allen’s strength whenever the two locked up and pulled on each other’s Judo gi. The Soviet crowd grew more vocal whenever it seemed like Verichev was setting himself up for a takedown, but Allen managed to stay on his feet. Allen continued to settle into the match and eventually got Verichev off his feet with a nice takedown, and quickly went for a cross-armbreaker. Instead of going for the ropes, Verichev rolled through the attempt to relieve pressure and managed to break Allen’s hold to the delight of the crowd. The match evolves as time passes, with both Allen and Verichev finding more luck in getting their respective opponent to the canvas with a variety of takedowns and throws. Verichev gives Allen fits at times, and builds up a 2-1 advantage on points after he catches Allen with a collar choke which forces the American to go for the ropes. Allen responded with a Harai Goshi hip throw and goes for a pinfall attempt, which Verichev kicks out of just in time. As much as the crowd was with Verichev, Allen’s experience and wit inside the wrestling ring appeared to be the ace up the American’s sleeve. After Allen tied the match at 2-2 after getting Verichev with another cross-armbreaker attempt, Verichev attempted to get Allen off his feet again with an Uchi Mata, but Allen defended well and scored a shoulder takedown that he turned into a pinfall attempt, and Verichev was unable to kick out in time. The Soviet crowd was disappointed that Verichev couldn’t beat the American, but a few rounds of applause broke out for Bad News Allen. Allen defeats Verichev via pinfall, 15:49 Gary Albright/Steve Williams vs Salman Hashimikov/Victor Zangiev (Unlike previous UWF tag team matches, this match is announced as a contest decided by the usual UWF rules, and not by elimination) Just like their previous match in January, these two teams brought heavy metal wrestling to the forefront as neither held back right out of the gate. Gary Albright and Hashimikov were the first to lock up, and they traded heavy suplexes before Albright took Hashimikov to the mat and kept him grounded with a straight armlock attempt. Hashimikov struggled at first, but managed to break free from the hold and the two resumed wrestling on the canvas, with Albright looking for a clever pinfall attempt but Hashimikov was well aware of Albright’s strategy and avoided any dangerous situations. After a few minutes, Zangiev and Williams were tagged in. Williams continued the suplex focus while Zangiev wanted to get Williams down to the mat and they both had equal success. Zangiev worked his way out of a bridging German suplex and took Williams’ back for a rear naked choke, which Williams did well to survive. A smooth ankle pick from Williams caught Zangiev off his feet and Williams took the opportunity to lift the Soviet for another German suplex. The Americans seemed to have the Russian team’s number, although Hashimikov and Zangiev earned their team a few points by forcing Williams and Albright to the ropes as the minutes passed. Albright and Hashimikov found themselves back in the ring eventually, and Hashimikov took it to Albright to fire up the home crowd. Hashimikov scored a double-leg takedown on Albright, who had to work from the bottom as Hashimikov attempted a shoulder lock followed by a pinfall attempt, which Albright managed to kick out of. While this match lacked striking so far, Albright managed to switch things up a bit by landing a few body shots on Hashimikov to soften him up. The Chechen wrestler had to survive a huge belly-to-belly suplex from Albright before managing to tag in Zangiev. Zangiev, a bit slicker than Hashimikov, managed to get some offense going against Albright by bringing him to the mat, and Zangiev enjoyed a good stretch where he managed to force Albright to tag in Williams, and then Williams found himself on the mat due to Zangiev’s aggressiveness. Just as when the Soviet team was seemingly enjoying a shift in momentum, Williams found himself up against Hashimikov who was caught by an Alabama slam from “Dr. Death.” Hashmikov struggled to get on his feet as Williams locked him up for a bridging Fisherman’s Suplex for the pinfall attempt. 1…2….3!!! Steve Williams secured the victory for his team and silenced Luzhniki Stadium as he celebrated with his partner. Williams & Albright defeat Hashimikov & Zangiev via pinfall, 18:22 Super Vader vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara After a good amount of hype, Vader finally made his debut in UWF Newborn in the most interesting way possible. Clad in black and red attire, the red-masked wrestler marched his way down to the ring and seemed to be focused on the business at hand. Nobuyuki Furuta introduced him as “Super Vader” and he promptly took his mask off. Vader was also wearing Vale Tudo-style gloves and awaited his opponent who followed next. Yoshiaki Fujiwara had a stern look on his face and did not seem deterred by the massive size of his opponent. Motoyuki Kitazawa checked both men for their readiness and signaled for the bell. Vader immediately pressed Fujiwara and commenced firing off several hard closed-fist body shots on his opponent. Fujiwara was backed into a turnbuckle pretty quickly as Vader continued to wail on him. Fujiwara managed to get off a few palm strikes, but Vader did not seem bothered by them and grabbed onto Fujiwara for a quick throw out of the turnbuckle. Surprisingly, Vader followed him to the ground and although Vader was no mat genius, he displayed some competence as he went for a straight armlock and almost got it locked in too easily, forcing Fujiwara to go for an early rope break. Vader seemed very determined to win the match and continued to dominate over the next several minutes, with Fujiwara getting very little offense in as he found himself getting knocked down twice in quick succession from more body shots and a few hard palm strikes. Fujiwara did not give up though and did his best to soften up Vader with a series of low leg kicks that almost seemed to catch the big man by surprise. The more experienced veteran actually managed to get his larger opponent to the canvas a couple of times using clever takedown techniques, but Vader’s massive presented an issue on the mat as Fujiwara had very little luck in locking his armbreaker and heel hook attempts in. When they found themselves back on their feet, Vader continued to pile on the knockdowns and established a 4-0 lead on points eventually, causing Fujiwara to unleash everything he had. Palm strikes, low kicks, and even a headbutt attempt that Fujiwara immediately regretted as he stumbled to the canvas in a daze. Vader seized the initiative and lifted Fujiwara for a bodyslam. The Russian fans were enamored with Vader as he exerted his dominance and finished the match with a huge powerbomb. Fujiwara faced another ten count but the referee didn’t bother to finish the count as Fujiwara clearly could not get back on his feet despite a brief attempt at doing so. Vader defeats Fujiwara via TKO, 10:45 Akira Maeda vs David Gobejishvili David Gobejishvili made Akira Maeda look much smaller than really is, and that isn’t particularly easy. Maeda, who stood at 6’3, was dwarfed by the long frame of the 6’8 Georgian freestyle wrestler. Maeda focused on his strategy of slowly cutting down his opponent with sharp kicks, but he wasn’t afraid to grapple with him either. David’s grappling background was probably better and more unique, and that became evident as he surprised Maeda with a few takedowns and throws. Maeda opted to be more calculated in his approach and managed to present a challenge to the Olympic gold medalist on the mat. The two traded rope breaks in the first several minutes, leading to a 1-1 tie on points by the 8:00 mark. Maeda’s calm catch wrestling approach flustered David who seemed to be more comfortable with trying to throw Maeda around instead of trying to beat his submission game. David did appear quite strong at times on this end and got the Soviet fans excited by getting his opponent off his feet several times with Chidaoba-inspired moves, but ultimately Maeda prevailed when he landed a combination of devastating kicks on his opponent. David did his best to beat the count, but couldn’t respond sufficiently enough to Masami Soranaka’s liking in time. Maeda defeats Gobejishvili via KO, 15:33 Nobuhiko Takada vs Aleksandr Karelin The much anticipated main event was finally here. The crowd at Luzhniki Stadium went ballistic as “For Whom The Bell Tolls” by Metallica played through the stadium’s sound system, with Karelin returning to his home country triumphantly. The 1988 gold medalist marched his way to the ring with a confident swag, backed by his cornermen. Karelin, wearing a red singlet, seemed quite focused on the task at hand as he awaited his opponent. Nobuhiko Takada entered the stadium to Rocky IV’s ‘Training Montage” theme and while it appeared he had confidence, it also seemed like he had a hint of nervousness. The two waited in their respective corners as Nobuyuki Furuta made the ring introductions, and Masami Soranaka made checks on both before signaling for the bell. From the start, it seemed evident that Takada’s strategy was to immediately soften up Karelin’s legs with a series of low kicks. Karelin wanted to get close, but Takada did well to keep the Olympic gold medalist at a distance. Things were at a bit of a stalemate with Takada continuing to lay kicks in at opportune moments, but Karelin managed to catch one of his kicks and turned it into a single-leg takedown, taking Takada down to the canvas. The crowd in Luzhniki roared as Karelin established side control on Takada, and Karelin quickly went to work as he attempted a double-wristlock, which Takada had to break by using the ropes much to the delight of the jam-packed stadium. Back on his feet, Takada stuck to the same strategy by going after Karelin’s legs, but Karelin did much better here to check Takada’s kicks and minimize their damage. Karelin was once again able to close the distance on Takada and applied a Greco-Roman body lock on him, while Takada struggled to break free and avoid going down to the canvas. Karelin's strength won out though, and Takada once again found himself on the canvas as Karelin worked to lock in another hold. Takada did well to defend and forced a clean break by making Karelin get close to the ropes with him. Takada continued to rely on his striking abilities, while Karelin focused on getting Takada down to the canvas to rack up more points through rope breaks. Karelin continued to seem the more dominant wrestler out of the two, and frustration was becoming more visible on Takada’s face. Karelin built up a 3-1 lead on points after several minutes and even managed to knock Takada off his feet after a well-executed Dragon suplex. Takada, for his part, managed to get a high kick on the Olympic medalist and the Soviet machine briefly displayed a moment of weakness before beating the count. The Luzhniki crowd continued to urge Karelin on as Takada resumed his striking-based assault. Karelin seemed more comfortable with grappling rather than striking and latched onto Takada for a devastating overhead belly-to-belly suplex. The Soviet pressed the advantage and grappled with Takada on the canvas as he tried to look for a rear-naked choke, but Takada had a few tricks up his sleeve and managed to get into the position needed for a heel hook attempt. Karelin was caught off guard and scrambled to the ropes pretty quickly. Takada seemed to be enjoying a second wind as he caught Karelin with a few kicks to his midsection, but sooner or later, the inevitable was going to become reality. Just as when Takada seemed to be on the verge of a second knockdown, Karelin managed to latch onto Takada for a gutwrench suplex, followed by another. Luzhniki Stadium roared as Karelin finished the series of events with the “Karelin Lift” for the third and final act of the finish. Takada landed sharply on his head and Karelin followed him to the ground, hooking both of Takada’s legs for the pinfall. 1…2…..3!!! Karelin had defeated one of the top stars in UWF on Russian home soil. Karelin defeats Takada via pinfall, 18:23 After the match, Karelin celebrates with his cornermen who lift him up on their shoulders and parade him around the ring as fans desperately reach out to greet their hero. Karelin is given a bouquet and a ceremonial trophy by UWF officials and other dignitaries present at ring side. The UWF theme plays in the arena once again to close the show, with the commentators hyping up the huge win for Karelin. They break down the other matches before a graphic appears on screen, which unveils the bracket for the U-COSMOS Grand Prix tournament starting next month back home in Tokyo. The commentators hype up the start of the tournament and praise the historical show that just took place before the rolling credits set to Queen's "We Are The Champions" close out the program.

Card Announcement: UWF Newborn - "Moscow Martial Arts Festival" August 24th, 1989 Moscow, USSR Luzhniki Stadium Masakatsu Funaki vs Minoru Suzuki Wayne Shamrock vs Nikolai Zouev Andrei Kopylov vs Volk Han Atsushi Onita vs Vladimir Berkovich Marco Ruas vs Timur Zalasov Judo Jacket Match: "Bad News" Allen vs Grigory Verichev Gary Albright & Steve Williams vs Salman Hashimikov & Victor Zangiev Vader vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara Nobuhiko Takada vs Aleksandr Karelin Akira Maeda vs David Gobejishvili (OOC: This month was a bit busier than expected, so I will be 1-2 days late. Rest assured, it's cooking in the oven!)

ZSJ vs Tsuji was a great final. A very well-deserved win for ZSJ because he stuck with the company during the pandemic when other foreigners like Ospreay peaced out. I think ZSJ will beat Naito next, especially with Royal Quest coming up right after their match. It's going to be an interesting fall for NJPW though, and I think decoupling the G1 winner from the Tokyo Dome main event is a good move because it makes the build-up a lot more interesting I think.

Tenryu/Chono vs Blackman/Severn was a beastly match on paper and it certainly delivered. I'm enjoying Eddie Guerrero's title run so far. He's certainly one of the brightest up-and-coming talents in the business at this rate and seemingly can't have a bad match.

WrestleRock was amazing! A very awesome show top to bottom. Hulk Hogan getting his crowning moment in AWA came across quite well. Very well executed. I love how Sammartino is seemingly inside Zbyszko's head and continues to make life difficult for him. Brian Adias vs Hulk Hogan is a very tasty matchup on paper. Can't wait to see how that one shakes out!

The new RAW show continues to deliver with some excellent matches and angles. Also enjoyed the SNME card with The Rockers getting back on top of the tag team division. Will anyone bring them back down to earth?

Concur with Rainmaker's comment re: Road Warriors and Garvin. They are already potential favorites in the 8-man tag. Late comment but the GAB show was excellent. Great card top to bottom.

Vader and Chris Benoit will be with the UWF until the end of the year, sent on loan from the WWF.

UWF Newborn – “July History: 1st Anniversary” July 26th, 1989 Osaka, Japan Osaka Baseball Stadium Attendance: 30,000 (sold out) Broadcast: WOWOW (live) The WOWOW broadcast opens with the commentary crew welcoming the viewing audience. They break down the matches and discuss expectations and hopes as the crowd begins to take to their seats for the big event. Soon, we see Nobuyuki Furuta standing in the middle of the ring as he opens proceedings and the parade of wrestlers begins, set to the UWF theme. They come out one by one, with Maeda, Takada, Sayama, Fujiwara, Karelin, Volk Han, Backlund, Funaki, Fujiwara, and Yamazaki all getting pretty good receptions from the crowd. As the wrestlers take their place in the ring, Maeda gives a few words. He thanks the fans for their support over the past year and that without them, UWF wouldn't have had the success they did. He thanks UWF's global partners in the Soviet Union and Holland for allowing the promotion to grow, as well as other wrestlers like Bob Backlund. Takada takes the microphone after Maeda finishes, and promises a great main event. He says he is looking forward to proving why he is the best wrestler in UWF. Backlund cuts a quick promo as well, and sort of brushes off Funaki as a nuisance. Funaki is seen by the cameras as cracking a smile. Some other wrestlers like Satoru Sayama, Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Kazuo Yamazaki give quick statements as well. Shinji Jin enters the ring and thanks the fans personally for coming out. He says he has a surprise. The Osaka crowd erupts as they see a large man walking into the arena on the big screen. They quickly realize it is none other than Vader! There is a huge eruption of cheers as Vader enters the crowded ring, but there is room for him. Vader, wearing a UWF shirt and baseball cap, takes the microphone and gives a quick statement that is translated to the audience: "Konbanwa, you might already know who I am. I've heard a lot about a promotion called UWF (cheers). I hear so much from my friends in Japan about how incredibly popular UWF is in this country. Bad News Brown told me this was the place to be and I believed him. I hear other promotions in Japan are jealous and this is where the best wrestlers in the world prove themselves now. Well, no one has proven anything. They haven't faced me yet. I was growing a bit frustrated with politics as usual in America, and Mr. Maeda gave me a call. He promised that this was real wrestling. I will take on any challenger, and next month, I will be in Moscow. Who knows, I might even stick around after that. I hear there is a tournament being hosted soon by Mr. Lou Thesz to determine the best wrestler in the world. No one will be able to beat me if I enter. I will be watching from the front row tonight. Starting next month though, my conquest begins!" Vader raises his fist in the air and makes a hand motion across the UWF logo on his chest. Vader exits the ring and the WOWOW commentators are quite excited and recap Vader's announcement and his plans. With that, we are underway and the event begins. Masahito Kakihara vs Kiyoshi Tamura The two “young lions” went at each other full speed from start to finish, once again impressing the fans and demonstrating why they are perhaps the two best rookies in the first class of UWF dojo trainees. Kakihara had his wild, raw strikes and Tamura answered back with smooth counters and takedowns. It was mostly a back-and-forth affair, with both trading knockdowns down the stretch. After the 10:00 mark, Tamura finally established some momentum and took control of the match with his superior grappling skills. Tamura blocked a palm strike combo from Kakihara and caught one of his hands to jump into a flying armbar for the submission victory. Tamura was quite pleased with himself and celebrated his victory. Tamura defeats Kakihara via submission (flying armbar), 10:52 Yusuke Fuke vs Manabu Yamada In a more controlled affair compared to the previous match, Fuke and Yamada had more of a grappling-centered contest and both were willing to be patient enough to pick their spots while steadily wearing down their opponent. Yamada, with his Shooto background, was very much focused on trying to surprise his opponent with grappling counters and reversals, while Fuke was more measured and calculating as he attempted to focus on snatching a leg or two. Both seemed unwilling to go for the first rope break, and it was a bit of a stalemate for the first several minutes as they continued to work on the mat. Fuke was finally forced to break a hold using the ropes when Yamada broke his turtle defense for a cross-armbreaker. After the break, Fuke started launching palm strikes and kicks. Yamada was happy to exchange as well, but Fuke managed to score an early knockdown. Yamada eventually regained control of the match and got a 2-1 lead on points. Down the final few minutes, Fuke tried his best to even the score and eventually got Yamada to go for the ropes a fourth time to even the score at 2-2. There was a rush by both to regain the lead before the final bell, but neither could find an opening or land a knockdown. With 15 minutes expired, the match was declared a draw. 15:00 draw Shigeo Miyato vs Yoji Anjo Miyato’s confidence came up against the fire and willpower of Anjo, who constantly applied pressure on his opponent with strikes. Anjo also came up with some creative moves to take Miyato down to the mat, who gained the edge with his refined grappling skills. Anjo continued to be relentless though, and kept giving Miyato a pretty good struggle as the two continued to work on the mat. Miyato succeeded in finding avenues to find hooks with a patient approach and built himself a 1-0 lead after getting a few rope breaks from Anjo. Anjo continued his approach at full-throttle though, and eventually evened things up with a knockdown after catching Miyato with a high kick. After some more back and forth, the score evened up at 2-2. Anjo found the critical breakthrough when he managed to best Miyato on the mat, reversing a cross-armbreaker attempt by rolling through it and turning it into a full Boston crab. Miyato tried to get to the ropes, but Anjo applied even more pressure and finally forced Miyato to tap. Anjo was very pleased with himself and celebrated just as he approached the match with a ton of energy. Anjo defeats Miyato via submission (Boston crab), 14:44 Minoru Suzuki vs Wayne Shamrock Although they were tag team partners a month before, the sporting nature of UWF can always put two partners against each other in the blink of an eye. And of course, both are prideful competitors so the match was a respectful but intense contest between two quickly improving talents. Shamrock at first used his strength and power to get Suzuki to the mat, executing an almost perfect German suplex in the process. The two were evenly matched when it came to the struggle on the canvas and neither could find a significant breakthrough as both had similar backgrounds and skill levels. What did matter was Shamrock’s conditioning, and he looked a bit sharper as a result as the match went on. Still, Suzuki continued to put up a fight. Shamrock was able to get a few more suplexes in, and this seemed to slow Suzuki down a bit as Shamrock gained a 2-1 lead in points. Suzuki found his fighting spirit though, and started to launch a comeback when he caught Shamrock with a sharp palm strike to the head. After Suzuki surprised Shamrock with a double-leg takedown and kneebar that forced another rope break, Suzuki knocked Shamrock back again with another combo of palm strikes. This allowed the crowd favorite to hit his opponent with a Gotch-style piledriver. Suzuki quickly went for the cover. 1…2…3!! Suzuki secured the pinfall and victory. Suzuki defeats Shamrock via pinfall, 15:39 Volk Han vs Dick Vrij After besting Maurice Smith last month, Volk Han found himself up against another capable, perhaps more vicious, striker in Dick Vrij. Right out of the gate, these two brought a ton of energy and immediately treated the crowd to a thrilling display of grappling vs striking. Volk Han opened things up with a kani-basami leg entry attempt, which successfully took Vrij down to the mat. Han was relentless in looking for a leg hook and this had Vrij scrambling around, looking for a rope break. After some struggle, Vrij was finally able to reach the ropes to escape Han’s grasp. The break allowed Vrij to open the distance some with his strikes, and he targeted Han’s lower legs to try and trip him up. Han got knocked down briefly, but quickly got back up and was able to beat a call for a knockdown. Vrij continued to throw some pretty hard strikes, but Han managed to get within Vrij’s range again and immediately took him back down to his comfort zone on the canvas. After a clever cross-armbreaker attempt, Han was able to score a second rope break for the first point of the match. Vrij stuck to his game plan despite the deficit and softened up Han enough to where it looked like the Soviet SAMBO wizard was slowing down. Vrij’s grappling skills were actually improving to some degree, and he was able to hold his own with Han at times. Of course, Han was better in this department and he racked up another rope break through Vrij’s weak defense. Vrij scored his first point after hitting Han in the gut with a knee strike. Han took his time to get up but beat the count at 7. Things continued to heat up after Han attempted a nice sweeping leg entry into a kneebar attempt, but they fell close to the ropes, prompting a clean break. Vrij managed to surprise Han with a spinning back elbow, and this knocked down the Dagestani for another knockdown. Han beat the count again and seemed to taunt Vrij by going down to the canvas and slithering around, a bit like Antonio Inoki against Muhammad Ali. Han beckoned Vrij to go back to the ground with him. Han attempted to sneak in a leg hook takedown, but Vrij fended him off. After two straight knockdowns from Vrij, Han was down to his final point and seemed to be cornered by Vrij’s strategy. Vrij even managed to get a rope break from Han after securing a rear naked choke on his opponent. Sensing an opportunity, Vrij assailed his opponent with a series of high kicks but Han caught one of them and took him down for an Achilles hold. Vrij immediately tapped and Han secured the victory much to his delight. Han celebrated by briefly lifting the referee, Motoyuki Kitazawa, up in the air. Of course, the crowd was delighted and celebrated with Han. Han defeats Vrij via submission (Achilles hold), 13:27 Kazuo Yamazaki vs Victor Zangiev Zangiev presented a formidable challenge for Yamazaki, and Yamazaki focused on his striking abilities to keep his distance from the powerful grappler. As such, this was another exciting striker vs grappler match where Zangiev seemed to overpower Yamazaki whenever he got his hands on him. Zangiev was able to get a variety of suplexes on Yamazaki and tried one or two pinfall attempts. Yamazaki, on the other hand, went for powerful kicks to the exposed legs of Zangiev. This allowed Yamazaki to steadily wear down his opponent. Zangiev and Yamazaki traded knockdowns over the next few minutes in between all the suplexes and sharp kicks. The two were tied 2-2 on points when Zangiev managed to get Yamazaki down to the ground again, and Zangiev attempted a hammerlock choke. Yamazaki struggled to get to the ropes but finally managed to pull enough body weight to use his leg to break the hold. This gave Zangiev a 3-2 lead, and Yamazaki had to go full throttle as unleashed a furious combo of strikes. After scoring one knockdown to the crowd’s delight, Yamazaki quickly followed up with another knockdown to get a 4-3 lead on points. Zangiev attempted to close the distance one last time to wrestle down his opponent, but Yamazaki managed to keep the distance and hit a sharp kick to Zangiev’s kidney area to end the match via TKO. Yamazaki defeats Zangiev via TKO, 14:01 Bob Backlund vs Masakatsu Funaki Funaki has cemented himself as one of the top young wrestlers in the company and has held his own in the top 10 rankings for quite some time. A clash against Bob Backlund was probably the most logical step forward for him as a competitor. Backlund, who has been undefeated since December, presents a tough task for Funaki. Backlund always takes his competitors seriously though, and no matter how much he thinks Funaki is inexperienced, he won’t take him lightly. After the bell sounds to commence the match, Backlund sizes up Funaki and locks up wrists with him, as both try to outmuscle each other with an armdrag. Backlund quickly wins this battle and takes Funaki down to the canvas and the American looks for an angle to hook his opponent early. Funaki is quick to escape though, and gets back on his feet. The two square off once again, with Funaki offering a few low kicks to check Backlund in the process. The pace quickens up a bit as Backlund and Funaki both find creative ways to bring each other down to the mat, and the opening few minutes are a bit of a grappling affair with both Funaki and Backlund testing each other with various leg lock exchanges. Both get a rope break before they find themselves on their feet again. Funaki threw some more low kicks, and this seemed to frustrate Backlund to some degree as he got more agitated. The grappling contest devolved into a stiff striking exchange as each threw some pretty hard palm strikes that caught each other in the face. Funaki mixed things up with some kicks, and Backlund was getting stiffed pretty hard. Funaki certainly got some receipts back though, but held tough. Backlund received another sharp palm strike followed by several knee strikes to the face as Funaki clinched and bent Backlund over. Backlund quickly fell to the mat and took some time to beat the ten count as the crowd firmly got behind Funaki after the clinical display of striking. Kitazawa reached the count of eight before Backlund got back up on both feet. The former WWF star came roaring back and hit Funaki with several stiff forearms, and this allowed Backlund to set his opponent up for a very impactful gutwrench suplex. Backlund followed Funaki to the mat and attempted to get a double wristlock in place, but Funaki found a way to defend himself before reversing the hold and getting his own double wristlock on Backlund. Backlund quickly moved towards the ropes to break the hold though, and the intensity ratcheted up once again as they engaged in another striking exchange that popped the crowd. Funaki seemed to get the upper hand and followed up with a dropkick that caught Backlund by surprise. The two found themselves on the mat again. Backlund eventually set up a Gotch lift and raised Funaki into the air, impressing the crowd. Backlund pushed Funaki against a turnbuckle and had him seated on the top. Kitazawa called for a clean break, which allowed Funaki some distance. Perhaps in a moment of frustration or youthful indiscretion, Funaki leaped off the top and hit Backlund with another dropkick. This caught the crowd by surprise because under the UWF ruleset, using the ropes or turnbuckles as leverage for a move is illegal. Kitazawa called for the bell. Backlund seemed a little surprised but celebrated his victory nonetheless, while Funaki seemed upset about something and eventually left the ring. He was clearly frustrated with himself, of course. Backlund defeats Funaki via DQ, 14:21 Satoru Sayama/Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Aleksandr Karelin/David Gobejishvili The two heavyweight gold medalists from Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling respectively were powerful adversaries by themselves, but as a team, they were sure to almost unbeatable. Sayama and Fujiwara, however skilled they were, quickly discovered this. Sayama’s striking abilities were on full display as he found himself up against Karelin early on, but the Soviet did very well to defend himself and managed to close the distance easily on his opponent. Sayama did not want to be on the ground with Karelin much and did his best to escape each time he was. Fujiwara also had some difficulty with Gobejishvili and his unorthodox offense. The 6’8 Georgian used a variety of creative throwing techniques influenced by his background in Georgian wrestling. Fujiwara’s ground game was neutralized by this approach as the Georgian gold medalist shifted the focus from grappling to a more strength-focused approach. Fujiwara lost an early point after he lost his footing from a fireman’s carry throw and prompted a knockdown count from Soranaka. Karelin continued to apply the pressure after he was tagged back in, and his opponent was once again Sayama. The rope breaks started coming for Karelin as Sayama found himself in a world of trouble with Karelin’s Greco-Roman takedowns and joint locks meant to control the pacing of the match in his favor. Sayama was still formidable though, and found a way to fight back using his wide knowledge of the grappling arts. It was in the standup where Sayama found his strength though, and his furious kicks kept softening up Karelin despite his incredible size. Fujiwara and Sayama tried a rapid tag technique on Karelin, and that seemed to work as Fujiwara was able to get a rope break from Karelin after managing to surprise him with an ankle pick and ankle lock attempt. The match continued to see a brief resurgence from Sayama and Fujiwara, but Karelin and Gobejishvili managed to re-establish themselves in due course and their grappling skills and momentum were eventually too much to resist. Fujiwara was eliminated first by Karelin who knocked him off his feet for the final point with a huge belly-to-belly suplex. Sayama was alone and was pinned by Gobejishvili around the 15:00 mark who caught him with a shoulder lock that also acted as a pinning maneuver. Karelin & Gobejishvili defeat Sayama & Fujiwara, 15:37 Akira Maeda vs Nobuhiko Takada Maeda was determined to firmly establish himself as the top wrestler in UWF Newborn and wanted to beat Takada decisively. This would be no easy task of course. Takada had proven he was just as good as Maeda, if not better at times. The crowd at Osaka Baseball Stadium was rocking for this one, and as soon as the bell sounded, dueling chants for both Maeda and Takada broke out. Both wrestlers started trading hard strikes, with a variety of kicks, palm strikes, and body punches thrown in for good measure. At first, it seemed like Maeda had the upper hand. Maeda was forceful and seemed to enjoy stalking Takada around the ring as the latter defended himself from Maeda’s constant kicks. Takada answered back, but nothing seemed to particularly bother Maeda. Takada did manage to bring Maeda down to the mat with a single-leg takedown, and the two grappled for several minutes at a relatively slow pace. Both were patient and didn’t rush into any sort of danger. While the two aren’t the most exciting grapplers in UWF, they did catch the crowd’s attention with their methodical work and the jam-packed Osaka Baseball Stadium watched intently. Maeda built up an early 1-0 lead on points after sending Takada to the ropes twice with a variety of holds. Takada found himself on the mat again in due course and started a bit of a comeback by working on Maeda’s leg. Takada struggled to even the score, however, and had to resort to luring Maeda back into a standup exchange where he struggled to match Maeda’s intensity once again, resulting in Takada being knocked down. Maeda built his lead to 2-0, and seemed to be enjoying the momentum for a few more minutes until Takada answered in return with a surprisingly sharp high kick followed by a kidney shot. Maeda collapsed to his knees and Soranaka called for a ten count, but Maeda was able to get up without sweating too much about beating the count. There was another wild striking exchange and Maeda returned the favor with another knockdown following several knee strikes from the clinch. Takada just couldn’t get anything going, either on the mat or canvas. Maeda asserted himself even more with a 3-1 lead as Takada tried everything in the book to get back on the board. After another extended grappling exchange, Takada did manage to get a single-leg Boston crab that extracted another rope break from Maeda, making the score 3-2. But this is where Takada’s luck ended. Maeda spent the next few minutes softening up Takada once again with more strikes. Takada did his best to answer back with more high kicks, but this played right into Maeda’s hands as he blocked one of Takada’s kicks and caught it, turning it into a huge Capture suplex! Takada faced another ten count but managed to find his footing. He was weak though, and Maeda caught him for another Capture suplex as he stumbled around. Takada quickly found himself in a kneebar, and Maeda had the hold locked in tight…..Takada taps! Maeda’s fans erupt with joy as Osaka Baseball Stadium turns thunderous for the victor. Soranaka raises Maeda’s arm as the result is made official, with Takada recovering near a turnbuckle. Maeda defeats Takada via submission (kneebar), 20:32 Akira Maeda continues to celebrate in the ring for a few minutes as he soaks up the atmosphere. Maeda is also given a ceremonial trophy to commemorate the occasion. Takada, clearly disappointed with himself, reluctantly shakes hands with Maeda and exits the ring. The WOWOW commentary team recap the events from the evening. They promote the show next month in Moscow, with clips airing of Akira Maeda and other UWF dignitaries in Moscow earlier this month as they tour the scenery of the city. We see clips of them near the Kremlin, touring Luzhiniki Stadium, and meeting Soviet officials at a fancy dinner. The team closes off the show with their final thoughts. They promote Vader's surprise appearance again, mentioning that they were sure he was under contract with WWF but something must have been worked out. We get the rolling credits set to Queen's "We Are The Champions" mixed in with highlights as WOWOW caps off a memorable first anniversary for UWF Newborn.

In reality, NJPW formed a relationship with the Soviet Union in 1988 when Inoki struck a deal with them. That's when Salman Hashimikov, Victor Zangiev, and some other Russians like Berkovich debuted in 1989. NJPW hosted an event in Moscow in December 1989, which was the first pro-wrestling event to take place in Russia. In our game, UWF beat NJPW to the punch and I'm simply following the same playbook.

Card Announcement: UWF Newborn – “July History: 1st Anniversary” July 26th, 1989 Tokyo, Japan Osaka, Japan Osaka Baseball Stadium Masahito Kakihara vs Kiyoshi Tamura Yusuke Fuke vs Manabu Yamada Shigeo Miyato vs Yoji Anjo Minoru Suzuki vs Wayne Shamrock Volk Han vs Dick Vrij Kazuo Yamazaki vs Victor Zangiev Bob Backlund vs Masakatsu Funaki Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Satoru Sayama vs Aleksandr Karelin & David Gobejishvili Akira Maeda vs Nobuhiko Takada

A great start to the G1. Highlights from Day 1 include ZSJ vs O-Khan, Uemura vs Finlay, and Takeshita vs Tsuji. Oleg Boltin's match against Narita was awesome too. I haven't been this excited about a prospect since Takuya Nomura several years ago. Oleg has all the tools to be the future of NJPW. He's a Rolls Royce talent. I hope they don't drop the ball with him.

If you haven't seen it yet, here's the match Karelin had in 1999 against Akira Maeda in RINGS. It's a fun little spectacle.

UWF Newborn – “Shooto Super League I” July 5th, 1989 Tokyo, Japan Korakuen Hall Attendance: 2,005 (sold out) Broadcast: WOWOW (taped) The fans at Korakuen Hall are greeted by Sayama before the show starts. The Shooto ruleset is explained to them with a demonstration from two students in the Shooto gym. The key rules are the following: All competitors will use lightweight gloves and long athletic tights, there will be three five-minute rounds in each match, and fighters can only win via knockout, submission, or TKO. If all three rounds pass without a decisive winner, the match will go to a panel of three judges. No low blows, eye pokes, ground-and-pound, etc. The last two matches will take place under regular UWF rules with a 15:00 time limit. After the demonstration concludes and the competitors are introduced, the evening gets underway! (See videos linked below to get a better visual) Kenji Kawaguchi vs Yuichi Watanabe A highly technical contest that went all three rounds. Both put on great displays of submission grappling but neither could find a breakthrough. Kawaguchi got the better moments though, and was in control for most of round three. This swung the contest in his favor as the ringside judges ruled in his favor via unanimous decision. Kawaguchi defeats Watanabe via decision (unanimous) Naoyuki Taira vs Naoki Sakurada It was evident that both Taira and Sakurada were extremely talented in all facets of striking and grappling, which was why they were both highly touted as up-and-coming prospects from the Shooto gym. Taira and Sakurada pushed each other to round three, but Taira got the decisive moment when he scored a hard high kick. Sakurada couldn’t beat the ten count. Regardless, the crowd was seemingly very impressed by the talent on display from both. Taira defeats Sakurada via TKO, R2 of 3 (3:04) Yasuto Sekishima vs Erik Paulson Paulson seemed very much in control here, and Sekishima never threatened that much as Paulson smothered his opponent with high-level grappling. Paulson made quick work of Sekishima and submitted his opponent with a smother choke 4:37 into round one. Paulson defeats Sekishima via submission (smother choke), R1 of 3 (4:37) Kazuo Yamazaki vs Naoki Sano Yamazaki’s status as Sayama’s first student probably allowed him to be more comfortable than Sano in the Shooto ruleset. Sano seemed to struggle on the grappling side, especially as he adjusted to the use of the lightweight gloves. Yamazaki mainly relied on his striking skills but was able to outmatch Sano when the two found themselves testing each other on the mat. About a minute into round two, Yamazaki was able to break Sano’s turtle defense and quickly locked in a cross-armbreaker for the submission victory. Yamazaki defeats Sano via submission (cross-armbreaker), R2 of 3 (1:16) Yorinaga Nakamura vs Andy Hug Nakamura and Hug tested each other quite well, and Andy Hug was determined to get a win here. Hug scored two early knockdowns and seemed very much in control, but Nakamura steadily fought back and racked up some rope breaks from Hug over time. Hug was a dangerous striker and the audience seemed to be growing fond of his charismatic approach to Karate-based striking, but Nakamura was just a little bit better. By the 12:00 mark, the match was tied 2-2 on points and Nakamura found a breakthrough when he caught one of Hug’s high kicks for a single-leg takedown that turned into a kneebar. Nakamura defeats Hug via submission (kneebar), 12:32 Satoru Sayama vs Maurice Smith The main event delivered as expected and Sayama and Smith treated the fans to a great display of striking which slowly turned into a grappling contest, and that favored Sayama. Sayama and Smith traded early knockdowns, but Sayama scored the rope breaks when he needed to and earned himself a 3-2 lead on points heading into the late part of the match. Smith fought valiantly and was quite clinical with his strikes at times. Sayama seemed to have a bit of trouble but adjusted accordingly. This was his night. Sayama delivered a powerful Tiger suplex and followed it up with a full Boston crab for the submission victory. Sayama defeats Smith via submission (Boston crab), 13:28 Sayama celebrates his victory after shaking hands with Maurice Smith, who earns a solid applause from the fans in attendance. Sayama thanks the fans for coming and promises to bring more Shooto events to them in the future! The WOWOW commentary crew recap the matches and seem quite excited by what Sayama has been developing behind the scenes at his gym. They do their usual sign-off with the rolling credits concluding the broadcast.

I totally approve of ranking Lou Thesz that highly. He's currently in my top 25 but has a decent chance of moving up.