elliott

How about Nick Bockwinkel as a Spurs Comparison?

Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Yoji Anjoh (UWFI 8/28/92) (Yearbook) This is the 23rd match of Tamura’s career and my 20th review. There couldn’t be a better matchup. Tamura slaps Anjoh on a handshake attempt. Uh oh. Both guys are cautious to start, but Tamura nails the first takedown. Nice grappling to start as both guys are pretty evenly matched. Both guys are going for and getting close to locking in submissions early on and instead of going for rope breaks, both guys are staying calm and looking for other means of escape. Tamura forces the first rope break of the match locking in a sick looking Misawa-esque facelock. It’s the only rope break in the first 5 minutes of just beautiful grappling and submission work. Anjoh finally locks Tamura in a triangle choke and we get our 2nd rope break of the match. We’re going long here so they’re not going Ludicrous Speed like they do in tags matches. But the mat work is gorgeous and the variety of holds and counters on display here is astounding. Tamura gets blasted in the head going in for a takedown for a knockdown. Brutal looking. Instead of trying to get into a striking match with Yoji Anjoh, Tamura does what he does best and goes for submissions. He locks in a nasty toe-lock leading to a rope break. Anjoh tries for some knees but Tamura takes it right back down. Anjoh is always thought of as a striker, but he’s excellent on the mat. He can really do everything you’d want from a shoot style wrestle. He pulls out some crazy almost lucha-esque submissions here mixed in with all the typical shoot submissions. He goes for an STF at one point but instead of doing the cross face he puts on a full nelson. There is great moment where Anjoh stands up off the ground and dares Tamura to get up to face him. Tamura is hesitant at first but gets up at Anjoh’s insistence. As soon as Tamura gets on his feet Anjoh throws a wild kick to head which Tamura easily avoids. Anjoh has a big shit-eating grin on his face and the crowd goes crazy. Awesome little moment. Back to the mat with more submission attempts. They’re both constantly looking and maneuvering for any opening that can lead to a submission. Back on their feet and Tamura is very cautious and aware of a Anjoh’s high kick. Anjoh takes Tamura over with a suplex but Tamura immediately floats back over and locks in a kimura leading to a rope break. That’s something you’ll often see in a Tamura match. His opponent will just finish executing a move like a hiplock or slam like Anjoh here and Tamura will use his athleticism to capitalize on the situation (Anjoh is laying flat on his back right now, maybe I can get to his arm). Anjoh manages to put Tamura down with some really hard leg kicks. Anjoh has a big lead on points getting several knockdowns. AWESOME sequence with Anjoh following up with strikes and hard knees. He gets a little cocky and tries to german suplex Tamura (instead of just finishing him off with strikes) which opens the door for one of Tamura’s signature moves the quick go behind into a sleeper. Huge pop from the crowd. But Anjoh manages to slip out. Anjoh has really started to take over forcing two straight Tamura rope breaks to further widen the gap. Tamura manages to sink in a leg lock and Anjoh does one of the best scrambles for the ropes in history. Seriously it was fucking awesome and might be my lasting image of this match. Back to some really nice grappling leading to another Anjoh rope break. Tamura is trying to mount a comeback with leg submissions. Which makes sense. All the kicks/knees Anjoh throws leaves him open if Tamura can manage to grab one. Also in theory working on the legs will “weaken” Anjoh’s kicks and knees. I think this is more of a case of Tamura finding openings where he can. Anjoh is definitely working on the legs intentionally here late. Tamura stopped wearing shin guards in the last few matches theoretically so he could focus more on his submission wrestling (so said the announcers in a previous match) and would be less inclined to kick. Anjoh is just blasting him late with low leg kicks taking Tamura off his feet and slowing him down. Those shin guards might have helped. Closing minutes and Tamura gets a big slam and locks in a sleeper. Anjoh is struggling looking for an escape as the bell rings. Um. WOW. That was incredible. I know everyone in the yearbook thread talked about how this would have been better if it was 10-15minutes shorter. But I thought this was an excellent match. Once I finish this project, I might watch this side by side with some other 30minute draws. I though they paced this really well with clear escalation. Their cardio is insane, particularly Tamura as they kept up a relatively quick pace throughout (quick for a 30 minute draw). They showed a ton of variety in their work. Obviously they both have certain things they like to do and both have clear gameplans, particularly as the match developed. But they showed so much depth of knowledge here when it comes the application of submissions, amateur wrestling, striking, suplexes and all of the defenses for these techniques. Easy EPIC. Edit Forgot to mention the draw also worked for me because of the way they worked the finish. Anjoh is WAY ahead on points but Tamura has him locked into his favorite submission hold as the time expires. Both guys look good coming out of the draw and theoretically a rematch is set up for down the road. Of course I just looked and there isn't a rematch and they only meet one more time in a tag match. And now I'm sad. Ugggh. Damn you UWFi!!!!

Hey, if the Spurs take the title away from the Warriors this year, I can love with being called the Kevin Nash of basketball. Multiple time champion, low ratings. Whoa whoa whoa. NO! The Spurs have played beautiful basketball for years and years. Theyve done it with guys in their prime, super young uproven guys, older washed up players, etc. They've done it offensively. They've done it defensively. Theyve done it by playing down low in the paint. They've decimated teams with small ball 3 ball lineups. If you wanted to say they're like Buddy Rose with each Ring representing one of the year's Buddy was the best in the world I could get down with that. The low ratings could even be compared to Buddy working in a smaller territory or people just not paying attention because they were distracted by shinier lesser objects elsewhere. I mean, how are the Spurs ratings in San Antonio? I bet people there are watching just not the rest of the country. The run in New Japan is the loss to the Heat and the run in WWWF the win against the heat (higher profile situations, NJ run not a big success, WWWF run a big success relative = 26million viewers in the finals). So that's a wrestling comp I'd be happy with. Fuck all this Kevin Nash shit.

OH SHIT! TIME TO STOP EVERYTHING! FUCK YEAH!

I get that totally Childs. I'm just not sure I would say +1 for "Working Shootstyle." I'm not sure how exactly I would word it but it would be something like "+1 for Working a Universal Style." For example, I wouldn't say "Oh, Vader, great shoot stylist." But he definitely worked a style that allowed him to fit in credibly anywhere even if he wasn't a master of the particular style. Does that make sense?

Now that I've thought about it a little more, I think you should actually make the lists. You've attempted to create this scientific formula to finalize your list but any formula is going to be meaningless if the data you input is off base to begin with. You gave Vader a 14 year peak while defining peak as "Top 30 in the world Candidate." You might actually believe Vader is a top 30 in the world candidate for all 14 of those years, but I certainly don't buy it. 91-94 absolutely. If someone put Vader #1 for 91-94, I wouldn't agree with it, but I'd at least understand the argument. So yeah, since "Length of Peak" is one of your main categories and you're defining "Peak" as "Top 30 in the World" then I think you should make your lists. Otherwise you get things like Leon White in 1986 AWA getting credit for being a top 30 in the world guy. Or 1997 Vader. Or or or Edit And I'm not expecting to agree with your individual top 30s for the most part, but it would be helpful in understanding how you've arrived at the years, numbers, etc.

What makes you say this?

Hahahaha fair enough on the shoot style bit I'd like to see your top 30s for every year. Not as a reason to put you out, but because I'm a list nerd and I think it'd be interesting to look at

I guess I still have no clue what "length of peak" means because here http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/32545-jvks-six-factor-model-for-gwe-rankings-biglav/?p=5713074 You say it is "nominally top 30 in the world." Looking here at Vader http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/32545-jvks-six-factor-model-for-gwe-rankings-biglav/?p=5717553 What is the case for Vader as a "top 30 guy in the world" in 1986? 87? 88? 89? 90? 95? 96? 97? 98? 99? 00? He could MAYBE sneak into the mid 20s in some of those years, but considering how much great wrestling was happening all over the world, it would take some convincing. Vader shouldn't get a +1 for "Working Shoot Style" because he basically worked the same in UWFi as he did everywhere else. And his "Shoot style career" was 12 matches over the course of 2 years. Also, what Vader in Mexico have you seen?

The Golden State Warriors are Goldberg

Kiyoshi Tamura & Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Gary Albright & Mark Silver (UWFI 7/12/92) (Yearbook) Tamura and Silver start off against each other. Silver’s hair is still awful but it isn’t nearly as ridiculous as it was back in February. Nice grappling to start with both guys looking for leg locks. Tamura works at a slower pace than he would against Anjoh so Silver can keep up with him early on. Some great defense by Tamura on a double arm suplex attempt. Tamura works to Silver’s back and locks in his sleeper leading to a ropebreak and tag out to Albright. Albright is just massive, smothering a Tamura takedown attempt and taking control on the mat. Tamura can’t do much with him down there as Gary’s so big and is just smothering him. Albright looks like a freaking bear. Albright slowly works on a kimura leading to a Tamura rope break and tag out. Albright is not a good match up for Tamura aesthetically, unless Gary is throwing him around like a ragdoll. Yamazaki comes in and goes for a low dropkick. Albright avoids it and works towards a submission. Yamazaki manages to roll through for a leg lock attempt and we’re trading ankle lock attempts. Albright going for a rope break gets a big pop and Albright tags out. Silver comes in for some Rex Kwan Do. Yamazaki gets another ankle lock on Silver and another rope break. GREAT German suplex by Yamazaki leading to a sleeper attempt and another rope break. Yamazaki is just decimating Silver with submission attempts before tagging out to Tamura. Tamura gets a takedown and immediately just mounts Silver. Tamura is pretty cocky here. Not going for any submissions and not going for strikes but just mounting Silver basically saying “do something” and countering Silver’s counter attempts. Finally Tamura locks on an arm bar leading to a rope break. Tamura slaps him for good measure. Damn Kiyoshi. You get the sense that Tamura is just fucking with Silver, which is a cool side of him. Silver gets pretty pissed and starts throwing knees to Tamura’s head and chest. Tamura again takes him down and mounts his back daring Silver to counter, even slapping him in the back of the head Scott Hall style. Tamura puts on a full nelson and Silver heads for the rope. Damn. Tamura and Yamazaki are making Silver their bitch in this. Tamura kicks Silver again after the rope break. Geez. Silver tries to use his weight to his advantage, getting in close and going for suplexes. But he’s not that big and Tamura easily slips behind him and puts on an Achilles hold leading to yet another rope break. Crowd is getting hot as silver is getting outclassed over and over again. Yet another takedown attempt blocked by Tamura who tags out to Yamazaki. Silver FINALLY manages something as he blocks a yamazaki high kick and slowly works it into a boston crab before going to a side headlock. There you go Silver. Yamazaki manages to get out/Silver kinda just lets him out and Yamazaki immediately puts him down with kicks for two straight knockdowns. Good lord. I’ve never seen a Tamura team so far ahead. Silver manages to block a Yamazaki submission and put on his own leg lock leading to a rope break. Silver has some momentum finally and lands some kicks, blocks a Yamazaki spin kick. But he manages to get knockdowned by Yamazaki with a kick to the face while Yamazaki is on the ground. Holy shit. Tamura tags in. and slams Silver. Before Tamura can make a sub attempt, Silver rushes to the ropes. This is nuts. 19-2 Tamura and Yamazaki are ahead. Silver manages a uranage type slam on Tamura and FINALLY tags out to Albright. Crowd pop huge. Gary immediately hits two huge belly to belly suplexes on Tamura. Tamura struggles to his feet and Gary PLANTS him with a german suplex and the ref stops the match just like that. Holy shit. Um, wow. Quick finish but Gary is so massive and his suplexes are so great that it doesn’t even matter that the finish was so quick. This was interesting as it was basically worked as a southern style tag match with Mark Silver playing the Ricky Morton role. The first few minutes of this, particularly Gary’s first time in the ring, I wasn’t really digging this. When we got the long section of Silver in peril, it really started to come together and turned into an awesome match. EPIC Kiyoshi Tamura vs Ray Lloyd 8/14/92 Tamura vs the future Glacier! Fuck yeah! I was the world’s biggest Glacier fan back in the day. Tamura takes him down right away and we start with some amateur wrestling leading to nice Tamura toe lock and a rope break. Back standing and Glacier throws some pansy knees, and takes Tamura down going for a cross armbreaker. Tamura is able to block it pretty easily and goes for a leglock into a single leg crab and yet another rope break for Glacier. Glacier manages to sink in a sleeper leading to a rope break. Another rope break by Glacier as he goes for an Achilles hold but Tamura sinks in his own. Quick win as Tamura takes this with a single leg crab. Pretty much a squash for Tamura with Glacier getting a few chances to grab some submissions. So so and cool to see Tamura beating guys this quickly but this is SKIPPABLE.

Yes yes 1000 times yes. Everyone thinks of Anjoh as a surly punk who throws stiff strikes but he also an incredible mat worker and everytime he gets in the ring with Tamura is absolute magic. Anjoh is flying up my list and I might look into doing a Complete and Accurate Yoji Anjoh when I'm done with this project. I've always liked him but he is flying up my list.

Kiyoshi Tamura and Yuko Miyato vs Yoji Anjoh and Mark Fleming 3/17/92 I’m excited for anytime Tamura and Anjoh are in a match together now. So looking forward to this. Miyato and Fleming start off. Striking to start before Fleming catches Miyato and slams him. I mean, I’ve seen all of 8 seconds of Mark Fleming and I kinda dig him. He’s super aggressive and just seems pissed off. There’s another quick suplex by Fleming and they go to the mat. Fleming actually shows some knowledge down on the mat too causing a few rope breaks. Miyato tags out and I’m pretty excited for some Tamura/Fleming action. Fleming immediately goes for a takedown and Tamura is able to defend for a bit but they go to the ground and start working for submissions. It’s pretty solid. Fleming is definitely more dominant with Tamura struggling for counters/reversals due to Fleming’s combo of knowledge (announcers are putting Fleming’s submission skills over pretty big on commentary) and strength. After mostly controlling Tamura for a bit, Fleming tags out to Anjoh. They start with their typical crazy quick striking/grappling each guy going for the advantage. Going from Fleming to Anjoh is a pretty stark contrast right away. Tamura is SO fast against Anjoh that can see how he’s holding back against Fleming to make sure Fleming gets to look good and control their moments against each other. Anjoh is more of a peer/someone for Tamura to prove himself against so he really unleashes and holds nothing back against Anjoh. Great spot with Tamura catching a low Anjoh kick, nailing him with a spinebuster and working towards a single leg crab. Another great sequence where Anjoh forces a rope break, they stand up, and Anjoh absolutely blasts Tamura in the chest for a knockdown. Tamura’s selling is Kawada-esque and he’s forced to tag out. Honestly, Tamura doesn’t normally tag right out after a knockdown. He usually likes to “prove he’s ok” for a bit before tagging out. But that kick was rib crushing and Tamura is selling like a champ down on the apron. Quick little exchange leading to a sick looking Anjoh ankle lock leading to a Miyato rope break and tag out to Fleming. Another very brief exchange with Fleming sinking in an ankle lock, rope break, tag out to Tamura. Fleming immediately gets a takedown and goes for an STF leading to a break. Great double arm suplex by Fleming who then tags out to ANjoh. Anjoh goes for a backsuplex and Tamura sinks in a side headlock for a rope break. It sounds super simple and basic but this was actually a really spectacular moment. Tamura really cranked it and Anjoh scampered to the ropes. Great example of a “ho-hum” pro-wrestling move being put over in a major way and the crowd being super into it. Tamura immediately gets another takedown and works for a leglock and another rope break. Tamura tags out and Miyato rushes in as Anjoh is limping so bad he can’t make it to the corner. Miyato starts unloading on Anjoh and hits his spinning back kick for a knockdown. Anjoh manages to limp over during the reset and tag out and Fleming comes in blasting but gets suplexed and facelocked by Miyato. FUCK this has been good from the start but picked up in a huge way. Right as things start to slow down with Fleming and Miyato on the mat, they both tag out to Tamura and Anjoh. Both guys attempt some strikes and we have another spectacular spot. One of Tamura’s favorite/signature spots has become a quick go-behind into a standing sleeper and he is dragging Anjoh around the ring with the sleeper as Anjoh desperately fights for the ropes leading to a break. Another of Tamura’s favorite spots is the rolling leg lock and he nails it here. I cannot put over enough how fast these two are. Anjoh continues his fantastic selling of the leg as both guys tag out. Fleming immediately gets a takedown and starts working for a submission. I like both Miyato and Fleming but they are not Tamura and Anjoh which is ok because they both tag back in! More insane lightening fast grappling by these two. Finish is one of the most beautiful spot you’re going to see with Tamura going for his flipping leg lock, and Anjoh reversing it into a cross arm-breaker for the win. Wow. I really dug this. Everyone knows about Volk Han as far as Tamura opponents go, but Yoji Anjoh/Tamura is quickly becoming one of my favorite pairings in the shoot style genre. These two were made for each other. Easy EPIC. Tamura vs Matthew Saad Muhammad 5/8/92 This is a “Wrestler vs Boxer” match from UWFi’s first anniversary show worked second from the top underneath Takada/Albright. So that’s pretty cool. Saad is wearing his boxing gloves and if early UFC taught me anything it is that he will lose badly. Bell rings and Tamura starts with the hardest leg kicks known to man. One of them takes Saad down, Tamura pounces, throws on a choke, and we’re done. Crowd goes crazy and Tamura celebrates like Lex Luger beating Hogan on Nitro for the belt. SKIPPABLE really only because it lasted 35 seconds. But it felt like an important moment for Tamura.

Agreed but they did put the rocket on him fairly quickly as '92 went on. I think they realized he was something special compared to good hands such as Nakano and Miyato ... even compared to Anjoh, who was a hell of a wrestler in his own right. As for the earlier question about Kasteel, Sousserov and Klementiev, were you asking if his matches against them were shoots? Or just about them in general? Kasteel was a Dutch shoot fighter, but I'm pretty sure their '99 match was a work. I assume Sousserov and Klementiev matches were worked. Tamura definitely starts to get a bigger push as 92 goes on, but I just haven't really gotten there yet I actually re-watched Vader/Tamura yesterday (didn't review it, I will when I get there chronologically) because it is one of my favorite matches and it is crazy how much offense he gets in against Vader compared to vs Albright. His push/growth is very clear if you compare the first Albright and first Vader matches. I think that Tamura could have been pushed to look as strong vs Albright as he did vs Vader a few years later. Of course, Albright was new and getting the monster push to face Tamura, so I get why they did what they did. I know he wasn't ever going to be #1 over Takada. But I see no reason he couldn't have been pushed more evenly with Kazuo Yamazaki. The talent was there to make up for the lack of experience. As for my question about Kasteel et al, it was really just about them in general. Those names jumped out as "I don't ever remember seeing these names before."

Dylan is blowing my mind talking about Akim Anastopoulo being the promoter for King St Palace independent shows. Amazing.

I've been thinking about this watching all the young Kiyoshi Tamura matches. Who are some of your favorite/the best young wrestlers ever? I'm thinking first 2-3 years of their career? Gut reaction is Tamura, Kobashi, and Akiyama. Who else was a great rookie/youngster?

Scott Norton would be in my top 5 guys to play as on WCW/NWO Revenge for N64. Maybe even #2 behind Mortis. What is his best singles match in real life because now I kinda want to watch a Scott Norton match?

Kiyoshi Tamura and Yuko Miyato vs Mark Silver and Tatsuo Nakano from 2/11/92 Holy shit, Mark Silver’s hair. That is the most ridiculous rat-tail I’ve ever seen to the point that calling it a rat-tail is understating what is happening on this guy’s head. Raccoon tail is more precise. My mother calls people with rat-tails “Alien Pioneers” and from the looks of it, Mark Silver was the captain of the ship. We start with Miyato and Nakano so it’s striking to start. Fairly listless stuff to start before Nakano takes out to Silver who hits a pretty quick suplex. Some back and forth on the mat before Tamura tags in. Nice grappling to start. Silver is bigger than Tamura but not so big that Tamura is completely overwhelmed like against Albright. Tamura has a much easier time avoiding takedowns, getting reversals on the mat, and countering. Silver isn’t exactly Volk Han on the mat. When Tamura sinks in a sub or gets close, Silver isn’t looking for counters, he’s looking for the ropes. Nakano back in and its straight to the mat. Nakano does not mind laying in holds honestly. He manages to sink in a leg lock and Tamura goes for the ropes and tags out to Miyato. Pretty sure we get a brief clip after the replay because it comes back with Silver back in against Miyato. Quick knockdown for Miyato as he blasts Silver in the face with a soccer kick as Silver is trying to stand up off the mat. They fight for position standing for a bit before Tamura tags back in. Tamura gets a quick knockdown with a kick to the knee, then takes Silver down and forces a rope break off a single leg crab. Silver immediately tags out. Dramatic moment with Tamura and Miyato trading sleepers leading to a Tamura rope break. Match is really picking up. Miyato takes Tamura to suplex city before tagging out to Silver. Silver hits a german and shoves Tamura over to the corner. Miyato comes in FIRING away and absolutely KILLS Silver with strikes and a belly to belly with Silver landing directly on his head. Nasty spot. Nakano comes in and Miyato continues his slapping assault before tagging out to Tamura. Nakano immediately wins an exchange and gets a knockdown. Tamura comes back with a HUGE suplex and a rear naked choke. I like what they did. Nakano laid out dead in the ring not going for a counter or the ropes so Tamura just lets him go and makes the ref count a knockdown. Nakano is out on his feet and Tamura immediately gets him back in the choke. Same story with Nakano laying in the hold not going for counters or reversals and this time the ref stops the match. This was so so to start but really picks up with an exciting finishing stretch. You can see in matches like this though that Tamura is holding back compared to how he’d work against someone like Anjoh. If he wanted to, he could work circles around Nakano on the mat and blast Silver with lightening quick strikes. Tamura definitely has the skill-set to have been pushed as a major guy already, but that’s not really how Japanese wrestling worked at the time. You can easily envision an alternate universe where UWFi realized what they had with Tamura and have him beat guys like Nakano, Silver, Burton more easily and put up a much bigger fight against Albright than he did. Anyway, FUN match overall. Kiyoshi Tamura vs Mark Silver 2/29/92 Tamura’s back is all taped up in this injuring himself in training according to the commentary. Feeling each other out to start with Silver getting the first takedown after Tamura avoided the first few. Silver makes a few submissions attempts. He looks so-so. He seems to have an idea of what he wants to do. Cross armbreaker attempt gets over big with Tamura’s desperation selling and rope break. Nice double arm suplex by Silver that Tamura did a nice job defending. Back to grappling and Tamura has an easy time doing what he wants to Silver going for a leglock leading to a rope break. Back standing and Silver keeps going for suplexes, but Tamura’s defense is stellar leading to a takedown by Tamura. This has really turned into Silver repeatedly going for a double arm suplex with Tamura defending it over and over again. Silver is pretty outclassed on every level here so when he does get some submissions locked in, Tamura rushes to the rope to put Silver over. But Tamura is really just defending throws with ease and locking submissions on with ease as this progresses. Tamura’s flow is so natural in this, all of the counters and reversals are just second nature for him. With Silver, you get the sense that he has to think “Ok, in this position what should I try? Oh right a kimura, ok, lets see if I remember how to put on a Kimura. Attempt for Kimura.” Tamura just knows what to do and when. He’s not just thinking in the moment but he’s steps ahead. Super quick finish as Tamura sinks in a side headlock for the sub. FUN match as this is Tamura leading a technically outclassed opponent through a competitive match.

What can you guys tell me about Joop Kasteel, Sergei Sousserov and Vladimir Klementiev?

Kiyoshi Tamura vs Gary Albright 12/22/91 First time Albright and Tamura are matched up against each other. Very short and easily the worst match of Tamura’s career so far that I’ve seen. He’s not terrible, there’s just really nothing to the match. Basically Albright suplexes him into oblivion until the match is stopped. Tamura does get once chance to lock in a sub attempt leading to a rope break so I guess there’s that. The mat work in this isn’t very interesting as Tamura can’t really do much with Albright. Gary does throw some great suplexes and Tamura looks great bumping. But this is definitely SKIPPABLE Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yuko Miyato 1/9/92 Tamura comes out striking and these two have an AWESOME striking exchange to start with Miyato getting a quick knockdown. Standing again and Tamura is sick of getting blasted so ducks in for a go behind and grabs a sleeper taking Miyato down. Miyato’s not really the most exciting mat worker but Tamura keeps it interesting working the sleeper. Cinching it in for effect and dragging Miyato to center ring to keep things interesting. Miyato is able to manage a counter but Tamura gracefully glides back into the sleeper which he won their previous match with. Some nice grappling leading to Miyato getting the advantage on the mat leading to a kimura and rope break for Tamura. For some reason they counted it as a knockdown too which was weird. As usual, Tamura is WAY behind on points. GORGEOUS rolling cross arm breaker by Tamura leading to a rope break as Tamura starts to mount a comeback but is cut off by a sick Miyato back suplex for another knockdown. Tamura makes his comebacks going for leg submissions. A singe leg boston crab, and an ankle lock both leading to rope breaks. He’s way behind on points because Miyato has several knockdowns, but Tamura is causing some real damage so Miyato tries to go back to striking. Tamura is able to catch him, slam him and sink in a leg lock in the center of the ring. These two continue to have really solid matches against each other with Miyato playing the striker and Tamura looking for submissions. This is short and not super memorable in the grand scheme of things. But it is yet another good Tamura performance. I mean, I hate to keep saying over and over how quick and smooth he is, but he is just an incredibly graceful athlete. Based on the Kakihara match and everytime he matches up with Anjoh, you get the sense already in his career that if you give Tamura a good-great opponent and 15 minutes, you’re going to get an excellent match. This wasn’t that but it is an easy FUN.

Kiyoshi Tamura & Yuko Miyato vs Yoji Anjoh & Tom Burton (UWFi 11/7/91) Replacing Nakano with Anjoh from the previous match? Sounds good to me. Anjoh and Miyato to start. Both guys are cautious to start. They’re both throwing strikes but nothing’s really landing. Crowd is silent. There is a tiny tiny pop for the first takedown but nothing for their initial grappling and then their harder strike exchange when they stand again. Anjoh forces Miyato back to the corner and Tamura tags in to a nice pop (finally!). As they circle you hear someone scream out “TAMURA!” and a few other people yell stuff as well and there’s a nice round of applause for Anjoh avoiding Tamura’s first takedown sequence. Tamura scores a quick takedown and works towards a submission which leads to some nice back and forth grappling on the mat. They stand again and battle for position with Anjoh getting in a few nice knee strikes before tagging out to Burton. Burton comes in and gets a quick spinebuster before going to work on a toelock. Tamura tries for a reversal but ends up needing to go for a ropebreak because Burton’s strength. Standing again and Burton immediately gets a bodyslam and ties for another submission but Tamura is too fast and locks on a headscissors as Burton rushes towards the ropes. Tamura might not be strong enough to reverse a Burton sub that’s locked in but he’s fast enough that he can counter out as Burton is attempting to lock something on. Tamura does a nice job selling the leg and tags out to Miyato. Same story with Burton. He closes the gap, gets a slam or takedown and tries to get a submission. Miyato ends up having to go to the ropes and we’re standing again. Burton tens to stand and go for strikes a bit more with Miyato than Tamura at least in the early going. The formula changes up a bit as Miyato avoids a Burton takedown attempt and manages to get behind him on the ground. Burton on the defense against Miyato trying to work a submission isn’t very interesting but it is a twist on the Burton formula (that sounds like a criticism, but it isn’t, I actually am digging Burton on this project). Miyato can’t seem to think of anything to do with Burton so he slaps him on the head, both guys stand and tag out. Anjoh NAILS Tamura with a kick to the face for a knockdown but Tamura gets right back up and Anjoh nails him AGAIN in the face with a jumping kick in the corner Tamura is dazed in the corner, doesn’t fall but it is counted as a knockdown. The first one was a good shot and Tamura got right back up but the 2nd one really knocked him for a loop. Anjoh gloats and its awesome. Both guys lock up and Tamura suplexes Anjoh and starts punching and stomping his head! WHOA! Tamura goes fucking nuts literally kicking Anjoh out of the ring. That was awesome and crowd is going nuts. Don’t piss off Kiyoshi Tamura damn. Standing again and he Tamura immediately shoots in for a takedown and works towards a choke then we have the awesome opponent tries to ankle lock Tamura and Tamura rolls through for his own ankle lock. Anjoh escapes with some hard kicks and tags out. What a fucking sequence. These two are awesome together. Tamura decides to not tag out, which is fine by me. It is short lived as a takedown attempt is blocked by Burton who goes for a choke. Tamura manages to escape and tags out. Miyato gets some knees to the chest and a double arm suplex and a rear naked choke for his troubles. Miyato manages to grab and ankle leading to a burton rope break. Miyato is determined to stand and strike the big man and he manages to get a knockdown with his spin kick. Miyato has a little too much success against Burton who says fuck this and tags out. Anjoh hits a quick suplex leading to Miyato tagging out. Anjoh crushes Tamura with a suplex and starts working towards submissions but Tamura reverses into a choke, leading to an Anjoh rope break. Back standing and Tamura is really taking charge hitting some great strikes, slamming Anjoh, and forcing a rope break. Anjoh tags out. These two are really something special against each other. Burton comes in and plants Tamura then hits a powerbomb and we almost have a repeat of the finish of the last match but Tamura grabs the ropes. He blocks the next Burton takedown attempt finally and goes to work looking for a sub but gets planted against with a german. We do get a repeat of the last matches finish as Burton is dragging Tamura back towards the center of the ring but Tamura desperately rolls through and gets an ankle lock. Burton manages to make the ropes though. Both guys tag out by Tamura is falling in the corner trying to get out of there selling like a champ. Miyato and Anjoh take turns slamming each other and are working much more aggressively against each other than they were which is what you want out of these two. Every time they go to the mat is pretty listeless and not very interesting which is obvious with Tamura in the match. Speaking of Miyato tags out. Tamura comes in, slams Anjoh and we get the most dramatic half crab and side headlock imaginable leading to an Anjoh rope break. Fucking Tamura on cue with the mat work goodness. Both guys tags out. Burton keeps going for subs ad Miyato keeps going for rope breaks. Burton is sick of getting slapped by Miyato I think. Miyato really wants to stand and strike. Burton is really quick to go in for double and single leg takedowns. Nasty suplex by Miyato on Burton actually leading to a sub attempt and rope break. I’m really surprised by how well Miyato handles Burton in this. Both guys tag out! Anjoh comes in firing! Getting a few near knockowns before they go back to grapping and Anjoh manages to submit Tamura. Awesome match. Tamura and Anjoh are phenomenal together. Tom Burton isn’t some lost great worker, but he’s perfectly solid and brings a decent amount to the table in this setting. Miyato isn’t an interesting mat worker but he’s an exciting striker. EPIC

I think the last two are shoots. Not sure about the first, but possible shoot as well. Had a feeling about those. What about vs Overeem from 2/99?

Kiyoshi Tamura vs Tatsuo Nakano 9/26/91 Interesting that Tamura refuses to shake hands with Nakano at the beginning leading to a big “OHHHHHH” from the crowd. Grappling to start and Tamura is a big more aggressive than usual. He’s definitely using his speed and agility to his advantage but his movements seem a bit rougher than the early moments in previous matches. The opening is actually pretty dull considering the prematch handshake refusal. There’s more lying around doing nothing than in any Tamura match so far. Nakano really isn’t doing much. Tamura gets the crowd into a little bit by letting Nakano slowly sink in a choke and then rushing to get to the ropes. Tamura has to be the fastest wrestler I’ve ever seen. It’s all in short bursts on takedowns or scrambling away from reversals but he is just stunningly fast. GREAT spot where Tamura is going for a takedown and Nakano just kills him with a knee to the face. This leads to some really great striking exchanges. Match really picks up after the knee to the face. It slows Tamura enough that Nakano is able to sink in some submissions causing a few ropebreaks. Nakano is way ahead on points. Tamura’s head is taking a pounding with knees and a spot where he lands directly on top of it trying to reverse a double underhook suplex. Tamura is awesome in the guard working for submissions and baiting Nakano into going for strikes opening him up for a reversal and a choke. Nakano is able to reverse out of it without going to the ropes but Tamura manages to get him back into it. Back to their feet and Nakano blasts Tamura with some slaps getting yet another knockdown. It’s starting to get real so Tamura goes after Nakano with a crazy fast striking exchange. Both guys seem desperate to finish each other off and Tamura manages grab a leg and sink in a heel hold for the win after being way way down on points. This starts off slowly but really picks up after the huge Nakano knee to Tamura’s face a few minutes in. FUN Kiyoshi Tamura and Yuko Miyato vs Tatsuo Nakano and Tom Burton 10/6/91 This should be fun. Tamura has had good matches with both Nakano and Tom Burton. Nobody shakes hands again in this one and crowd is buzzing to start. Miyato and Nakano start off. They’re both pretty careful sizing each other up not trying much before Nakano tags out to Burton. Miyato is pretty careful against Burton keeping his distance with leg kicks but Burton manages to get in close and score some big takedowns. Burton works Miyato back to the corner and Nakano comes in and Tamura comes in to a big pop. They immediately go to work with some excellent grappling before Nakano tags out to Burton. Burton immediately grabs Tamura and hits basically a spinebuster and starts working for a side headlock and kimura. Tamura beautifully evades it and tags out to Miyato who comes in striking away leading to Burton tagging in Nakano. Nakano hits the prettiest armdrag this side of Ricky Steamboat. Tamura comes in, hits a few leg kicks, scores a takedown. Nakano and Tamura do an awesome rendition of the Achilles hold reversed by Tamura into a leg lock that Tamura/Han would perfect later in the decade. Both guys tag out and we’re back to Burton and Miyato. Again Miyato tries to keep his distance and slow Burton down with leg kicks opening up an opportunity to Miyato to nail his nasty spin kick. Miyato really has Burton rocking with strikes and then manages a belly to belly suplex. Nice sequence and both guys tag out. Strike exchange between Tamura and Nakano which Nakano ends up winning by scoring a knockdown with a really strong kne to the chest. Tamura gets another takedown, kicks Nakano twice and tags out. Miyato comes in with some crazy strikes and a nasty side suplex then starts working towards submissions. Miyato gets a little overzealous going for his spinning kick and Nakano nails him with a german suplex before tagging out to Burton. Tamura also tags in and immediately starts working for a submission but both guys quickly tag out. Miyato and Nakano come back and have another nice strike exchange. Ton of quick tags in and out as Miyato tags out to Tamura. Tamura continues the strike exchange but goes for one too many head kicks as Nakano reverses it into an Achilles hold. GREAT moment as Nakano grabs Tamura’s arm back from reaching the ropes. Nakano is really just blasting Tamura with strikes and hits one of the nastiest head kicks you’ll ever see. Both guys tag out and Burton just starts killing Miyato with knees and hits a beautiful double underhook suplex. Miyato manages to tag out and Tamura immediately eats a german suplex and a NASTY powerbomb! WHOA! Burton goes for a boston crab, and tries to pull Tamura back as Tamura goes for the ropes. So Tamura rolls through, locks in an ankle lock and scores the submission! DAMN! That came out of nowhere. Man, I enjoyed this. They tagged in and out a whole lot in this which kept the match moving along but also felt like it didn’t really get a chance to breath. And having watched so many southern tag matches, it’s always a little jarring to watch a tag match that doesn’t follow that traditional structure. But there is a lot of good stuff in this. Miyato and Nakano are awesome together and I want to watch some of their singles matches together. I’m enjoying Burton much more than I expected at the start of this project. This isn't the most impressive Tamura performance and honestly, I would say Miyato and Nakano steal the show in this match. But it seems this match was more about developing a future Nakano/Miyato match than anything else. Tamura was very good when he was in the match but there just wasn't a ton of ringtime. The last few minutes and the finish in particular were spectacular. An easy FUN.

There isn't a ton of U-Style online that I've been able to find. I only have 3 matches saved so far against Alexander Otsuka, Sakata and Dokonjonosuke Mishima. But I definitely plan on watching whatever I can find.

I think this is 12/21/96 (and if so, Ditch is hosting it). Awesome! I forgot to look at Ditch's lists! Sweetness!