[1993-10-29-PWFG] Carl Greco vs Katsumi Usuda

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Phil Schneider]

Shootstyle is this weird style where you can be really great right out of the blocks. This is possibly Usuda's first match and he was already awesome. Greco is really fun here too, as he has really athletic mat work. Really great flipping counters and attempts. Usuda wasn't kicking the shit out people like he would in BattlArts, but his mat stuff was super too, I especially loved the double hammerlock submission. This was a draw that didn't feel like a draw and made me want to see the rematch badly.

[Loss]

Carl Greco is an amazing athlete. I've always liked him, but this is the earliest footage I've ever seen of him. I don't really like long matches in this style, but this has some really good stuff.

[PeteF3]

Some cool suplexes and Usuda smacking Greco's kicks way was cool. But shootstyle time limit draws in front of dead PWFG crowds are going to try my patience every time.

[garretta]

Not much happened here, plus we got a huge cut in the middle, as only about twenty-two minutes out of thirty were shown. Greco dominated from what I could tell, but this was way too slow and had an inconclusive finish. In short, this was everything I hate about shoot-style in one great big package. Hopefully Malenko-Ishikawa will be better.

[soup23]

Fun match that had a lot of advanced grappling centered around leg locks. Greco is one of my favorite guys when he crops up as he has such a natural wrestling delivery and the fluidity of the takedowns and control segments are always a treat to watch. This probably would have benefited from being a bit shorter but it was entertaining while it lasted to me. ***1/2