Loss Posted October 13, 2011 Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 Talk about it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted December 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 Just an incredibly violent, stiff spectacle. The '93 match is my favorite UWFI match of all time and a lost classic. This is dangerously close to it. I need to seek out other Anjo/Sano matches, as these two are matches that should be talked about as all-time classics on the level of any other all-time great rivalry you want to mention. The traditional pro wrestling selling and facial expressions mixed in with the top notch matwork and tremendous kicks make this one for the ages. Anjo's front facelock is incredible, and Sano's deadlift suplex to get out of it was pretty great too. Anjo is a guy who I had never really had the chance to watch much prior to the yearbooks where I've now become a huge fan. Sano is Sano, and while he's famous for the Liger feud, I think this is a better series if these two matches are any indication. There is not a single wasted movement in this match. Phenomenal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditch Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 Those are the only two singles between them. There were a couple tags. Pity, that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Evans Posted May 28, 2012 Report Share Posted May 28, 2012 This was pretty good. Not as good as the Han match but stiff as hell. That kick towards the end I thought was the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteF3 Posted September 30, 2014 Report Share Posted September 30, 2014 This is grittier and more intensely mat-oriented than I remember the '93 match being, but these two are still awesome together. I think the Han match was a bit better but this is probably the #2 UWFI match of the year. Sano's counters and hiptosses into the finishing cross armbreaker was just a gorgeous master class of wrestling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted January 10, 2017 Report Share Posted January 10, 2017 #290 This wasn't vintage shoot style but it was still a hard-fought contest. Anjoh honestly seems better suited to pro-style. It's not that he's a bad grappler per se. He's just nowhere near as slick as the best shoot style workers and can be cumbersome at times. More to the point, it's his pro-style screaming and hollering that makes this click. Sano looked good here, but never scaled the heights of PWFG in his UWF-i run, and his dry retching noises were gross! Wouldn't put this as high as Tamura/Yamazaki, which still leads the way for UWF-i matches on the list, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenjo Posted August 4, 2017 Report Share Posted August 4, 2017 An interesting one because Anjoh's best bouts usually rely on his strong personality creating a dynamic to play off. This was straight up shoot style. The pacing was tight with no time wasted. There was a nice balance of striking and holds. Very stiff work, particularly from Sano near the end. He crushed him to gain an ultimately convincing victory. A fine effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted September 10, 2017 Report Share Posted September 10, 2017 Naoki Sano vs Yoji Anjoh - UWFI 6/18/95 I feel that RINGS is to UWFi as AJPW is to NJPW, but just as in the AJPW-NJPW relationship, UWFi is occasionally able to come close to their more heralded competitor. This is one of those cases where Sano/Anjoh match RINGS in their ability, energy and organic feel. The opening features an amazing 5 minutes of shooting on the mat in amazing fashion that is gritty as it is intense ending with amazingly muscular Boston Crab by Sano. Where Sano and Anjoh have one up on their RINGS counterparts is their pro wrestling background and as a pro wrestling fan that means good character work and lots of great selling and of course ZEBRA PRINT~! (thanks Anjoh!). I feel like the Sano STF on Anjoh was incredibly compelling in a totally pro wrestling way that RINGS could never duplicate because of their shooty nature. I also loved the story of this match. Sano gets a big knee in the corner and then a dropkick to a head to score a knockdown putting it at 14-11. Anjoh spends the rest of the match digging out of the hole working hard to make it 10-10 through a ton of submission work dripping with struggle. Him getting out of that aforementioned STF and converting into his own submission was huge. I love just as Anjoh worked his way back into the match Sano just blows him out of the water with two huge knockdowns one being a deadlift German suplex. Both of their selling before of this war of attrition was great and Anjoh spent all his energy trying to get back into the match and Sano was able to score. Anjoh was spent and blocked the last German, which would have lost him the match, but falls prey to the deep cross armbreaker for the quick submission. Brutal, flashy, energetic match which used the points system really well to create a compelling narrative, loved it. ****1/2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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