[1998-04-16-RINGS] Akira Maeda vs Volk Han

[GOTNW]

Awesome stuff here. The insane crowd reactions for the entrances clue you in on this being something special and commentary describes it as Maeda's final match in Osaka or something along those lines, definitely part of his retirement tour. The action itself is great as well, they did a great job of building up every transition on the mat and the keylock counter and the fighting over the leglocks were the highlights of the match, and honestly it probably wouldn't stand out if it happened on a smaller show a few years ago, but here it was more important that the action is good enough to supplement the beautiful atmosphere than to try and force a classic, which, with Maeda's detoriating health, almost certainly wouldn't have been as good of an option as a couple of minutes of tight work. ****

[Jetlag]

Volk destroys the legend. Has anyone made locking in an armlock look as triumphant as he did? Good in the same ways as the previous match, altough in this case it's a little sour that it ended so quickly. Being the main event and all that.

[superkix]

Man, Volk's selling of Maeda's submission attempts is so good - he really makes Maeda still look like a legitimate threat on the mat, and the way this progressed was the perfect momentum to keep the Maeda's aura strong while giving Volk his revenge in the armbar. About as solid as five minutes of matwork can get.