[1990-05-04-UWF-The Memorial] Kazuo Yamazaki vs Tatsuo Nakano

[superkix]

I love Tatsuo Nakano matches because you know things are going to get real ugly and real scrappy, and that's exactly what you get here with a bloody-nosed shitkicker Nakano, who just pounds on Yamazaki until the more proficient Yamazaki can find an opening and sink his proverbial submission teeth in. Nakano throws a lot of gnarly headbutts and some great suplexes throughout the match. Things cool down on the mat as they work some holds and Nakano isn't quite as skilled at the submission game but I like how he'll throw an elbow or two, or just grab a leg and start bending. Nothing pretty but it all looks painful. Yamazaki's strategy is to try and tap Nakano with a leglock and he goes for it a number of times, supplementing the holds with kicks. But Nakano just wants to bash Yamazaki's skull in with the headbutts. At one point, he takes Yamazaki down with a dragon screw legwhip but doesn't really know how to follow up, other than trying to get back to that front mount to dish out more blunt force trauma. Yamazaki's able to suplex him off or catch him with a hard knee in response to a headbutt but Nakano's relentless at times, climbing onto his back with guillotine choke or German suplexing him onto his head. Nakano's such a squat little prick, it's fantastic -- he'll snap Yamazaki over with a suplex and immediately slap him in the face. Yamazaki's finally able to land some stiff kicks to the head and leg, wearing Nakano down enough to snag hold of the leg and really crank in the submission for the win. Awesomely brutal match.

[Jetlag]

Yamazaki at this point was honestly a kind of dull worker. That does not matter though because Tatsuo Nakano is here to kick his ass. Anytime Nakano gets close he is battering Yamazaki with headbutts. At some point during the early grappling Nakano gets a bloody nose and then blows the blood from his nose during a leglock. Yamazaki DOES kick Nakano like a dog at one point but largely looks overwhelmed. Nakano even slaps him like a bitch after hitting a suplex. Nakano nearfalls were awesome and the crowd went nuts for him, easy Yamazaki finish not so much.

[MikeCampbell]

Yet another example of the fact how great a worker Yamazaki was at this time. He more or less wrestles himself here, he puts himself into positions for Nakano to do simple counters (such as lower his base to prevent the German so Nakano only needed to shove him down to get a back mount), and he absolutely sells his ass off and makes it seems like Nakano actually has a prayer of winning this match. Of course, he's Kazuo Yamazaki and he knows that he can end it whenever he wants, which he does after a couple of hard kicks and a legbar. But it's a total blast watching him look like Nakano's bitch before that. After this match Maeda faced Funaki and Takada wrestled Suzuki, and both of those matches are surefire insomnia cures.