Dick Vrij

[Grimmas]

Control21 said:

A kickboxer built like a bodybuilder, and one from Holland. This would becomome a common theme in Kakutogi in the decade following Dick Vrij's debut in UWF in 1989. Perhaps one of the first true monster heels in shoot-style. Dick Vrij had the look of a crazed man who couldn't work a lick, but was actually very good in the ring and only improved in time in terms of being able to construct a solid shoot-style match. He was a key part of Akira Maeda's RINGS promotion in its early years and provided Maeda with a credible main event rival to help build cards around. Dick Vrij's involvement with Chris Dolman and his dojo would eventually see guys like the Overeem brothers and Gilbert Yvel make their way over to Japan. Perhaps not a heavy contender for most top 100 lists, but certainly name that merits some consideration.

Recommended matches -

vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara 11/29/89

vs Akira Maeda 5/11/91

vs Akira Maeda 8/1/91

vs Volk Han 8/21/92

vs Volk Han 7/13/93

vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto 7/18/95

vs Masayuki Naruse 11/22/96

[Ma Stump Puller]

His 1989 Fujiwara match from U-Cosmos is probably the worst match he's ever had, through that wasn't really his fault given how shoddy the whole thing was set up as a fake fight. Vrij literally just lets the guy do whatever he wants by the end despite the guy landing some of the worst kicks I've ever seen.

Anyway, Vrij kinda goes the same way as other shoot-style monsters like Albright in that he starts off pretty high on the card but eventually loses his allure after a while and gets jobbed out to every potential big act: after a while of watching you know that guys like Volk and Maeda aren't in any real danger from this guy, which while it doesn't make the technique and overall quality of their matches any worse, it does lessen the tension in those conditions. That said, a convincing striker with a ton of cockiness and dirty antics made him a natural juxtaposition to the honorable mat-workers he was usually paired up with, so good matches out of him are easy to find. Main issue is that that was kinda the only dynamic he ever felt fresh in; his lack of versatility is a natural issue that would probably exclude him out of my personal top 100.

 

 

[PeteF3]

If he'd gone into full-bore wrasslin' I'm 100% convinced he would have been a much better worker and star than Tony Halme, with a similar dynamic. His showmanship and cockiness made him stand out as a star in RINGS and his matches were usually worth watching for that reason alone. No chance at a top 100 because the total output just isn't there and as fun as he was it just wasn't a Volk Han-like peak. But if we did a top 200 or 250 I might use a personal pick on him for last place.