[1990-12-01-UWF-Energy] Kiyoshi Tamura vs Masahito Kakihara

[Control21]

I expected these two to deliver, and they did. While Tamura looked impressive in his previous UWF outings, I think this match is really the start of the Kiyoshi Tamura we would eventually fall in love with in UWFi and RINGS. He is sharp, and despite his size, he is quite a physical presence. Kakihara is still a little raw, but Tamura plays off this well, and the stiff, tense nature of this match is the result of these two recognizing how to play the music, so to speak. Tamura is still vulnerable despite his rapid improvement, and Kakihara picks him off with well-timed strikes, but Tamura is just better, and he knows how to get under Kakihara's skin. Kakihara exhausts a lot of rope breaks as a result and is increasingly vulnerable to Tamura's striking. The two are pretty much even on points down the stretch, and both are down to their last out. Kakihara actually gets back into the match with some well-timed counters, but Tamura keeps pressing, and Kakihara burns all of his rope breaks. Tamura looks a bit upset after the match. He's aware that he couldn't get Kakihara to tap, and knows the victory isn't quite decisive. Mechanically, this is a very impressive match, a great example of what made Kakihara and Tamura so good, even this early in their careers. ****1/4