Showing posts with label Volk Han. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Volk Han. Show all posts

Friday, April 5, 2019

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 49: Best of Other Puroresu 1996-1999 (Volk Han, Kiyoshi Tamura, Genichiro Tenryu)

Hey Yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 49:
The Best of Other Puroresu 1996-1999

Objective:  Break up the Greatest Match Ever Project (hosted at http://gweproject.freeforums.net/) into more manageable chunks to help me build my Top 100 List for the project.

Motivation: Contribute to the discussion around these matches to enrich my own understanding of pro wrestling and give a fresh perspective for old matches and even hopefully discover great pro wrestling matches that have been hidden by the sands of time.

Subject: This forty-ninth volume of Pro Wrestling Love is the conclusion of the Top 12 countdown of the best matches to take place in the independent promotions of Japan between 1996-1999 this includes the shoot-style promotions of RINGS, UWFi, Battlarts, and Kingdom and the pro-style promotions of WAR, FMW and Onita Pro. The year 1996 was selected as the beginning because that was the year that there was an increase in quality matches from the independent scene and when RINGS really kicked into high gear. The big four of Volk Han, Kiyoshi Tamura, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka and Yoshihisa Yamamoto closed the decade with some of the best matches not just of the decade, but of all time. 1996 is also the year that saw the demise of UWFi as Takada completed his invasion of New Japan and had one last gasp in a major feud with Genichiro Tenryu in a UWFi vs WAR feud. WAR also was on fumes with very few shows at the end of the decade with Tenryu spending his time in New Japan. FMW switched from an Onita-centric Death Match promotion to an Attitude Era style promotion centered around Hayabusa. Finally, with the demise of PWFG, BattlArts, centered around the interminable feud between Yuki Ishikawa and Daisuke Ikedea, rose from its ashes and created a ultra-violent, brutal hybrid style between pro and shoot style.    You can revisit past Pro Wrestling Love Volumes at ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com. You can check out the full version of these reviews in ProWrestlingOnly.com by going to the forums and finding the folders associated with the date of the match.

Contact Info: @superstarsleeze on Twitter, Instagram & ProWrestlingOnly.com.



Top Six Heavyweight Other Puroresu Matches 1996-1999

#6. Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - RINGS 4/4/97

"That doesnt look good" - Some ignorant American fan hollering in the middle of the match

First 15 minutes: Yamamoto is a wizard and coming out of all my 1996 watching I thought he was a solid 3rd behind Han & Tamura. It was demonstrated in the first half of this match as he was clearly dominating on the match. He was wearing the kick pads but no boots which would leave him open for my dreaded Greco-Roman Toelock. When my buddy comes home, we always wrestle (him being an actual wrestler from back in high school always beats me in the end), and my favorite finish is too grab his big toe and just wrench it. Anyways, the reason not to wear shoes is to evade heel hooks. As typical with RINGS, it is standup->takedown->scrap on the mat->rope break, rinse lather repeat. The interesting stuff is always the mat action. Kohsaka was usually the one taking Yamamoto down, but Yamamoto was the one who would win the scrap on the mat. Kohsaka was breathing heavy about ten minutes into this match. Yamamoto was countering at will. At one point, the crowd popped because they though Kohsaka had a toehold, but Yamamoto remained calm; wriggled free and won the day. It was mostly toeholds that Yamamoto was using, there was a great one he basically did a double wristlock but applied to the ankle. He also had a strong guillotine choke. The sequence of the match thus far was Kohsaka had a side-mount double top wristlock which Yamamoto beautifully turned into a DEEP headscissors and from there a bodyscissors, but left his feet dangling and Kohsaka crossed his ankles to force the break. Late into the 15 minutes, Kohsaka again was about to counter into a toehold that is hard to describe. In the resulting standup something interesting happened, Yamamoto actually connected with a vicious knee that drew blood from Kohsaka's face right above the eyebrow. RINGS in my experience is very much a mat-based promotion and the stand up is usually perfunctory. They take about a minute to check on him and that wraps up the first half. I would say Yamamoto won the first half, BUT Kohsaka looked strong in the last two scraps, however he just took a knee to the face. Will the knee change the complexion of the match and turn it into a stand up fight OR do they keep it on the mat?  Fuck, I almost forgot, the coolest submission of the first half was Yamamoto using what can only be described as a Short Leg Scissors. Think of a Short Arm Scissors but applied to the knee instead of the elbow. He had it in their deep. I cant believe I almost forgot that. I marked out for that. 

Final 15 minutes: Wow I dont think they were selling exhaustion, I think they were exhausted. What a cardio workout that was amazing. Kohsaka comes out hot from the knee to the face. He throws some of his own knees and settles for a heel hook, but thats reversed, Kohsaka does force the rope break. He is off to hot start. The standup has definitely gotten more fierce. Kohsaka comes down from his high. Yamamoto cool & calm as ever takes him down with a guillotine choke and takes the next two rope breaks. Kohsaka takes the next one. By my count, they are even, but I may have missed one. I feel like this match was designed to be very symmetrical. To me the story was Yamamoto is the natural. Kohsaka is the workhorse. Yamamoto makes things look effortless. Kohsaka's strongest attribute is his willpower. It goes full stand up and wow it is amazing. So much desperation. So much exhaustion. Kohsaka throws a kick to Yamamoto's side that crumples him which is an automatic down. That takes me back to the old UWF days when a well-placed mid-section kick could really ruin someone's day. Kohsaka gives as good as he hot as he rips the side of the eye/eye lid of Yamamoto open. Nasty injury! I couldnt really tell how it happened. I bet they didnt plan for blood on either end but it worked into the symmetry story AND how desperately these men wanted the victory. Yamamoto finished the sequence out coming roaring back to knock Kohsaka down. Again the story is symmetry. They tussle on the mat. The end of the match is Yamamoto desperately trying to pry the clasp of Kohsaka's hands so that he can apply the cross-armbreaker. Honestly, when the bell rang, I thought it was a straight up draw, but I think there was one Yamamoto rope break I might have missed, but this was insane. 

Talk about wanting to win a match these two men make you believe that their entire worlds depend on the outcome of this match. The exhaustion, the nasty, hardway cuts, the desperation grappling, My God. The submission wizardy in the first half was engrossing and the grittiness in the second half had me on my seat. Generally, I am not a proponent of long shoot style matches. I think this is easily the best long shoot style match I have seen, BUT it still had some of the negatives that come with this type of length: there are only so many toeholds, wristlocks that you can do and there is a lot of jockeying. They should be applauded for having a classic match at this length in a genre that does not benefit in going long, but I still think the length was to the detriment of the match. Hate to criticize but I have to because I am always thinking Greatest Match Ever. Still these are two men who honestly I dont care about. I have seen 3-5 matches from each. I dont love or hate them, I just have no emotional connection to either. It is a feather in their cap that they made me care. I was on the ride with them and I wanted to know who the hell was going to win. Incredible gutsy performance from both men. 

#5. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - RINGS 6/27/98

Well they are breaking the RINGS formula here. Usually, it is stand-up->takedown->grapple->rope break->repeat, but the first twelve minutes are all grappling with no rope breaks. Tamura decides to reset by standing. It is amazing twelve minutes. The body positioning, movement and struggle are on full display here. Kohsaka looked great, more offensive minded. He was putting his body in weird positions to be successful. He almost got Tamura twice once with a headscissors and the other a toehold. The toehold looked devastating. Kohsaka was flipping out of full mounts into  Boston Crab and Cross-Armbreaker attempts so explosively. Tamura did get a triangle choke from a full mount in a way I have never seen. Like I said it was Tamura who decided to reset and if I was judging I would have given Kohsaka that 12-minute round. The fight gets really good. They do a little stand up and Tamura catches a kick. Great takedown by Tamura. Very immediate and the heel hook he has looks sunk in. Kohsaka gets figure-4 using his arms on Tamura's legs that forces Tamura to use the ropes and that is the first rope break. From 12 minutes of grappling to that explosive exchange on that mat. I like the shifting gear. Tamura as usual when he gets shown up comes out swinging in the stand up. Really good shit. Kohsaka tries to quell this fast break by going for a takedown but Tamura easily spins out and gets behind Koshaka quashing the takedown attempt. This is definitely high end RINGS so far. 

Tamura is controlling the stand up. Showing himself to be more aggressive, hitting harder and landing more shots. This is forcing bad takedown attempts by Kohsaka and Tamura is controlling the grappling. Interesting that three times, Tamura starts on top during the grappling, he is left scrambling for the ropes. I mentioned one time in the previous paragraph. In addition, he loses control to a heel hook and a top wristlock (transitioned into a cross-armbreaker). It seems very un-Tamura like. Each time, he comes out firing. There is one exception. In between, the second and third ropebreak he does finish a grappling session out. I thought he was going for a neck crank headscissors, but he explosively switches gears to a cross-armbreaker. Watch how Kohsaka immediately bridges. This alleviates some pressure and gives him a chance to get to his belly and make the ropes. Great Kohsaka defensive match. Defensive clinic. Down 3-1, Tamura just light his ass up. You could tell he was not going to relent with these vicious strikes until Kohsaka went down meaning it is now 3-3. Love that aggression and mean streak. Tamura gets loose again. He takes Kohsaka down into a deep, deep side choke, really cranking, but cant finish and it is Kohsaka that finds a way to apply a rear naked choke. They are too close to the ropes so it doesnt count, but still Tamura is just not finishing besides that excellent stand up exchange where he would not be denied. 

From here on out, they really "sell" exhaustion well (who know they might have been shoot blowed up because this is a very taxing cardio style). Tamura falls on his ass during the next stand up and Kohsaka collapsing on a kick to the shin. Tamura gets a quick rope break by going for a choke. Kohsaka has changed game plans. He is going for big bombs. Huge head rocking strikes. I thought he had Tamura down, but Tamura SWEEPS THE LEG! Tremendous leg bar! Koshaka is forced to get the ropes. Tamura is now winning 5-3 after being down 3-1, scored four unanswered points. Whats interested is that Kohsaka gets the next rope break on the attempt of a submission. Tamura almost never goes for a rope break until he is in trouble. At the 5 minute mark of this match, he would have applied his wizardry to get out now instead he is so exhausted, he is just going for the rope break. Then Kohsaka actually controls a takedown and applies a guillotine choke and Tamura just gets his toe on the ropes. This is a very vulnerable Tamura. A side we dont see too often. It is 5-5 with 3 minutes left in the time limit. Kohsaka gets a very tired takedown that Tamura kneels into. This has gone from Man vs Man to Man vs Self. Each man is battling with his own body. Trying to will a victory when there is very little will left. Kohsaka looks poised to apply a submission, but Tamura wriggles free and climbs his back. REAR NAKED CHOKE! After all the defensive wizardry of Kohsaka, for Tamura to get a counter like this is huge. He leaves his feet dangling. Kohsaka gets the ankle cross. Tamura has to release the choke, but he goes for the cross-armbreaker, but the bell rings signaling a draw and it is a dead heat in points too at 5 apiece. 

Terrific match. I liked the first twelve minutes, but I LOVED the last 18 minutes. Great story. I was really pulling for Kohsaka masterful defensive wrestling match turning defense into offense on numerous occasions and then becoming offensive-minded down the stretch. Tamura was great striking a balance between vulnerable and asskicker. I loved his mistakes fueled his rage. Then I loved the selling of exhaustion and how this became a struggle against their own bodies as much as it was against themselves. In the running for the best non-Volk Han RINGS match with the Kohsaka/Yamamoto draw from the year before.

#4. Genichiro Tenryu vs Great Muta - WAR 10/11/96

One of my all-time favorite matches, which I watched originally over ten years ago (I cant believe that!), and it does not disappoint in rewatch (probably the first time I have watched it in 5 years). There is something about Great Muta in his full regalia that is just so captivating. There have been many imitations but they all pale in comparison to the original. Tenryu in his stately kimono stands in stark contrast to the demonic Muta. Tenryu throwing the ceremonial bouquet of flowers is a great opening salve of hostility. The action is fast & furious. When Muta is on. the chaos & violence he generates is engrossing. He is able to combine Wildman actions with Hellish overtones into a very intoxicating concoction. It is both sad that Great Muta vs Undertaker was never seriously considered because that would have been a great WrestleMania Spectacle and that there is a real dearth of great Wildman characters in pro wrestling today. Tenryu stands in direct opposition as a stoic, Japanese badass that stands for authority with his brutal hard strikes. Muta breaks a glass bottle against the ring post and drive it deep into Tenryu's head drawing blood. Muta is such a glorious heel here jabbing the wound with his fingers and any hard metal object he can find. He piledrives him into a table. He takes every heel shortcut imaginable. I loved Tenryu trying to chop Muta down, but like the Creature from the Black Lagoon he arises again and again to chop Tenryu down. Eventually, Tenryu rallies with big chops and fists. Just by the virtue of how good the heat segment was you just pumped to see Tenryu overcome and kick some ass. TENRYU SNAPS~! Throwing chairs and a table into the ring. He goes to take Muta's head off with a chair and MIST~! Great cutoff and great use of the table with the back handspring elbow and moonsault. I love Muta throwing the table on his head then beating up a WAR dude and taking his write shirt to write something in Tenryu's blood. That's awesome. Backbreaker, which is the traditional lead in to the moonsault but Tenryu powerbombs him off the top! Kickout, he goes for number two and MIST~! I FORGOT ABOUT THAT! MARK OUT CITY! Tenryu is really covered in green and really sells it. Tenryu blocks the mist by COVERING MUTA'S MOUTH! I forgot about that too! MARK OUT CITY~! Tenryu hits a combination lariat and puts Muta down with a third powerbomb.

Amazing combination of Clash of Titans and violent brawl. Everything felt HUGE~! From the entrance attire to their characters to the spots in the match, everything felt enormous. My minor complaint is the first powerbomb was a bit out of nowhere (would have liked Muta to miss that moonsault) and thought a more violent climax like a powerbomb on a chair or table would have been more fitting. Thought the heat segment by Muta is one of the all-time greatest and the work around the Mist was amazing. Just a match that built and built with two amazing characters ready to have your mind blown by this rating...****3/4 Whats crazy is that five years later they have a polar opposite match and I say that's *****. Great chemistry.

#3. Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura - RINGS 9/26/97

Some people find God, I found Volk Han. Fan-fucking-tastic. I love how aggressive Han comes out in this match. He wants to rip Tamura's arm off. The normally stoic, nonchalant Tamura was even caught off guard. Han ripped him to the ground and hit a wicked palm strike to break the clasp of Tamura's hands preventing the cross-armbreaker. It set the tone for the entire match. The drama was off the charts. On the second scrap, Han loses the grip on his clasp for a second and then quickly regains before Tamura get him all the way over. That was crazy. Han was just so into the double wristlock. Great double wristlock rip takedown. Tamura is a great fighter, but Han was just imposing his well. Han wraps Tamura up in a pretzel and Tamura escapes right into a double wristlock. Tamura shows some signs of life when he gets a kneebar and forces a ropebreak. Then all of sudden the match changes. Tamura has all this pep in his step and Han has kind of gassed himself. Tamura throws some AMAZING kicks in this match. Han is knocked down but quickly springs to his feet as if to stay dont charge me with a knockdown. The first two times they dont but Tamura is just blitzing him and evrntually Han has to take counts. Two knockdowns are scored back to back. Han catches the next kick, but Tamura wraps him in a guillotine choke. It was all Han in the first part, but Tamura is whuppin' him now. So Han does for his trusty double wristlock, but Tamura partially blocks but it leads to a Han cross armbreaker and Tamura needs a rope break. Han is feeling better and again goes back to the double wristlock, but cant get the right positioning. My favorite moment of the match is when Tamura reverses into a cross armbreaker but just as he breaks the clasp, his grip slips and he loses Han's hand! Han immediately grabs the legs! A close second is right after this, Han comes in with a wicked combination of palm strikes and knocks Tamura down! Han's cocky celebration is magnificent. I fucking love him! Not to be outdone, the finish sequence is a beauty. The struggle it took for Tamura to yank Han down to the mat with a side headlock takeover into a cross armbreaker was awesome! Perfect reaction upon tap out...Tamura is fucking pumped and Han slams the mat in disgust. 

The only reason I know more perfect matches exist is because I like the other two more, but this is terrific. It is absolutely thrilling with so many character touches. All three of Han/Tamura matches will make my Top 100.

#2. Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura - RINGS 9/25/96

Volk Han in all his glory double wristlock rips, ankle crosses galore and him taking a straight front kick to the gut. Tamura is a great opponent because he is so energetic and feisty. That opening double wristlock rip is godly. Tamura is a champ for taking that. As soon as Tamura wriggles free, it is right into the ankle cross. This is Volk Han 101 and it looks great because of Tamura's energy and struggle. I love how Han has an answer for everything. Tamura goes for a legbar to counter the ankle cross and Han goes for the cross armbreaker. Han grabs heel and had good control, but squanders the control and on the takedown almost cost himself by ending up in a cross armbreaker. Han is able to counter into an amazing double wristlock and forces him to go for the ropes. Amazing ability to stay on offense by Han. Han has great takedown defense for Tamura who tries to switch up by shooting for a double leg. These are great opponents because Han is so cool under pressure and Tamura is feisty. Han can get cocky though like his showy pulling arm through Tamura's legs and Tamura catches him with a heel hook forcing the rope break. Han grabs a choke and of course his ankles get crossed so you believe a submission is possible. They end up in the ropes and Tamura gets charged with an rope escape. Weird. DEEP Tamura single leg crab then floats into an armbar. Great struggle in this. I loved Han's short leg scissors amazing bend. I love when wrestlers figure-4 random body parts. Always looks amazing. Another tremendous Han spot is when Tamura tries to apply a figure-4 to his leg and leaves his arm just out there and Han grabs a cross armbreaker. Tamura is just writhing around in pain and flaying. It really feels like a finish and I know Han has finished a match like that before. Just great drama. Han goes up 4-1 in rope breaks and then in classic Han runs into a straight front kick for the knockdown. That sort of levels the playing field and looks like Han could fall after controlling the first portion of the match. Tamura is working so hard. Look at how much effort he does getting a side headlock and the way every single muscle is focused on making a Volk Han head pop. Han slaps the taste out of his mouth and gets a knockdown. Tamura tries desperately for a choke, but Han is able to grab his favorite hold, the double wristlock.

Amazing match! Before I always I thought I liked and appreciated shoot style, but I could never really love it as much as traditional pro wrestling. I loved this! The struggle and energy were off the charts. I liked the strategy and the distinct characters. The matwork was incredible and the way he kept going for double wristlocks and ankle crosses gave the match a touchstone that a lot of shoot style matches lack. Highly recommended.

#1. Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura - RINGS 1/22/97

This match starts off the same way as their first encounter when Han gets an awesome double wristlock rip (did you see the wrist control!) and then ankle crossing. The difference here is Tamura acquits himself much better on the mat. He is not as easily suckered into a cross armbreaker and holds his own. The second spot in the first match is Han getting heel control here Tamura throws a wild spinning mule kick. Han tries to close the gap, but Tamura goes for a rolling legbar, but Han picks his foot out and Tamura does a kip up. WOW! Loved it! I am sorry how did anyone buy this as a shoot though? Tamura gets a takedown. Tamura is doing a lot better here. The jockeying around the heel hook is great with each looking to be in command. There is a great moment where Han has switched to a double wristlock, but releases as Tamura almost gets the ropes to prevent the rope break. Tamura gets a cross armbreaker and forces the first escape. Tamura 1-0. Interesting. Tamura is just as aggressive but is definitely wrestling within himself. Tamura is way more aggressive in his stand up now. I think this is a winning strategy for Tamura. The kicks to the legs look like they are making in roads and Han does not look as comfortabke standin up. I love Han is constantly trying to close the gap and Tamura is pushing him away so he can get full extension on his kicks. Tamura's mistake is going for a bodyscissors takedown and not completing it. This leaves him open for Han's second favorite hold the ankle cross and Tamura has to go for the ropes. On stand up, Tamura goes back to work, but Han closes the gap and takes him down with a double wristlock. Great selling from Tamura once he gets out. On the mat, Tamura gets a flash cross armbreaker that freaks Han out and Han retaliates with a choke, but keeps his ankles to the side so they cant be crossed. Very cool! Hot sequence. Tamura goes high with a kick and it is blocked. Han is vulnerable to the STRAIGHT FRONT KICK! Tamura up 4-2 and is looking much better going into the home stretch. Until Han just takes him down and immediately crosses his ankles for the rope break. Han absorbs some kicks finally feels the rhythm and catches one and THEN HE KICKS OUT THE PLANT LEG! WOW! Heel hook and immobilizes the free leg and Tamura has no choice to tap.

Great callbacks to the first match. Awesome progression from Tamura. I feel like there was a lot of nervous energy in the first match (in a good way) here he is much more in the zone. He acquits himself well with the Mat Wizard from Soviet Russia but starts to make in roads in the stand up game. However, Han can still take him down at will and Tamura really does not have a defense against the double wristlock or ankle cross. The kicking out the plant leg and just watching Tamura's knee buckle was crazy. The progression from Tamura and the awesome finish make this another stone cold RINGS classic. *****

Thursday, April 4, 2019

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 48: Best of Other Puroresu 1996-1999 (Genichiro Tenryu, Nobuhiko Takada, Volk Han)


Hey Yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 48:
The Best of Other Puroresu 1996-1999

Objective:  Break up the Greatest Match Ever Project (hosted at http://gweproject.freeforums.net/) into more manageable chunks to help me build my Top 100 List for the project.

Motivation: Contribute to the discussion around these matches to enrich my own understanding of pro wrestling and give a fresh perspective for old matches and even hopefully discover great pro wrestling matches that have been hidden by the sands of time.

Subject: This forty-eighth volume of Pro Wrestling Love is the beginning of the Top 12 countdown of the best matches to take place in the independent promotions of Japan between 1996-1999 this includes the shoot-style promotions of RINGS, UWFi, Battlarts, and Kingdom and the pro-style promotions of WAR, FMW and Onita Pro. The year 1996 was selected as the beginning because that was the year that there was an increase in quality matches from the independent scene and when RINGS really kicked into high gear. The big four of Volk Han, Kiyoshi Tamura, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka and Yoshihisa Yamamoto closed the decade with some of the best matches not just of the decade, but of all time. 1996 is also the year that saw the demise of UWFi as Takada completed his invasion of New Japan and had one last gasp in a major feud with Genichiro Tenryu in a UWFi vs WAR feud. WAR also was on fumes with very few shows at the end of the decade with Tenryu spending his time in New Japan. FMW switched from an Onita-centric Death Match promotion to an Attitude Era style promotion centered around Hayabusa. Finally, with the demise of PWFG, BattlArts, centered around the interminable feud between Yuki Ishikawa and Daisuke Ikedea, rose from its ashes and created a ultra-violent, brutal hybrid style between pro and shoot style.    You can revisit past Pro Wrestling Love Volumes at ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com. You can check out the full version of these reviews in ProWrestlingOnly.com by going to the forums and finding the folders associated with the date of the match.

Contact Info: @superstarsleeze on Twitter, Instagram & ProWrestlingOnly.com.

GANNOSUKE VS TANAKA BABY!


Honorable Mentions
Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs Mikhail Iloukhine - RINGS 11/20/97
Kiyoshi Tamura vs Mikhail Ilioukhine (RINGS 01/21/98)
Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS 06/24/99)
I have watched a lot of shoot-style at the point now and have really come to enjoy the genre, but I do not claim to be expert and there are still times I am left scratching my head. The above the matches are matches I thought ranged from very good to great, but fell short of classics. A lot of esteemed reviewers consider these some of the best matches of all time. The Tamura/Yamamoto match from ’99 is considered a top 10 match of the decade of the 1990s throughout the world. I don’t see that high, but I encourage people to watch and form their own views.

Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka vs Daisuke Ikeda & Mohammed Yone (BattlARTS 01/12/99)
Yuki Ishikawa & Carl Greco vs Alexander Otsuka & Mohammed Yone (BattlARTS 03/12/99)
Yuki Ishikawa & Daisuke Ikeda vs Joe Malenko & Carl Malenko (BattlARTS 06/09/99)
The top match from January is another highly regarded match that fell flat for me. Sometimes, I feel that BattlArts is just move after move without any discernible story. I will have to give it a rewatch at some point. The tag matches from March and June are great matches that exemplify the stiff, tight BatBat style.

Nobuhiko Takada & Masahito Kakihara vs Tatsumi Fujinami & Yoshiaki Fujiwara - UWFi 6/26/96
Genichiro Tenryu vs Yoji Anjoh - WAR 7/21/96
Genichiro Tenryu vs Nobuhiko Takada - WAR 12/13/96
This is a part of the dying days of UWFi as Takada declares war on WAR! The Tenryu/Anjoh match is super fun and a great how who can you dick each other match. The Tenryu/Takada WAR match is the pro-style rematch to the UWFi match that took place in September. Some people enjoy the rematch even more.

Genichiro Tenryu, Nobutaka Araya, & Shoji Nakamaki vs Atsushi Onita, Sambo Askao & Okumura - WAR 6/20/99
Onita & Co. vs Tenryu & Co. - Onita Pro 6/27/99 Barbed Wire Match
In 1999, over the course of the week, Tenryu and Onita reprised their rivalry from the mid-90s in a wild, chaotic two brawls that feature their cronies doing crazy shit. Watch this stuff!

Kiyoshi Tamura vs Willie Peeters - RINGS 7/16/96
Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto - RINGS 12/19/96
Kiyoshi Tamura vs Bitzade Tariel - RINGS 7/22/97
Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yoshihisa Yammamoto (RINGS 09/21/98)
Kiyoshi Tamura is a big fan favorite of shoot-style purists. While I do prefer Fujiwara and Volk Han, I can not deny Tamura’s greatness. I really enjoy his matches against the cocky Dutch kickboxer Willie Peeters and the bruising Georgian Bitzade Tariel.

Volk Han vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - RINGS 7/16/96
Volk Han vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto - RINGS 8/13/97
Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS 05/22/99)
The Russian Mat Wizard and Soviet Maestro, Volk Han will feature predominantly in this list, but these matches against Kohsaka and Yamamoto help flesh out of his work. The Kohsaka vs Yamamoto is a worthy successor to their ’97 classic.  


Yuki Ishikawa vs Daisuke Ikeda - BattlArts 8/4/96
Daisuke Ikeda vs Alexander Otsuka - BattlArts 11/5/97
Yuki Ishikawa vs Daisuke Ikeda - BattlArts 9/1/97
These three singles matches exemplify the BattlArts style of ultra-violent strikes and strong commitment to defensive counterwrestling. As I have said, Ishikawa and Ikeda are the Tom & Jerry of pro wrestling and I bet they are somewhere right now punching each other in the face.

FMW World & Brass Knuckles Champion Mr. Gannosuke vs Hayabusa - FMW 4/30/98
Hayabusa vs Mr. Gannosuke (FMW 08/25/99)
Hayabusa is the missing link between the 90s and 2000s in my opinion in regards to workrate. The best matches from Hayabusa I have seen are against my favorite FMW worker, Mr. Gannosuke who does a great combining heel character work, brawling and strong mat sense.

FMW Double Champion Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka - FMW 9/28/97
FMW World & Brass Knuckles Champion Masato Tanaka vs Mr. Gannosuke - FMW 1/6/98
I saw Masato Tanaka live last night for the first time! He is one of the best verbal sellers of all time and you could tell the difference between him and the rest of the show in terms of the fire he brought. He electrified that crowd by bringing that emotion. The Awesome/Tanaka series in ECW is very famous and I thought the FMW match here was very similar so if you dug the ECW stuff check this out. I really liked this Tanaka vs Gannosuke match I even think I might be short-changing it and I should re-watch to see if it would make my top 12. It is a great, violent, chaotic brawl!

Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka vs Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono (BattlARTS 10/30/96)
Yuki Ishikawa & Takeshi Ono vs Daisuke Ikeda & Katsumi Usuda - BattlArts 1/21/97
The last two on the cutting block are these BattlArts tag team matches. It pains me not to represent BatBat tag matches because they are some of my favorite matches of all time (check out the 2008 stuff). This was such a loaded time period, I just could not justify putting them over any of the top 12. Definitely check both these out.

Top 12 Other Puroresu Matches 1996-1999

#12. Genichiro Tenryu vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara – WAR 11/22/97

WAR is on its last legs but produces one last stone cold classic as these two 80s deliver a violent, hotly contested affair. Fujiwara goes for an armbar takedown complains he can't get a good grip and goes to wipe his hands on the ropes and Tenryu hip check him. The ensuing strike exchanges were intense. Tenryu's sumo slaps and chops against Fujiwara punches and head butts. Fujiwara punches him so hard that he opens him up hardway. Fujiwara controls most of the match when he gets an armbar in the ropes. Fujiwara absolutely tortures the arm. Tons of armbar takedowns. There was one flurry of Tenryu offense (poorly set up Fujiwara just let him up) enziguiri and powerbomb and after the cover Fujiwara immediately grabbed an armbar. Another good Fujiwara spot was he was covering and just went for a double wristlock. This definitely felt one of those matches that Fujiwara completely had overwhelmed Tenryu with arm work and glorious punches to the head (open wound) that even though it felt like Tenryu had no chance you knew he would pull it out and they did it in a very inventive way. Tenryus desperation offense was awesome punches,kappo kicks and throat chops. He was swinging for the fences to win by knock out. Tenryu just lunged at him with punches to the head after a cover was great. Throat chop and Fujiwara goes down for a close three and Fujiwara immediately goes for a double wristlock but the match was over. I loved the finish as something realistic but rarely seen. Fujiwara dominated but Tenryu just was trying to eek out the win by phasing him enough with head rocking strikes. Tremendous action bolstered by star power, great Tenryu selling, awesome Fujiwara heavy breathing & hard work and excellent strategies. Watch it for the brutal strikes and great story.

#11. Yuki Ishikawa vs Daisuke Ikeda – BattlArts 4/15/97

Clearly Stephanie watched a lot of Ishikawa vs Ikeda to learn her cross arm breaker defense. :P


We don't talk about defense enough in pro wrestling. More often than not it is because pro wrestlers don't care about defense. Offense, selling, bumps & highspots are the band of the game and high level pro wrestlers understand transitions. But very few think in terms of defense. These two are superb defensive wrestlers & they put on a defense clinic. Just in case, you are new to the game Ikeda is the stand up striker & Ishikawa is the wrestler in this Tom & Jerry feud of pro wrestling. That is not to take away the capabilities of the other in other's domain. Ikeda applied many submissions and Ishikawa rocked Ikeda with some wicked palm strikes and punches. What makes this great is not how well-rounded in offense these two are but how good they are at defending. Ishikawa was taking Ikeda down at will but once on the mat he couldn't put Ikeda away. In fact many times Ikeda ended up in dominant position. I would say the first half Ikeda held the lead. He was landing the bigger blows. Getting a standing 8 count. Big open hand slaps and some wicked kicks. The roundhouse to throats was nasty. Ishikawa had some good throws back duplex & belly to belly suplex but on the mat he couldn't put Ikeda away. I thought Ikeda was setting up his submissions better by using strikes. In the middle of the match it looked like Ikeda had it with multiple submissions especially a single leg crab. But Ishikawa is a great defensive wrestler in his own right. He navigated out of the submissions but the key was his stand up defense. He was able to catch the big kicks and turn them into legbars. Deeper into the match the more lasting benefit this had. He had a great figure-4 but Ikeda made the ropes he transitioned into a headlock. Ikeda ended up on top it really goes to show you how good Ikeda is at defensive ground wrestling. I think it was Ishikawa that punched Ikeda in the face on the ground with a stiff right to set up a cross arm-breaker. That's what he needed more set up. I loved Ishikawa head butting Ikeda in the back to set up the German. I thought they picked up the urgency in the last five minutes. Ishikawa came flying in with a knee to the head. Ikeda was throwing huge strikes. Big time submissions in the ropes not letting go. Ikeda has a double wrist lock applied as time expires. I like Ikeda on top as rge match went to a draw because if I was scoring on points he won the match. Ishikawa came on really strong at the end but Ikeda mixed in big strikes and submission defense to put together a complete performance. He was letting Ishikawa take him down because he knew he could survive. Ishikawa needed to set up via submissions better as he was relying on his superior takedown ability. Ishikawa can really take a lick and also got better at defending the strikes of Ikeda. It was fitting that such an even, defensive struggle ended in a draw. 


#10. FMW Heavyweight Champion Mr. Gannosuke vs Masato Tanaka – FMW 8/20/99

Mr. Gannosuke is easily my favorite FMW wrestler as he has great heel charisma, is great a garbage brawler but can hang on the mat and throws great strikes. Evil Comissioner Kodo Fuyuki plays the crooked ref in this match. Some fun spots at the beginning like making Tanaka break on the ropes, but Gannosuke got smack Tanaka on the ropes. Tanaka has a clean chinlock, but Gannosuke claims it is a choke to Fuyuki breaks. Tanaka applies a figure-4 but Fuyuki flips Gannosuke over onto the ropes. Good shit like that. At this FMW as switched from deathmatch wrestling to being an Attitude Era-inspired promotion. On the canvas it reads "Entertainment Wrestling" and this is very entertaining wrestling.


Gannosuke is  able to grab a hold of he arm and wrench it against the ropes. Great heat segment ensues where Gannosuke does a great combination of hard strikes and a variety of holds (double wristlock is sold really well and I love a good short arm scissors). Fuyuki lets Gannosuke attack the arm with a chair. Remember Tanaka relies a lot on that elbow. He removes the pad to reveal a bandaged elbow. The chair gets introduced again. Fuyuki goes to "chastise" the wrestler that threw it in, but Tanak is able to thwart its use by attacking Gannosuke. He gets his first mini-comeback including a tornado DDT and missile dropkick (the count was a little on the slow side and Tanaka gave Fuyuki some side-eye). Tanaka eats knees on the splash. Gannosuke goes right back to the arm. Gannosuke switches from arm work to bombs galore. On the second powerbomb, Tanaka wriggles free and hits a massive lariat. He does clutch his bad arm afterwards. At this point, the match starts to be more reminiscent of the King's Road style with a lot of bomb-throwing and Tanaka selling the arm keeping him from fully capitalizing. As he hitting moves or elbows, he is slow to follow up. Gannosuke hits a CRAZY COUNTER! He is about backdrop out of a powerbomb, but instead basically piledrivers Tanaka into the mat. Fuyuki does some good fast counting...could be a little faster, but the energy is there. Gannosuke starts throwing out suplexes galore (Northern Lights, Dragon, German) and Tanaka has some great loopy sells of these. I really liked the Full Nelson Camel Clutch that should be stolen, looked painful. Gannosuke Driver gets two and thats the climax of this finish run for the bad guy. Tanaka no sells the next German, Lariat and Enziguiri until he finally fells Mr. Gannosuke with an Elbow! I like the finish stretch where first Gannosuke wipes out Fuyuki with a lariat by accident and then Tanaka floors him after Gannosuke moves until he is knocked out. The new ref is in and Tanaka needs to hit an elbow and his Flip Stone Cold Stunner to win the match. 

There's definitely overkill and Tanaka could have sold the arm a little more to put over he was fighting through the pain (I think it was there, but understated). However, I thought this was fun as hell. The first 15 minutes is just classic, over the top babyface vs heel gold with Gannosuke just being the man. The finish run is big, dumb fun that is All Japan-inspired. Call me crazy, but I loved this and think this is easily the best FMW match I have ever seen. 


#9. Genichiro Tenryu vs Nobutaka Araya
WAR 1/14/98 J-1 Heavyweight Championship

With WAR on death's doorstep, Tenryu says lets make a Heavyweight Championship. I have seen one other Araya match from All Japan in like 2002. He is a chubba wubba. 


CHAOS! MAYHEM! PANDEMONIUM! I LOVED THIS! Tenryu is picking out shards of the broken Singapore Cane from his arm! THIS IS WAR! This is a fucking street fight. Tenryu just comes out balls to the wall, I am going to decapitate you muthafucka and I am going to hurl my body as a weapon. He just beat the shit out of him. Then when Araya tries to powder, he becomes an Araya-seeking missile of destruction. I love the wipe out of the chairs spots so, so much. No matter who does that is always over with me. Tenryu climbs up on a raised part of the arena and just wipes Araya out. Tenryu has a chair and he is not afraid to use it. He tries to come off the top with it and Araya dropkicks it in his fucking face! Tenryu is bleeding. Araya just moonsaults him. None of this bullshit let me take a fucking minute to make sure Im in position to catch you bullshit, Araya just fucking moonsaults him. Then Araya gets a hold of the Singapore Cane that Tenryu brought. HE FUCKING WAILS ON TENRYU! I am mean WAILS ON HIM! Then he breaks the Cane over the post and WHACKS Tenryu with is and Tenryu is left picking out splinters as his arm is just bleeding. So how the hell can they top this? Well what else do I love...CHAIR THROWS! Tenryu mounts his comeback by throwing a chair at Araya when he is on the top rope about to do a moonsault to the floor! Tenryu just brains him with the chair. TENRYU DOES A SOMERSAULT SENTON FROM THE TOP ROPE TO THE FLOOR! MARK OUT CITY! Back in the ring, there is kick that Tenryu does to Araya's face this is just digusting. As soon as he did I audibly said "Fuck!" Araya was bleeding from pretty much every part of his face. Then they kind of did a Choshu/Hashimoto finish mixed with a little All Japan. They were powerbombing each other and then no selling back drop drivers. Then it was just LARIAOTO CITY! They went full Chishu/Hashimoto and Tenryu hit big, meaty lariats. The final Lariat was a MONSTER TRUCK LARIAT! HE FUCKING SMOKED HIS ASS! 

Hate, violence and chaos! They beat the ever living shit out of each other. It never let up they just kept coming at each other. I cant believe people were giving this **...this is one of the best brawls ever! THIS WAS WAR!


#8. Volk Han vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka – RINGS 8/24/96

So this is RINGS, human pretzel making. A sick part of me wishes Uncle Eric brought in these dudes to WCW so I could hear Tony, Dusty & Bobby call the action. Dusty would say "uncle" and "uncler" so much. Han gets the coolest, most organic figure-4 you will ever see from a standing half guard. Yep, believe the hype brutha, Volk Han is legit. Thought the escapes from Kojsaka on the figure-4 and cross arm breaker were too easy. Then they started using rope breaks which I liked better. Han lets Kohsaka take him down and grabs a double wrist lock. The double wrist lock seems to be the base for everything. In kayfabe, it seems like Han is being presented as the better wrestler. I hate the bundle of legs dueling submission as a spot no matter what. Han drops down with a rear naked choke and Kohsaka comes up with a sick counter of basically an inverted deadlock on the legs. I marked out and Kohsaka has a renewed sense of confidence. That felt like a big moment where the momentum could have shifted to Kohsaka. He grabbed a rolling leg takedown but in the pretzel he created he left his arm exposed and Han grabbed hyperextended it and since Kohsaka was in pretzel of his own creation he had no escape and was forced to tap.


Even though I haven't watched much shoot style I gobble it up with a spoon when I do. It was exciting to see my first Volk Han match thought he lived up to the hype. Definitely some mark out moments like the figure-4 and just some of those wrist lock grabs and chains. The counter to the choke by Kohsaka was my favorite spot felt electric and like everything was going to go his way, but then he taps in his own trap! Thought some escapes were little too easy in the beginning and in shoot style I like narratives of contrasting styles didn't feel that here. It was an incredible display of grappling wizardry.


#7. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Nobuhiko Takada – UWFi 9/11/96


The two biggest, non-NJPW, non-AJPW puroresu wrestlers of the 90s do battle drawing 30,000 to Jingu Stadium. On a card that also featured Hashimoto, Sasaki, SAYAMA!?? & KAWADA?!? against UWFi wrestlers. Tenryu blazed the path for freelance wrestling Japan in the 90s, which became a popular path in the first decade of the 21st Century. While Takada started an incredibly successful shoot-style company in the 90s, which inevitably led to the founding of PRIDE forever changing the landscape of pro wrestling & mixed martial arts. After Tenryu feuded with New Japan from late 92-early 94, Takada feuded with New Japan from late 95-early 96 there was really nowhere left for either to go but into each other arms. UWFi was breathing its last gap and this match popped a huge gate, but it was not sustainable and UWFi closed its doors in December of 1996.

Huge Clash of the Titans feel for this match. Starts off slow but chippy. They established pro style vs shoot style with Tenryu missing his elbow drop from the top early and Takada kicking him out of the ring to a huge pop from the pro-UWFi crowd. Things get chippy when Tenryu does not give a clean rope break and Takada starts firing off kicks, but Tenryu grabs the leg and torques it into a dragon leg screw. The match really takes off when Takada relentlessly knees Tenryu in the face cutting him really badly from the forehead. Nasty stuff and actually set up a huge Tenryu comeback, which was weird because the crowd really loved Takada, but goddamn did I love Tenryu unleashing his classic fury (punches, chops, suplex and Cloverleaf) when he saw his own blood and just ripped into Takada. Tenryu just punching Takada really hard into the side of the head and the way Takada sold it was just magnificent by both men. The ref speaking perfect English throughout the match was odd to me. He told someone to take it easy at one point, which made me laugh.

The cloverleaf was a great visual with the blood pouring down Tenryu face it was like a reverse Bret-Austin. Takada makes the ropes. Tenryu misses the Kappo Kick. The one issue with Takada is that his favorite hold is a kneebar and that is by far the most boring of all shoot-style holds and that's what he goes for here. Takada's offense (kicks and knees) has been great and his selling really, really good too. The kicks to the leg and that MASSIVE LEFT TO THE HEAD had me popping huge. Takada going for a pinfall cover was so strange to me! It looked so wrong! Cross-armbreaker that's more like it, but Tenryu clasps the hands, but Takada breaks it but Tenryu is too close to the ropes. Big lariat from Tenryu for 2! Tenryu misses second lariat and Takada gets an armbar takedown into a Fujiwara armbar. Takada kicks Tenryu in the head a bunch so Tenryu punches him in the head and Takada just melts into the mat. Takada is on fire here. Mack Truck Lariat by Tenryu only gets two and Takada kicks him in the head from the ground massive punch by Tenryu. The Chop-Kick Fighting Spirit bullshit works here because of how big of superstars they are and everything that happened before. Tenryu wins with a huge overhand chop. Tenryu Powerbomb?!? Takada gets the armbar takedown and Fujiwara armbar gets him the victory.

Really amazing Clash of the Titans style pro vs shoot style match. Takada remained committed to who he was as did Tenryu yet somewhere they were able to meet somewhere in the middle without comprising their integrity or match quality. Everything just felt huge. It was a little slow in the beginning, but once Takada busted Tenryu open with those knees, the last ten minutes were amazing. 

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 34 Best of Other Puroresu 1989-1995 (Nobuhiko Takada, Genichiro Tenryu, Vader)


Hey Yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 34:
The Best of Other Puroresu 1989-1995

Objective:  Break up the Greatest Match Ever Project (hosted at gwe.freeforums.project.net) into more manageable chunks to help me build my Top 100 List for the project.

Motivation: Contribute to the discussion around these matches to enrich my own understanding of pro wrestling and give a fresh perspective for old matches and even hopefully discover great pro wrestling matches that have been hidden by the sands of time.

Subject: This thirty-fourth volume of Pro Wrestling Love is the Top 6 countdown of the best matches to take place in Heavyweight Puroresu NOT in New Japan, All Japan. Promotions include Genichiro Tenryu’s SWS & WAR, Nobuhiko Takada’s UWFi, Yoshiaki Fujiwara’s PWFG, Akira Maeda’s Fighting Network RINGS, Atsushi Onita’s FMW. The year 1990 of UWF REBORN is covered in Pro Wrestling Love vol. 18. The years are selected to include the beginning of decentralization of the Puroresu promotions starting with Onita’s FMW then continuing with Tenryu starting his own promotion in 1990 and then the splintering of Shoot-Style into three rival promotions. I stopped in 1995 because honestly 1996 is when RINGS gets really good and just wanted to covered that in a different volume. You can revisit past Pro Wrestling Love Volumes at ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com. You can check out the full version of these reviews in ProWrestlingOnly.com by going to the forums and finding the folders associated with the date of the match.

Contact Info: @superstarsleeze on Twitter, Instagram & ProWrestlingOnly.com.

You Might Know Him Better As God


Honorable Mentions
Terry Funk vs Atsushi Onita - FMW 5/5/93 Exploding Barbed Wire Time Bomb Death Match
Read the title of the match if that does not sound like the craziest thing you have ever seen then you have seen some crazy shit. With 5 minutes to go a countdown clock appears and sirens are blaring for the impending doom! Also the ref is dressed as the world’s coolest beekeeper!

Wayne (Ken) Shamrock vs Naoki Sano - PWFG 5/19/91
Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Wellington Wilkins Jr (PWFG 05/19/91)
I only watched three matches from PWFG as it was not too renowned, which kinda bums me out because I love Fujiwara. These matches are from the same show which is the second show PWFG ever did. The Fujiwara match is the closest thing to a Fujiwara exhibition, spotfest you will ever see and it is wicked cool. The Shamrock vs Sano is a total surprise in how awesome it is. It is probably Shamrock’s best worked bout. He looks so explosive. Very technical mat work with an exciting stand up.

WCW World Heavyweight Champion Vader vs Kazuo Yamazaki - UWFi 8/13/93
SUPER Vader vs Kiyoshi Tamura - UWFi 6/10/94
Vader & John Tenta vs Gary Albright & Kazuo Yamasaki - UWFi 10/14/94
Vader just ruled in UWFi. UWFi is the least shoot style shoot style promotion. Basically it is pro wrestling without rope running and Irish Whips, which is my least favorite part of wrestling anyways. Vader vs Yamazaki or Tamura is just excellent because Vader is so, so good at selling. The anguish on his face as he is getting kicked in the leg is magnificent but you know he is only one bear paw away from ending it. Really strong chemistry with both Yamazaki and Tamura.  

Volk Han vs Dick Vrij - RINGS 8/21/92
Volk Han vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto - RINGS 12/19/95
Some people find God, I found Volk Han. I mean I cant believe I waited all these years to finally watch Volk Han. An absolute master at every facet of pro wrestling (well I guess bumping does not really exist in shoot style). He is a magnificent seller (when he scrambles for the ropes it is a big deal or when he crumples in a heap), his character work is awesome (I love his celebrations or when he is pissed he lost) and of course his offense. He is Russian Mat Wizard, he makes every submission move look like the coolest thing ever and his double wristlock rip takedown are so forceful and compelling. If you have not watched this Soviet Maestro perform his craft change that pronto and let his saving grace wash you anew.  

Naoki Sano vs Yoji Anjo (UWFI 08/13/93)
Most people prefer this match, I prefer the ’95 match. The best non-Takada/Vader matchup in UWFi by a country mile. Great work and great characters.

Hulk Hogan & Genichiro Tenryu vs Legion of Doom - SWS Tokyo Dome 3/31/91
Hulk Hogan vs Geinchiro Tenryu - SWS Tokyo Dome 12/12/91
Hulk Hogan had quite the violent 1991 between the barbaric Desert Storm match with Sgt. Slaughter and insane out of control brawl with Tenryu against the Road Warriors. Then he goes straight up against Tenryu in a really fun icon vs icon match that most don’t even know exists. It is pretty amazing Tenryu had amazing matches with Hogan and Flair inside a year in the early 90s!

Real World Heavyweight Champion Nobuhiko Takada vs WCW World Heavyweight Champion Vader - UWFi 12/5/93
Real World Heavyweight Champion Super Vader vs Nobuhiko Takada - UWFi 4/20/95
The feud that basically fueled the UWFi fire from 1993-1995 (that Takada vs Gary Albright). Takada used the ‘ol Inoki model taking on big, bad gaijin and vanquishing them. The Vader vs Takada trilogy is amazing shows them both at their best Vader as the monster and Takada as the conquering hero. Vader is so good at playing the wounded bear role. His best individual performance could be the December 1993 match where Takada “breaks his arm” with a cross-armbreaker to win the match. Vader hollering in pain is a sight to below and that is the match that MADE Nobuhiko Takada the top draw he was in the mid-90s. That match is my last cut.

Top Six Matches of Heavyweight Other Puroresu 1989-1995

#6. Volk Han vs. Mitsuya Nagai - RINGS 12/24/94

There is cool and then there is Volk Han cool and none of us will ever be Volk Han cool. Volk Han is just so damn accessible. He makes every takedown and submission look like the coolest thing you have ever seen. I think this may be the best match to introduce someone to shoot style because there is so many cool moments, the point structure gets involved, theres a lot of struggle and some great character work down the stretch. I found this is actually the climax of a series of matches so I kinda feel bad jumping in at the end, BUT theres not much time left before Greatest Match Ever. I guess if you want to introduce someone to Han maybe start at the beginning of the series, but I still think this is a damn good place to start. 


Nagai wants to do this standup pretty much the whole match and I dont blame him as Volk Han is a wizard on the mat. That first armbar takedown is fucking sublime. Sublime is the only word to describe it. Then they both end up with figure-4s on each other. RINGS: Human Pretzel-Making. Han gets an armbar out of this. He is a Wizard, Harry, he is a wizard, I tells ya! Volk Han is also only person who has ever gotten me excited about the bundle of legs lock because he does such a great job selling and executing. His double ankle cross actually looks good. Nagai is the first to use the ropes. Old RINGS rules so it is Two Escapes = One Down. Nagai on reset is all about that stand up game and Volk Han nips that in the bud with a Triangle takedown. Volk Han is also the master of applying the figure-4 from crazy positions in the most organic way possible have them be deep as fuck. Somehow Han ends up in an STF a deep one too and has to go to the ropes. Volk Han happens to be the best seller in shoot style history too. If you did not already realize he was a God from this review. So Nagai just starts blasting him with kicks again so Han just SLAMS him to the mat. Han grabs this tight double wristlock. You know what this match is missing is one of those classic Volk Han double wristlock RIP TAKEDOWNS! Han gets a cross armbreaker for a rope break. It is 1-0 Volk Han. I love that Volk Han can throw an axe kick out of nowhere to create separation. Nagai is stunned and Han makes a fucking pretzel out of him. I dont know how else to describe it. Another rope break, this is too much fun. Volk Han is taking this man to school with a nice hammerlock and suplexes him on his fucking head! For a knockdown! Volk Han 2-0! He is killing this dude. Nagai sneaks in a liver punch and Han crumples to the mat. Volk Han, what a salesman. 2-1! Ruh roh! Nagai throws a wild spin kick, Han avoids but falls over. Intense ankle cross from Volk Han, great selling here from Nagai. Volk Han ends up getting him in this intense front crab with his leg in between for a rope break. 3-1...classic Volk Han takedown single leg and then KICKS OUT THE PLANT LEG! Volk Han is The Man! Volk Han has a double wristlock but for some reason the ref breaks it. Volk Han is starting to throw some meaty strikes. Nice rolling heel hook from Nagai to close the gap 3-2. Nagai does a great job quashing a Volk Han takedown here. Just close contact, gritty holds and wrestles Volk Han down to the mat. Good for him. Han does a bunch of twisting and turning but ends up in a bad position for a cross armbreaker and needs to use the ropes. Now Volk Han starts acting like he has abs of steel and throwing big smacks. Nagai tauns him sticking his face out twice. Han is not fucking around anymore and isnt going to sell shit it looks like. He kicks Nagai off in the face, but is still wrapped up. Nagai is not going away you got to give him credit. Han forces a figure-4 out of nothing and Nagai needs the ropes. 4-2 Han and one more knockdown wins it. Volk Han is Superman now and those fists of fury dont affect him anymore. He is just going to brutally force him to submit to a Full Nelson just wrestles him to the ground uncles him. Volk Han's celebration is just the best! I had the biggest grin of my face. 

I watched that match twice back to back. Couldnt not stop smiling. What a fucking clinic from Volk Han! If you want to get into Volk Han watch this match. I need to go back and watch the Yamamoto '95 and Kohsaka '96 matches because I think underrated those in retrospect.


#5. 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. 

#4. Genichiro Tenryu vs Shinya Hashimoto – WAR 6/17/93

I really need to watch the NJPW vs WAR build to this match. This is the feud that makes Shinya Hashimoto into The Man. Chono may have won the first two G-1 Climaxes and Muta may have been the first one to win the IWGP Championship, but neither was tapped to be the Leader of New Japan to face off against the invading Genichiro Tenryu. Tenryu defeated Choshu at 1/4 Dome show, but lost to Choshu at the April Sumo Hall show. The New Japan vs. WAR feud continued with a greater emphasis placed on Shinya Hashimoto in his quest to defeat Tenryu.


I liked the beginning. Hashimoto was raring to go, but Tenryu is tentative. In a lot of ways, this was Tenryu first major contest against a star of the 90s. He had matches with Misawa, Kawada and Kobashi but he left before any of them were pushed. In the New Japan feud, he was faced against his old rival, Choshu. After leading that Revolution against Jumbo, the tables have been turned and it now Hashimoto who is the upstart and Tenryu is the establishment. He has become an elder statesman and now he has to weather that storm of rage that he knows all too well that causes a man to throw off the chains and topple the establishment. There is a great lock up in the corner where you see Hashimoto give Tenryu the death stare. Hashimoto throws a barrage of kneelifts up against the ropes and Tenryu has to powder. Hashimoto is pissed and throws a wild overhand chop. Hashimoto finally gets a hold of Tenryu starts to blast him. Tenryu goes to the eyes and just rips into Hashimoto. That chop to the throat was just nasty. Reverse top rope elbow. Tenryu wants the win early. Tenryu headbutts Hashimoto in the midst of headbutts, Hashimoto kicks Tenryu's leg and LEG SWEEP! Hashimoto does a great job working holds on the legs and using strikes against the legs. Hashimoto has the best standing elbow drop this side of Lex Luger. Tenryu did a great job selling all the leg work. Tenryu has two hope spots built around Sumo Slaps which of course draw blood from Hashimoto's nose. I love how Hashimoto used the weakened leg to set up his big bomb offense: DDT, powerbomb and rainbow heel kick. He goes for the death sentence the jumping DDT but Tenryu shoves him off. Enziguiri from Tenryu! I love how all of Tenryus offense has been targeting the head during his comeback. Powerbomb 1-2-NO! Tenryu is in shock. Hashimoto hits his own enziguiri; I like how Hashimoto has used the powerbomb and enziguiri in this match. Tenryu hits a couple really bad enziguiris, but thats Tenryu for you. The finish sequence is absolutely amazing. Tenryu tries with all his might to get Hashimoto up for his second powerbomb, but cant do it. Kawada kicks by Tenryu and then two BADASS CHOPS! Hashimoto kicks him in the head with a roundhouse kick and Tenryu responds with a KAPPO KICK! That popped me! POWERBOMB! 1-2-3!

One of those matches where Hashimoto gained as much in a loss as he would have with a victory. Helluva effort from him. Totally in the zone once the bell rang, great job working the leg and hell he had Tenryu where he wanted him after the finish sequence and was one move away from winning. Tenryu showed his veteran poise giving a totally selfless performance selling so well for Hashimoto and giving so much of the match to him. Then coming back with the perfect amount of vulnerability and credibility. You come away feeling that is not a matter of if but when Hashimoto will upend Tenryu and take his place among legends of puroresu and the Ace of New Japan Pro Wrestling.



#3. WWF World Champion Ric Flair vs Genichiro Tenryu 
SWS 9/15/92 Two Out Of Three Falls


Flair has since regained the World Championship from Savage and is about to transition it to Bret Hart. There's such a big fight feel/dream match feel to this even though Flair has been wrestling Tenryu since at least 1981 if not even earlier. I think it feels so different because this is now Tenryu's promotion and Flair is in the WWF with shorter hair. 


First Fall: Two distinct differences from Flair right off the bat is that there is a lot more American Flair heel character work in this match than in his previous matches. Lots of trash talking and bravado. Second, he wrestles this match completely differently from an offensive perspective. Tenryu gets absolutely zero shine. Yes, folks you read that right, heel Flair did not bump 'n' run for his babyface opponent. This was NOT a fire fight either initially. This was a domineering Flair performance. Put that in your pipe and smoke, Flair haters. Flair works the arm with a ton of great holds and lots of tight pinning combinations. Flair shows how you are supposed to actually pin a man by cradling the leg & neck and then clasping your hands! Can we please bring back good pinning! Flair starts working these nasty short punches to Tenryu's face, repeatedly. Tenryu sells as if his nose has been broken. Tenryu had another good delayed sell of a chop. Flair uses his kneedrop on the injured nose and again that tight cradle pinning combination. Flair tries to use the sleeper to no avail. Tenryu armdrags him off and as he comes in Flair throws a wild chop and catches him in throat. This match is really damn good. Tenryu finally nails a lariat that causes Flair to powder. I love how Tenryu always had the puncher's chance. Flair could pour on all the offense he wanted but it was just one lariat that could change the complexion of the match. Tenryu press slams Flair off the top and NAILS an enziguiri. Flair blocks the Lariat! Flair tries for a kneecrusher to stymie Tenryu's momentum, but Tenryu shifts his weight and they topple over backwards, another enziguiri and Tenryu is rolling. Powerbomb...1-2-3! Tenryu up 1-0. Awesome first fall!

Second Fall: Wow! I waited far too long to watch this match! This could be heel Flair's best offensive performance ever. Babyface Flair has great offense, but for everyone who has wanted to see offensive-minded Flair needs to check this out. This starts with Tenryu refusing to break on a sleeper and even gets some boos. The Japanese are sticklers for rules. A great fire fight breaks out. This has not been Flair vs Garvin in terms of sustained chopping, but the chops that have been throws have been brutal. Flair begs off and Tenryu is like "C'mon, brutha" and Flair pokes him in the eye! Flair is just firing on all cylinders. Tons of great suplexes and tight pinning combinations. Tenryu tries to mount a comeback and then it is an eyepoke. Flair chop block. Flair works a clinic working the leg and even busts out a new leg move. He looks great. I wish Flair worked full-time in Japan in 1993 instead of going back to WCW. Imagine Tenryu & Flair invading New Japan together! They battle over the Figure-4 maybe the most compelling use of the Figure-4 ever. Eventually succumbs to the Figure-4 via pinfall. It is important that he is does not tap out. I love 2 out of 3 falls matches because moves that are badass like the Figure-4 actually get put over as real finishes. I am loving this match!

Third Fall: They fell back to Earth in this fall. I think if they went 5 minutes in this fall instead of close to 15 minutes they would have been much better off. There were a lot of stilted moments where they were sort of thinking of what to do next to fill time. Flair just started strutting around for no reason to kill time. Here's a complaint you never thought would be written...I thought Flair was too focused on working the leg. There was not much forward progression. Also the urgency was lost. The finish was kinda lame. Flair was just on the apron for no reason strutting and Tenryu enziguiris him and Flair hits the post and it is a countout loss. I have no problem with a countout. It was the finish I was expecting. Negative complaints done, there is some good from this fall. The chops are brutal and the leg work is good. The best part is the first five minutes. Flair applies an STF, AN STF!  He then goes back to the figure-4. This is just smart. Tenryu gets a kneebar! Flair is hollering in agony. Flair comes up limping. There is this great fight and then Tenryu applies the kneebar on Flair and what a sell! Great job! If they went home right after that, I would be tempted to give this the full monty *****, I really thought the first two falls were spectacular. They bite off a little more they can chew and go longer than necessary, but 35 minutes out of 45 minutes being ***** is still fantastic and I highly recommend watching this very unique Flair performance oh and that Tenryu guy is pretty damn fantastic himself.

#2. Volk Han vs Yoshihia Yamamoto – RINGS 6/17/95

To me what separated Han from Yammamoto was his selling. When he got trapped in a submission hold, the way he squirmed, lunged for the ropes or would quickly counter made that hold matter so much more. Yammamoto is just 24 at the time of this match and at the beginning it shows in a completely kayfabe way. He is just doing things that are stupid and giving Han opportunity after opportunity to put him away. He drops to his back like he is a fucking Gracie and Han shows him up completely stepping on his ankle and applying the craziest single crab. He was all over Yammamoto before he got to the ropes. For a while Yammamoto just felt outclassed by the technical wizardy of Han (the way he finds organic ways to put on pro wrestling holds is great) however Volk Han does get caught napping. In a Scorpion Deathlock, Yammamoto picks the ankle and applies a heel hook that sends Hand scrambling for the ropes. I love that selling there. Treat the holds with respect and the match gets treated with respect. That is the story of the match in a nutshell, Han is clearly superior, but he is giving Yammamoto enough rope to hang himself. You see Yammamoto come up with some very nice counterwrestling that makes you believe Han could lose. I really liked the Han STF. Han loves using the double wristlock as his base to create offense and one time just rips Yammamoto down in the hold. Wicked takedown that gets the doctors involved. I thought this was a red herring and that Yammamoto was going to get the win. BOOM! Blast him in the face with a palm strike and Han was down for a 8. Han gets right up shakes it off, but is clearly woozy. Yammamoto actually applies a tight guillotine choke that looks to be it, but Han wriggles out and gets the cross armbreaker for the submission victory.

Told a great little story of Han's dominance, but Yammamoto perseverance through counterwrestling, but ultimately coming up short. The last 90 seconds after the double wristlock takedown was sweet and you totally did not know which way it was going to go. Great shoot style match!

#1. Real World Heavyweight Champion Nobuhiko Takada vs Super Vader – UWFi 8/18/94

What if Goliath wins? 

Yngwie Fucking Malmsteen of all people is there to present Takada with the flowers. I did a little digging and I guess Malmsteen composed/plays Takada's theme. That has to rank as one of the most Japan things ever. Lou Thesz says that his Original World Championship is on the line. I think viewing this through a shoot style lens is pretty unfair. It is an old school pro wrestling in the sense that there are no Irish whips and rope running, but the idea was to present realistic pro wrestling as opposed to realistic fighting in my opinion. It is all a work anyways. I am choosing to watch this as if I am watching a New Japan match rather than get hung up on the fact that Vader ain't Volk Han out there. Interesting start as there is no shine. Takada is trying to avoid early, but gets caught in the corner with those rhythmic Vader forearms. Vader THROWS HIS ASS DOWN not once, but twice. Takada is starting in a hole. Takada goes after the legs and anytime he can he is trying to apply the cross-armbreaker, which had won him the match in December,. Takada is such a great valiant babyface in this match. This reminds me of a Puroresu version of Vader vs Sting from GAB '92. Sting & Takada get in their hope spots, but neither one has a chance when Vader is in this zone. I think they told a tremendous story of for every three Takada shots, one Vader shot could put Takada down. This is some of the best stand up you will ever see. It was hard hitting and dramatic. Vader was lighting Takada up with palm strikes and forearms. Takada's kneelifts were vicious. Of course, Takada caught him a couple times with that trademark kick combo where the left foot catches you right under the chin. Really strong stand-up. On the mat, I liked it. It was not Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura. It was ugly but effective. Vader used his weight well and when ever he was in trouble he would just palm strike Takada in the face. Works for me! At one point, Takada got pissed about this and just start blasting Vader in the face. Takada never did get his cross-armbreaker applied. It really became a great stand up battle as the match worn on. Just a slobberknocker. The turning point was when Vader was getting rocked and he just grabbed a waistlock on Takada and hurled him in a wicked German suplex. Takada would get a few more hope spots, but they were few and far between. Vader just dominated from there on out with some massive forearms. That deadlift powerbomb as insane. I remember that as the finish, but Takada stood up. The finish was inevitable and eventually succumbed to the might of Vader. 

Goliath won with exactly what brought him to the dance, raw, unadulterated power and brute force. Vader really sold Takada's attacks well. His register is so good. He would take three heavy shots and then come back with a wild swipe and knock Takada's ass down. Takada would have to start from square one. I think Takada got enough "nearfalls" in his few knockdowns to make it dramatic, but Vader was on fire here, very much like GAB '92. So what happen when Goliath wins? Well David gets a rematch of course.