Akira Maeda vs Hulk Hogan - NJPW 30/05/1983
An okay match for what it was. Hogan did a decent job of working the arm of Maeda, trying out different holds, which is appreciated but clearly Maeda was giving them to him and thus didn't respect Hogan's grappling enough to sell it. Although he did take a few nice bumps for Hogan, including a back drop to the outside. Solid match but it didn't last long and there wasn't much meat to it. **1/2
Akira Maeda vs Masa Saito - NJPW 18/05/1987
80's New Japan stuff!!!! Super Strong Machine attacked Maeda straight away, busting him open before throwing him to the wolves aka Masa Saito. What a start to the match! What proceeds that is, in my opinion, one of the best beat down/fighting from beneath performances I've seen from this era which says a ton. Maeda gushing like a leaky tap, selling his butt off with Saito doing everything he could to punish Maeda, locking him up in the Scorpian Deathlock, followed up by a boston crap. The fans rally behind Maeda with mega chants of "Maeda". Maeda throwing some desperate kicks whilst bleeding was a great visual. Saito settles for the count out win which sets up the post match angle with Super Strong Machine and Fujiwara coming down to the ring returning perfectly. People often say what are the best sub 10 minute matches. Well this may just be the best sub 5 minute match. Great match. ****1/4
Akira Maeda vs Nobuhiko Takada - UWF 10/11/1988
The grappling at the start of the match wasn't the most exciting, sure but I think it did its job of establishing that Takada needs to take to the feet and go for the striking in order to beat Maeda. Maeda may be a prolific striker, but it's all Takada has. And that he does. When they go to feet, this match takes off in an upward trajectory. Some of the strike combinations were cheer out loud great. Nasty stuff strikes mixed w/ desperation and urgency by Takada. Great dominant performance by Maeda controlling most of the match but selling excellently for Takada. I think their 1989 Jan match was better but this was still a classic. ****1/2
Akira Maeda vs Nobuhiko Takada - UWF 10/01/1989
One of my favourite matches of the style. The grappling in this match was amazing. Everything looked tight and out right gnarly at times. One thing I loved in this match was everything lead into each other. For example, Maeda's suplexes almost always lead to a submission attempt on the arm. But the focus of the match was Maeda constantly going for the legs. As great as Maeda was, Takada was the star with his all time great underdog performance. His selling of the leg was fantastic and his defence of the grappling from Maeda was great. He got in some great strikes to gain the advantage in parts of the match. Great battle, filled with struggle and top notch grappling. ****3/4
An okay match for what it was. Hogan did a decent job of working the arm of Maeda, trying out different holds, which is appreciated but clearly Maeda was giving them to him and thus didn't respect Hogan's grappling enough to sell it. Although he did take a few nice bumps for Hogan, including a back drop to the outside. Solid match but it didn't last long and there wasn't much meat to it. **1/2
Akira Maeda vs Masa Saito - NJPW 18/05/1987
80's New Japan stuff!!!! Super Strong Machine attacked Maeda straight away, busting him open before throwing him to the wolves aka Masa Saito. What a start to the match! What proceeds that is, in my opinion, one of the best beat down/fighting from beneath performances I've seen from this era which says a ton. Maeda gushing like a leaky tap, selling his butt off with Saito doing everything he could to punish Maeda, locking him up in the Scorpian Deathlock, followed up by a boston crap. The fans rally behind Maeda with mega chants of "Maeda". Maeda throwing some desperate kicks whilst bleeding was a great visual. Saito settles for the count out win which sets up the post match angle with Super Strong Machine and Fujiwara coming down to the ring returning perfectly. People often say what are the best sub 10 minute matches. Well this may just be the best sub 5 minute match. Great match. ****1/4
Akira Maeda vs Nobuhiko Takada - UWF 10/11/1988
The grappling at the start of the match wasn't the most exciting, sure but I think it did its job of establishing that Takada needs to take to the feet and go for the striking in order to beat Maeda. Maeda may be a prolific striker, but it's all Takada has. And that he does. When they go to feet, this match takes off in an upward trajectory. Some of the strike combinations were cheer out loud great. Nasty stuff strikes mixed w/ desperation and urgency by Takada. Great dominant performance by Maeda controlling most of the match but selling excellently for Takada. I think their 1989 Jan match was better but this was still a classic. ****1/2
Akira Maeda vs Nobuhiko Takada - UWF 10/01/1989
One of my favourite matches of the style. The grappling in this match was amazing. Everything looked tight and out right gnarly at times. One thing I loved in this match was everything lead into each other. For example, Maeda's suplexes almost always lead to a submission attempt on the arm. But the focus of the match was Maeda constantly going for the legs. As great as Maeda was, Takada was the star with his all time great underdog performance. His selling of the leg was fantastic and his defence of the grappling from Maeda was great. He got in some great strikes to gain the advantage in parts of the match. Great battle, filled with struggle and top notch grappling. ****3/4
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