Hakata Star Lanes is so intimate. It’s perfect for UWF’s simplistic approach to TV and style.
Yoji Anjo vs. Shigeo Miyato
Yoji Anjo showed loads of fight against Norman Smiley but came up short in easy fashion unlike Shigeo Miyato who looked supremely impressive in his win over Nakano. And this is a great outing for both men. Miyato continues being a fan favourite who can back it up and Anjo, while on the losing effort, looked good and continues to show that angst and fight that he’d be known for later in his career.
Both men are strikers at heart so they match up stylistically. There are a lot of kicks to the body by Miyato and Anjo fires back constantly with overhand slaps, as well as the occasional takedown or suplex when the opportunity presents itself. Miyato and Anjo go back and forth for a lot of the match. Miyato was able to slam Anjo hard onto the floor before cinching in a Single Leg Boston crab but Anjo is able to reverse the pressure and apply it himself which is really impressive from where he was positioned. Anjo sold the effects of the Boston Crab really well once he got back on his feet and received a few stiff leg kicks from Miyato. The drama in the grappling gets more intense as Miyato is able to sneak in a Fujiwara Armbar before Anjo escapes once again before Anjo locked on a Kimura and then a hammer lock which was the point where the crowd rallied behind the spunky Miyato. Anjo does a great job of switching up the submissions after it's clear that Miyato has it covered, being able to quickly find openings all around Miyato’s body. Miyato showed some great, simple defensive work, blocking Anjo’s attempts at ripping his knee apart by twisting Anjo’s face. Anjo showed great killer spirit by going right back to the leg after Miyato escaped and struggled to even retreat into the corner. The finish was kinda out of nowhere but it fit the style perfectly. Anjo failed to put Miyato away with his long stretch on offence and Miyato took advantage throwing some vicious strikes, including a nasty liver shot and KO’d Anjo with a head kick to win the match. Super match. ***1/2
Tatsuo Nakano vs. Tsunehito Naito
This was a superheated 2 minutes. Naito is 17 years old (17!!!) and the fans support his efforts throughout the match despite him being completely outmatched by Nakano, who kicked ten bells out of him. Naito stuck with it and fired some strikes of his own before Nakano destroyed his back with a deep single leg boston crab. Good effort from the kid but this is the last we’ll see of him. It wouldn’t surprise me if he tore some ligaments from that single leg because it was horrifically snug. **
Nobuhiko Takada vs. Norman Smiley
Norman Smiley has an amatuer background (as well being trained by the Malenkos) and utilizes it well against Takada’s Karl Gotch training, being able to move around Takada on the match and manipulate Takada into uncomfortable submissions. Takada is patient and waits for openings, almost getting the win with the cross arm-breaker before Smiley gets to the ropes. Takada almost gets a KO win after he begins throwing a few kicks but Smiley recovers and stakes Takada back down to the mat and gets a single leg. Takada kept on escaping both attempts but got rocked by stiff uppercuts before being suplexed into a chicken wing. Takada is able to ride the hold before making a short comeback with a few head kicks and a knee bar for the sub win. Good clash of grappling styles. Six minutes long, so you can’t go wrong. ***
Akira Maeda vs. Kazuo Yamazaki
A short main event that goes 10 minutes. Yamazaki gets rocked by Maeda for the KO finish but he puts in a super effort throughout the match. Yamazaki throws a lot of high kicks and wants to wait for an opening but Maeda keeps catching him off guard and continuously gets a knockdown (5 knockdowns wins the match, apparently). But Yamazaki shined greatly in the grappling which Maeda is usually best suited at and greats some critical submissions down the stretch. Not a patch on their other match but it’s not a bad outing either. ***
Good but ultimately missable show. Shigeo Miyato once again impresses in his match. Shame that he just never translated to a main eventer because he has the quality and the fans like him. He and Anjo have the longest match of the show and make the most of it, having the match of the night. Nakano totally destroys the 17 year old Naito and sends him packing out of the promotion and not to be seen for years. Fun 2 minutes if you're into young boy beatdowns. Takada vs Smiley had a nice clash of styles in their grappling. For six minutes, it was pretty fun. The main event was the same only it was 10 minutes long. Yamazaki had a sound strategy but was snuffed out before it was completed.
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