Tatsuo Nakano vs. Shigeo Miyato
These two go at each other once again after previously going to a 30 minute draw at the Starting Over Vol.2 event. There is more of the same again - careful, deliberate, both waiting for openings and defending nicely on the mat. Nakano uses his weight brilliantly to add more pressure to Miyato when he takes the back and Miyato is light on his feet to gain some ground of his own. The little spurts where they go back and forth with kicks and slaps is great and adds a little more excitement to the bouts mixed in with the grappling. They escalate nicely as the 15 minute time lapses over, throwing in more dynamic sequences and more big throws. Miyato threw a killer spinning sole kick to the hips of Nakano, almost drawing a 10 count which Nakano then followed it up with a capture suplex once he recovered. One of my favourite moments of the match was Miyato catching Nakano with a high kick and going for a belly to bell but Nakano counted with a nasty headbutt that split Miyato wide open at the eye. Gruesome. Miyato was able to recover and cinched in a deep single leg, getting the victory. Awesome follow up to their other match. ***3/4
Norman Smiley vs. Yoji Anjo
I think this went a little too long for its own good. Anjo wasn’t the best technique wise, especially compared to Smiley, but he had tons of heart and brought a big effort to the match. Smiley was a machine on the mat and out-matched Anjo in every way when it went to the floor. But again, it was too long and not as entertaining as you’d like ***
Nobuhiko Takada vs. Kazuo Yamazaki
This was awesome. Yamazaki was very game for all the strike exchanges. He put so much fire and energy in his offence that it was easy to rally behind him as the underdog. Takada was calm and cool as usual, zeroing in on Yamazaki’s leg, kicking the absolute shit out of the thigh before shooting in for various submission holds. Yamazaki’s selling is excellent as well. His audible screams are perfect for the setting and he made a big effort to escape the holds, further putting the danger of them over. Yamazaki even sells well when he makes his big comeback to win the match by selling his exhaustion and pain after hitting his moves. The struggle for the German suplex was just superb with Yamazaki headbutting Takada in the back of the head while he was fighting to break the grip before launching him. And the final headkick before the pin was just sick. Awesome win for Yamazaki. ****
Different Style Fight: Akira Maeda vs. Gerard Gordeau
Five days after Inoki and Fujinami go 60 minutes in one of the best “Strong Style” matches of all time, Maeda goes further into the shoots, adopting a rounds system, something that RINGS would later experiment with. Gerrad Gordau was cladded in shorts, boxing gloves and no shoes which instantly creates the contrast with Maeda’s standard UWF attire. I get the feeling that this was supposed to be a shoot stylist vs other combat fighter match with the idea of shoot style being the strongest sport, which is similar to Inoki’s idea of Pro-Wrestling funnily enough. The match really delivers on that idea though. Gordeau’s karate background makes him equal to Maeda on the feet and puts him in danger at several points. Maeda in turn had to rely on his grappling and try to win that way.
The first round is pretty basic with a lot of feeling out but the second round gets a bit meaner with the strikes and suplexes being thrown. Maeda hits a beautiful ogoshi judo throw into a cross arm-breaker which looked to be the end but Gordeau was saved by the bell. The 3rd round continues the compelling striker v grappler formula with Gordeau getting more and more desperate as the progress goes on, leading to him putting in a high kick at the end of the round which the ref admonished him for. Maeda finally puts his work together in the 4th round by going for the achilles with no second thought and finally is able to get the win. Shoot Style is indeed the best in UWF! So good. Way better than you’d think. It felt like a real fight at times due to how unrefined it all ways. It wasn’t pretty but that worked in its favour. The rounds system added some nice drama at times too. ***1/2
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