RINGS Mega Battle Tournament 1994: Semi-Finals - 16/12/1994
Akira Maeda vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto
This was a wonderful effort from Yamamoto who was totally outmatched by Maeda on paper in almost every regard. Instead he went for it early on and rocked Maeda who almost never recovered from it until the near end. Maeda constantly gets hit to the floor, which shocks everyone, so he has to go to the ground to try and snuff Yamamoto out. I love how the crowd boos Maeda for this while being on Yamamoto’s side. It just shows what a great performance Yamamoto put on as the clear underdog to rally the crowd against the company ace (owner and creator) who almost always gets the biggest reaction of the show. The finish was excellent as well - Yamamoto was looking for a deep kneebar and Maeda, out of desperation had to apply an unorthodox toe-hold where his entire body weight was on top of Yamamoto’s leg. Maeda endorsing Yamamoto after the match was great to see. He definitely earned it. ****1/4
RINGS Battle Shot at Niigata II - 24/12/1994
Volk Han vs Mitsuya Nagai
Holy shit Volk Han! Submission wizardry at its finest. Han would come up with grotesque submissions from any angle, no matter what Nagai threw at him, he could shift his hips and twist his legs to bend Nagai into a gross angle. Nagai was outmatched in that regard but he still made Han work for it and was very stubborn in not giving up and being relentless in the stand-up, throwing a few strikes to the sides causing Han to drop once or twice. Great character work from Nagai as well as great submission wrestling. Being able to lock on an STF in this setting is mindblowing. The crowd lost their shit in the process. Neat, simple finish with Han forcing a full nelson submission after Nagai threw a flurry of body strikes. Volk Han at his finest. ****1/4
Akira Maeda vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto
Maeda has better control of the match this time, not allowing Yamamoto to get as much as he did last time, learning from mistakes and utilising that plan really well. Yamamoto still works Maeda hard with submissions and flurries of strikes. Maeda catches Yamamoto in a leg-entanglement to get the win. Good rematch. ***1/2
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