What's new, grappling fans?!
You guys ever have a week where you just end up down a rabbit hole of google searches and YouTube videos and you're not too sure how you ended up there? I mean, I know exactly how I got where I ended up this week, just trying to be relatable, y'know?
This week is an unintentional one promotion double-feature, after going on a binge of UWF-I. I did watch the Royal Rumble from this past weekend and go over some of my thoughts, and trust me, I have a few.
So, without any further delay, let's get on with the review, shall we?
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| UWF-I |
Weekly Roundup
Here's what I watched for the week;
WWE Royal Rumble 2025
This past weekend was, what I often consider, WWE's best show of the year. The match quality may not always be out of the park, but the rumble is almost always a really fun match and a great way to kick off 'Mania season. This years rumble certainly divided fans, with the CAGEMATCH rating the night of the event sitting around 3.5 or 4. It's sitting comfortably around a 5.6 right now, so it's probably not going to fluctuate too noticeably in the next few weeks. I've got my own opinions about this show and I'm going to try and keep it brief, so here's my match-by-match breakdown.
The women's rumble kicked off the show with IYO SKY and Liv Morgan taking spot 1 and 2. I made notes throughout the match so I'll give you some of my bullet points here.
-I liked the on screen graphic they started using for the rumble matches. It's not too obstructive and gives some nice info if you aren't super familiar with the match or just want a refresher where we are in the match. I like it.
-Lyra had a wardrobe issue and Liv sent her into the corner so she could deal with it off camera was nice. Seemed like an on the fly call from Liv. What a pro.
-Ring got too full once all 3 members of PFC showed up. A lot of people doing nothing.
-Maxixne Dupri was a real highlight of the match. She keeps improving and is over with the crowd. Happy she got to shine, even if it was very brief.
-Jaida Parker in the Rumble!
-Jordynne Grace looked like an absolute star in this match. The perfect way to introduce her to new fans.
-Bliss is back, still dressed spooky. 2 years gone. Insane ovation.
-There was about 15 women in the rumble at once. We need some people out ASAP.
-Stephanie Vaquer and Trish Stratus in the rumble!
-Charlotte returns and gets pyro. Just announce she's winning why don't you.
-Vega and Stratus were in the corner forever. Nia finally comes to the ring and takes Vega out. Really awkward feeling.
-Nikki Bella is number 30. Whatever.
-Apron clusterfuck and Jax takes out 5 women at once.
-Roxanne Perez and Charlotte are the final 2 with Charlotte sending Perez out pretty easily. Womp womp.
Was a fine rumble overall, way too many women in the match too many times and it really made the match drag at times. Still fun, nice to see some of the newer names get the spotlight. Wish Charlotte didn't win, I'm just sick of her. Have been for a long time. Too long on top I feel and seems to never move anywhere else on the card but the main event spot. Give the win to someone else and let Charlotte challenge someone herself. Could be very easily done.
#DIY and Motor City Machine Guns in a two out of three falls match is next up, and this match made me really happy. It's no secret that Gargano and Ciampa are the two guys that got me back into wrestling almost 10 years ago. Their work as #DIY and the eventual breakup made me fall back in love with wrestling again. Seeing them come out as champions to an arena of 65,000 people made my heart happy. To the surprise of none, these two teams gad a really fun match. Fall one went to #DIY after doing the Sheamus and Cesaro/New Day spot from Roadblock: End of the Line in 2016 with Ciampa using a running knee on Shelly. MCMG took fall two with Skull and Bones but #DIY went full Revival in their cutoff/heat. Pulling Sabin off the apron, clubbering Shelly in the corner before hitting him with a Shatter Machine. Big pop from me. Project Ciampa had me screaming, nothing new there. Final fall came for #DIY after the Street Profits ran in at the end. A crutch took Shelly off the top rope and #DIY Met in the Middle for the 3. Looks like the Profits are heels now and are set to challenge #DIY for the gold after beating them down after the bell.
Owens and Rhodes' ladder match was a lot of fun! It started out kinda slow and had me a bit nervous they weren't going to move into a third gear and get really violent, but I was really, really wrong. Owens uses a ladder runs as a weapon after it breaks off. Cody does a back body drop to Kevin and he takes his bump on a ladder. You know the one, back first on the side of a ladder. Disgusting. I love him. A big powerbomb from KO to Cody onto a ladder that landed a bit higher on his back and shoulders than normal. Fishermans buster from the middle rope to a suspended ladder by KO had me squirming and shrieking near the end. Sami comes out to help KO but it doesn't matter in the end, as Cody puts him through a bridged ladder on the outside with a disgusting Alabama Slam. KO lays dead in a heap as Cody climbs the ladder to win. Brutal. I loved it.
Men's rumble finished the show with Rey and Penta out 1 and 2 and, same as the women's, here's my notes from while I watched.
-If we can be honest, Penta eliminates himself in the first few minutes but they don't show a replay and just keep trucking along.
-Breakker is in and tosses Santos and Carmelo Hayes out. Time to get crazy.
-Tozawa is next, gets killed on the ramp by Hayes with one shot. Triple H sends IShowSpeed out as his replacement. Eliminates Otis, Breakker literally runs him over. Screaming. Hollering. All time spear.
-Joe Hendry at 15. Huge pop. Happy he's here. Sheamus stands stunned in the corner during his whole run until Jacob Fatu attacks him and stops him. "I was enjoying that!" Hilarious.
-Roman in at 16. Miz, Sheamus and Hendry Out. Breakker spears Roman but gets tossed out anyways.
-Jey Uso in at 20, Styles is back at 21. Cena in at 23, Punk at 24 and Rollins at 25. Heavy hitters are showing up now.
-LA Knight (yeah!) is making his rumble debut at 29?! Didn't know he wasn't in the previous years rumble.
-Logan Paul is 30 and jumps to the table to save himself.
-Roman, Rolling and Punk all out at once. Brawl around ringside. Mania match setup?
-Cena sends Logan Paul out. Cena and Jey are final 2.
-Cena's pantomime, big crazy expressions in this match got really annoying really fast. Especially egregious during the apron punches.
-Cena goes for AA, Jey slips out and sends Cena to the floor. Yeetman wins.
Alright, this is the last time I'm gonna talk about this, because I'm honestly tired of thinking about it. I don't like Jey Uso. I don't like yeet, I don't think he's a main event guy, I don't think he's a great or even great wrestler. That's it.
I cannot, and will not, deny that he is over as fuck. I was live in Toronto for Money in the Bank 2024 and have never seen a reaction like that for someone live in person before, it's insane. Sure, an argument can be made that the most over guy should get that spot, and it's been true in the past. Cena was the living embodiment of a cartoon for half his career and has main evented more shows than you could ever shake a stick at. Hell, Hendry is popular because of a funny entrance and he's the TNA World Champ and people are happy for him! Like me! So what separates Jey from these guys? I don't have a concrete answer, I really don't I just don't like him. He was fantastic during his time with Jimmy as the Uso's, one of the best teams ever, and his presence in the Bloodline made that whole storyline more compelling than ever. But on his own? He does literally nothing for me. Less than nothing for me.I'm holding out very little hope for his 'Mania match this year.
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Nobuhiko Takada - UWF-I Final Battle At Budokan - 02/14/1993
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| Takada is left, in the red corner. Tamura is right, in the blue corner. UWF-I |
For whatever reason, I've been on a real UWF-I kick this week. Think I just felt like watching some Vader and went to find some shows and matches and went deep down the rabbit hole. Funny enough, as you can see from my spreadsheet, I watched only 1 Vader match! Failed my goal this week pretty hard I guess! No complaints though, what a week of great matches. I was enjoying them all so much (for the most part.)
I know I did a UWF-I match a while ago, but if I'm going to do two matches this week, I should give you guys a quick breakdown of the rules. (Thank you to ScientificWrestling for their detailed breakdown of these rules)
-Each wrestler starts with 15 points.
-1 point is deducted when a wrestler grabs the ropes to break a hold. 1 point is deducted for a "good suplex." 3 points are deducted when a wrestler is knocked down.
-Fights are won by submission, knockout, points reaching zero, or by a referee's/doctors decision.
-Strikes like headbutts, shots to the groin, a punch to the head, biting, scratching or other "dirty" moves are not allowed.
UWF-I is that beautiful blend of MMA and Wrestling that blurs the lines between a work and a shoot, with every single guy to get in the ring being more than capable of handling themselves in a real fight. The levels of authenticity and realism are deeper than anything else you'll watch, it's so, so good.
In a lot of ways, this is a real "battle of the top stars" match between Takada and Tamura. I reviewed a Takada match in my previous UWF-I review when he went up against Super Vader in an incredible match, and since then I've seen more Takada and he blows me away every time. Dude is a fucking star. Tamura almost got a review all those weeks ago but I didn't enjoy the match of his I watched nearly as much. Since then, I've watched more of his and seen people sing his praises constantly. People consider him to be one of the best crossover MMA/wrestlers of all time, with his size and skill blending perfectly to have some of the most exciting, compelling matches you'll find. To say I was excited when I saw this match come across my YouTube feed is a massive understatement.
From the opening bell, they meet in the middle with Takada going for a handshake. Tamura is defiant and tries to catch Takada unaware with a slap to the face. Right from the start, the tone is being set for this match. The more experienced Takada tries to offer respect to the younger fighter, but his response is defiance.
Takada fires off a kick at the start, with Takada able to get back control out of an early grappling exchange. Tamura is able to roll through to avoid the choke and mounts up on Takada, quickly transitioning to an armbar but Takada prevents him from locking out fully. Takada gets back on top again and gets to his feet, literally pulling Tamura to the centre and locking in a heel hook as Tamura tries to fight against the leverage. Repositioning again, Takada gets a kneebar and Tamura is visibly frightened, trying desperately to get out of the dangerous hold. He squirms and pulls them both until he's able to break the hold. A graphic comes on screen showing the point total for both men, with Tamura having 14 after using the ropes to break the hold.
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| Tamura's point total dropping from 15 to 14. UWF-I |
They reset in the middle, with Tamura favoring his left leg and Takada taking advantage of this weakness, getting a single knuckle lock as both men try to feel for an opening in the middle, firing away with stiff kicks to the leg. With Tamura regaining his footing, Takada move in and locks in a guillotine choke, with Tamura held at a disgusting angle. He starts to move for the ropes again so Takada quickly transitions to the side for a hammerlock, with Tamura immediately putting a foot on the ropes to break that hold too. 15-13
It's pretty obvious the angle leading into this match is veteran versus amateur. Takada has 8 years of experience on Tamura, who only debuted in 1989. But even by this point in his career, he's having fantastic matches and proving himself to be extremely competent. But when you stand toe to toe with someone as seasoned as Takada, you've got a long night ahead of you. He is able to get Takada in a side headlock and is close to a hammerlock of his own, but Takada is able to effortlessly change positions with Tamura, eventually going for an armbar that flips Tamura towards the ropes. He elects to use the ropes again, taking his point total to 12 against Takada'a perfect 15, but he can't risk being in any hold for too long this early. Tamura is visibly frustrated, punching the mat as he stands. His opponent proving to be as tough a nut to crack as ever.
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| It sounded like a baseball bat hitting a side of beef. UWF-I |
Now feeling each other out in the middle, Takada fires off with a kick that catches Tamura in the side. Tamura reels initially, trying to reset as if the shot did nothing, but the pain overwhelms him as he drops in the corner. 15-9. Takada is back up by the count of 5, but he's no longer rising to his full height, favouring the ribs after Takada'a lethal shot. The wound has been created and Takada zero's in, shooting in to grab Tamura by the head as he drives knees into Tamura's gut. He's able to block the knee-to-gut impact, but the damage still shoots through his crossed arms. Thinking on his feet, Tamura snatches the knee of Takada and takes him up on his shoulder, driving him into the mat and locking in a single leg crab!
Takada keeps trying to crawl, but Tamura has the hold in deep. Eventually, Takada is able to get to the ropes and breaks the hold, bringing the first blemish to his score. 14-9. Tamura is slow to break the hold, with the referee all but pulling him off his leg to force the break. For the first time, Takada is showing that he's actually been in a fight, favouring his back as he walks back to centre. He goes to kick Tamura again but gets caught almost instantly, with Tamura pulling him down to try and get a heelhook. Unfortunately for Tamura, Takada is able to transition into an armbar again and extends just as Tamura gets his foot on the rope. 14-8
It's another scramble as Takada tries for the armbar but this time it's Tamura who gets to his feet, crouched over the folded up Takada as he shifts his limbs before dropping back with a kneebar! Desperate as Tamura was in the beginning, Takada scrambles for the bottom rope and breaks the hold. 13-8. The armour of Takada is starting to slip, move by move.
Tamura is able to get the best of a grappling exchange by getting Takada in another kneebar, but Takada holds on, despite being close to the ropes. He brings his torso close to Tamura and starts to pull on his own leg, lessening the pressure as he looks for control again. Tamura is able to keep hold of the legs, standing up once again and dragging Tamkada to the middle as he looks to turn him around for a double leg Boston Crab. As he holds him in the middle, fighting for leverage, Takada tries to break the concentration of Tamura with a slap across the face.
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| Defiant as ever. UWF-I |
Tamura eats the slaps and shouts in the face of Takada, goading him for more. After a few more shots, Tamura releases the right leg of Takada and turns around violently, trying to drop into a single leg crab but Takada holds himself up. He's able to roll through and snatch the leg of Tamura, sitting down for another heelhook. Both men have a leg caught by their opponent, but Tamura is the first to release a limb as he climbs up Takada and gets him in a side headlock, wrenching back. Takada keeps slipping out of the hold but Tamura holds on, eventually transitioning into a hammerlock and wrenched back at a nasty angle. Takada is crawling, his speed increasing each time Tamura cranks the hold. Eventually, he gets to the bottom rope as the crowd starts to rumble and stomp. 12-8
Back in the middle, Tamura tries to shoot in for a double leg takedown but Takada shifts enough to pull Tamura up by the chin, getting underneath him this time and picking him up onto his shoulders. Falling backwards, Takada drill Tamura into the canvas and quickly transitions to the side (I guess that didn't count as a "good suplex," so no points were deducted). Sprawled on top, Takada starts to tie Tamura up for a top wristlock but can't get it locked in all the way. he starts to shift himself further up Tamura's body until he's sitting on his chest, now just slapping Tamura across the face, trying to get a desperate shot out of the hot tempered youth.
Tamura responds in kind, cracking Takada across the face with a pair of solid slaps that stuns Takada long enough for Tamura to snatch a leg, transition to his feet and then back down with Takada on the backfoot, literally, the whole time. He grapevines the leg and sits down with a kneebar again, but Takada floats through and gets back on top, his momentary slip up corrected.
Keeping control of the head, Takada starts to pull Tamura up to standing with him, staying together the entire way up. Now on their feet, they jockey for the dominant position back and forth until Takada tries to counter Tamura by taking him over with a hip toss. Tamura holds his ground and stays on top of Takada, getting a kneebar once again as he sits on the torso of Takada, until falling back to grapevine the legs as Takada takes the ropes again. 11-8
Back on their feet, Takada has had enough. He wastes no time going for the kill shot, a kick to the leg drops Tamura's guard long enough for a kick to the head to land, sending Tamura down and into the ropes. 11-5
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| The beginning of the end. UWF-I |
Takada stands and waits in the corner for Tamura, who gets back to his feet by the 6 count. Takada goes back to work with the kicks, targeting the torso again to crumple Tamura, but he stays standing, only for another shot to the head to drop him. 11-2
He fights to his feet again, the crowd in a fever pitch as Takada cracks off another kick to the head but Tamura catches it! He hugs the foot as Takada stumbles forward, using his head and shoulder to put him in a heel hook of sorts. Takada crawls for the ropes but Tamura pulls hum back and grapevines the leg, extending into a knee bar as Takada desperatley moves for the ropes, breaking the hold. 10-2
Back in the middle, Takada is limping and Tamura is gassed, but they're both on their feet and ready to swing. Unfortunately for Tamura, the fight was over the second Takada got another kick in. He crushes him with kick after kick as he tries to desperately stay standing, but his body fails him as he collapses to the mat, the referee calling the match as a result of Tamura's points reaching 0.
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| The heart wants to continue, but the body knows when to give in. UWF-I |
This is a fantastic match between two of the very best in UWF-I. Tamura is as resilient and crafty as ever, able to get some really quick and clever offence in on the veteran and tenured Takada, who eventually has enough of Tamura's games and puts and end to their match with some vicious, nasty kicks. If Tamura hadn't put Takada out by now, he stood little chance after Takada started just hitting him. Really good stuff, a nice story was told and the technical wrestling was as sound as it comes. No holes. So good.
Masahito Kakihara vs. Kazuo Yamazaki - UWF-I Next Challenger Final - 11/30/1994
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| Yamazaki is left, in the red corner. Kakihara is right, in the blue corner. UWF-I |
The main event match for this weeks review was something of a sleeper hit. I pulled up a UWF-I show I had found and decided to check out the card and see what I was getting into. The last four matches really stood out to me and looked like a lot of fun. Yoshihiro Takayama, Kiyoshi Tamura, Gary Albrigt and Nobuhiko Takada, this sounded like a great back half to a card! Turns out, two of the four matches were kind lame, one of them was great, and the other blew me away! Care to take a guess which one that was?
Similar to the previous match, this one was a battle of old vs. new, with Masahito Kakihara coming into his fourth year as a fighter, whereas Kazuo Yamazaki has 12 years of experience by the time 1994 rolls around. This is a much larger gap in experience between Takada and Tamura in the last match, so the dynamic that was at play in the last match is only amplified here.
The referee has to break them apart at the start, with Yamazaki getting in Kakihara's face. After the announcements and he gives them a quick rundown of some last second rules, Kakihara offers Yamazaki a handshake but he doesn't even acknowledge him, backing into his corner as the bell rings. After closing the distance, Kakihara unloads on Yamazaki with a flurry of open hand strikes, forcing the veteran to close in on himself to protect his face. A knee and kick to the gut finds its mark in the middle of the flurry, with another volley of strikes eventually dropping Yamazaki to the canvas. The point system in this match is the same as the one before, with Yamazaki now at 12, to Kakihara's unblemished 15.
Yamazaki is back on his feet and immediately goes for Kakihara, but the referee has to hold him back so they can reset properly. When the referee allows the match to continue, they tie up in the middle and jockey for control. Kakihara shoots off a vicious knee to drop Yamazaki to his knees, with a soccer kick to the ribs actually sending Yamazaki rolling to the outside! Fighters rarely went to the floor, things were meant to stay within the ropes, but something it happens, y'know? 9-15
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| Surprise! UWF-I |
Yamazaki is back inside and leaning in the corner, dismissively waving Kakihara off as he stands ready in the middle, hands up and quick on his feet. Yamazaki squares up to Kakihara and backs him into the ropes, staying locked up with him until the referee forces a break by literally getting between them. Yamazaki is slow to go along with the break, but they eventually reset and return to the middle. Yamazaki blocks the kicks of Kakihara and starts to get the advantage as he pulls him down to the canvas for an armbar attempt. Kakihara slips free and gets on top, transitioning a scarf hold to an armbar attempt of his own.
They wrestle (they do what?!) for control until Yamazaki gets Kakikara in a heel hook, but Kakihara is seated and trying to grab a limb or twist his way out of the hold. Yamazaki is flat on his back, wrenching on the foot to try and force Kakihara to submit but he refuses, going so far as to slap the chest of Yamazaki as he lays back do to put further pressure on the foot. Each time Kakihara slaps the chest, Yamazaki slams his back down on the canvas again, putting more and more pressure on, over and over. Eventually, Kakihara is forced to go for the ropes. 9-14.
I'm not sure if it's a lack of respect, or an abundance of confidence, as when they reset to the middle, Kakihara returns to his fighting stance and Yamazaki responds in kind, but not for very long. It only takes a few seconds, but Yamazaki drops his guard and stands waiting with his hands at his side, his eyes never leaving Kakihara but he clearly feels he can deal with whatever gets thrown at him with little issue.
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| Nice try, Kakihara. Down ya go! UWF-I |
He's proven to be right, as Kakihara shoots out a kick and Yamazaki catches it immediately, tripping him down to the canvas and wrenching back on the leg. Kakihara is quick to act, wrapping Yamazaki up with a rear naked choke, but Yamazaki's chin is in the way of the choke being locked in fully. It's all about attrition now, as both men are trapped in each others hold. Kakihara takes control by kicking the arms of Yamazaki off his tied up leg, taking the back as Yamazaki tries to crawl away.
Yamazaki stands over the prone Kakihara holding his right leg, able to easily grapevine the leg into a knee bar or twist him around into a single leg crab, but he instead stares down at his challenger, watching as he shifts and squirms to try and make his position advantageous. Soon, Yamazaki releases his leg altogether and stands over him, shifting around his feet as Kakihara moves with him, not letting Yamazaki get anywhere close to passing his guard. Yamazaki's body language does not imply that he's in anything close to a fight, he looks closer to a disapproving father trying to put his son to bed.
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| I love timing my screenshots perfectly with the flash bulbs. UWF-I |
He gestures for Kakihara to stand, with a whiffed kick the exclamation point on his request. Kakihara refuses to stand, still shifting around to keep Yamazaki at his feet. Eventually, Yamazaki passes his guard and gets a kick off against Kakihara'a head. This wakes Kakihara up, shooting to his feet and drilling Yamazaki with a knee to the gut. They scramble for control, a mess of limbs moving around the centre of the ring until Yamazaki gets behind Kakihara and pulls him to his knees with a reach naked choke. He's able to just barely able to keep Yamazaki from locking in the hold fully, falling backwards as Yamazaki wraps him up like an anaconda.
Kakihara makes space and looks to be free, but Yamazaki wraps his free arm around his throat and tries to pull him back down, but Kakihara has shifted enough that he's able to shoot his leg out and catch the bottom rope to break the hold. 9-13
With both men leery to make the first move, Yamazaki locks knuckles with Kakihara and stands off against him. He looks to go for the second knuckle lock, but instead fires off a kick to the ribs of Kakihara, dropping him like a shot. 9-10
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| You couldn't pay me enough to take this. UWF-I |
Yamazaki rounds the ring with a fist in the air, but Kakihara beats the count and is back to squaring up with Yamazaki, favouring his ribs more than he was a moment before but otherwise ready to fight. Yamazaki still has his guard down, walking in and catching another kick from Kakihara and landing a kick of his own, dropping him and locking in a vicious heel hook. Unable to make it to the ropes with any discernible progress, Kakihara instead backs up and moves over top of Yamazaki, standing above him and turning the tide with a knee bar!
As Yamazaki continues to fight to get out, Kakihara transitions into a single leg crab as Yamazaki gets on all fours- well, maybe three's is more appropriate. He scrambles for the ropes and breaks the hold. 8-10
Back in the middle, Kakihara goes back to what started the match in his favour, lacing Yamazaki with open hand strikes, knees and kicks that fold the veteran into a ball until he collapses once again. 5-10.
With a ferocity unseen until this point, Yamazaki closes the distance with blistering speed, landing a flurry of strikes and kicks on Kakihara, who drops to the canvas in seconds. 5-7
Yamazaki goes for another series of kicks but Kakihara catches the leg and forces him to the canvas, getting on top with a scarf hold. He tries to hammerlock the arm under the leg as Yamazaki sniffs his plan seconds before his arm is compromised, flailing like a fish to get to the ropes and break the hold. 4-7
Kakihara backs Yamazaki into the corner with open hand strikes again, going for a rolling kick but Yamzaki drops to the canvas on his own volition, allowing Kakihara to land in a heap in the corner. He reels back and drills Kakihara with kicks and knees in the corner, doing everything he can to keep his body safe. Catching him in a front facelock, Yamazaki pulls Kakihara to the middle and goes for a waistlock, but Kakihara reverses for a waistlock of his own and takes Yamazaki over with a german suplex! It's not quite a full german suplex, but it's damn close. Ha lands some kicks on the back of Yamazaki as the referee backs Kakihara off to allow him to get back up. 1-7, Yamazaki is on his literal last leg.
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Yamazaki beats the count and meets Kakihara in the middle, brushing off the kicks and shooting around for a waistlock. This time, he gets off a picture perfect german suplex, bridge and all. 1-6. He pulls Kakihara up and goes for another, 1-5. Standing over his quarry, Yamazaki grabs the left arm and holds it straight up, dropping back and barring it fully. Kakihara has no choice but to submit.
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| Yamazaki decided he'd had enough. UWF-I |
This match is fucking brilliant. Seriously. Kakihara seems to have Yamazaki's number more often than not, landing heavy strikes and forcing him to use the ropes to break holds. Even with his rather lax demeanor in this match, Yamazaki isn't to be taken lightly at all, crushing Kakihara at the slightest opening he's given and evening up whatever advantage he'd lost up to that point. The finishing stretch is so, so good. Kakihara has the match all but won, with a rope break or knock down doing Yamazaki in from a loss of points alone. Yamazaki finally decides "I'm done playing with my food, I'm killing this guy," and that's exactly what he does. Two huge suplex's and an armbar is all it takes. He could have used those moves literally at any point in the match, but by waiting until the very end, he shows that Kakihara was a legitimate threat and ultimately pushed him to the limit. Maybe he thought he could take this kid to the limit and exhaust him, maybe he was waiting to see where he'd slip up. He always had the killshot in his back pocket, waiting until the time was right. It's perfect. I love it.
What an exciting week of matches this way. I really didn't expect to go down the UWF-I rabbit hold but I'm glad I did! I forgot just how much fun these matches could be. The stories told between the ropes is as tight as the holds. It doesn't always need to be the high drama of "you slept with my wife! That's why I'm gonna beat your ass inside Hell in a Cell!" Something as simple as "amateur wants to prove he can take it to the veteran" can be done so beautifully when done right, and these two matches prove my point perfectly.
Got any other matches you want me to check out? Feedback? Threats on my life? Unclaimed inheritences? You know where to send them. cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com
Until next week, stay safe and enjoy yourself friends.
Cliff Morgan
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