January 1997

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This was more traditional pro-wrestling than shoot style or Bati-Bati as Hoshikawa is a Michi Pro affiliated wrestler, but this is still a good match. They set this up with Hoshikawa using flashier and more pro-wrestling oriented offense as he throws some somewhat flashier kicks which of course Otsuka being the punishment freak he is he just dives in head first into these kicks and he does a fantastic job at putting them over a KO potential strikes and it builds the drama for the finish. Otsuka's comeback is a bit brief as he gets tired of playing around with Hoshikawa and then just dumps on his head with a TTD before teeing off with some big throws.

Always nice to see the M-Pro crew show up on another promotions card and try to steal the show. This was maybe slightly faster worked and more chaotic than their usual formula tag, which wasn't a bad thing. You are really kept on the edge of your seat when any minute 4 guys might run in to drop elbows all at the same time. A chaotic brawl breaks out halfway into the match and Naniwa gets bloodied and his mask ripped open, which just sets the crowd completely on fire for him. The Sasuke/Hamada/Yakushuji technico shine sections are really fun – Yakushuji fast complicated headscissors and armdrags are still the best, and I don't remember Hamada working as Fujiwara but he doe…

Yuki Ishikawa & Takeshi Ono vs Daisuke Ikeda & Katsumi Usuda - BattlArts 1/21/97 How are the teams decided in BattlArts? In October, Ono and Ishikawa were on separate teams. Is the only rule that Ishikawa & Ikeda must be opposing sides? This is another Jetlag recommendation nominated in the Greatest Match Every project. Anytime, Ishikawa and Ikeda hook it up it is going to be good. I thought these were some of the best Ikeda kicks I have ever seen. They really played up the striker vs wrestler matchup in the first half of the match. Each of the heavy hitters had to save their junior partner in the opening exchange then they both came in and Ikeda LIT…

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Not an outstanding match but definitely solid, with Zouev showing off his skills on the mat with his transitions. Nagai has been relying heavily on his strikes up to this point but it's Zouev who blasts him with a spinning back kick to the FACE! Of course, Nagai isn't a slouch on the mat and comes up with some slick holds of his own, including a cool leg stretcher. He ramps up the strikes, connecting with knees to the head and even a swift kick to the butt while Zouev is hung up on the ropes. By the end of it, Zouev's tank is running low and Nagai continues to pummel him. He lands another big spinning backkick to the back of Nagai's head and finally taps him with a heel h…

I know Han/Tamura steals the attention but this match rules. Ilioukhine does a good job of showing off his power, and comes out strong but TK's technique gives him the edge. There's a great kneebar counter that sends Mikhail to the ropes and he manages to escape a follow-up choke only to get caught in an armbar and sent back to the ropes. The crowd is loving the exchanges and Mikhail especially does a good job of selling the damage sustained, from his targeted leg to the rib kicks. They trade some big strikes -- knees, kicks, body shots, face palms -- and in an awesome moment, TK uses a triangle counter out of a leg whip. But Mikhail immediately muscles him over into a he…

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I wondered if Kawada and Fujiwara had a match, and my search led me to this tag, which, isn't a great tag match per se, but has some magic moments. Fujiwara is the easy highlight. I loved the opening few minutes between he and Fuchi, the other highlight. Fujiwara starts prepping the arm for the FUJIWARA ARMBAR and Fuchi is really working the headscissors. Fujiwara tries to headstand out and not only does Fuchi hold on, he does push ups to show off. He's scooting Fujiwara's head across the mat and it finally takes a special twisting headstand for Fujiwara to get out. The teases to Kawada vs. Fujiwara are maybe better than the actual interactions. Fujiwara wants Kawada, Fuc…

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