April 1998

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GAEA goes UWF! This was probably the closest you'll get to serious girl shootstyle, as they wore plain black outfits and stuck to working a no frills UWFi style contest. The work won't make you forget your high end RINGS but it was genuinely exciting contest with perfect pace and layout. Uematsu surviving an onslaught of stiff kicks and almost toppling her higher ranked opponent with a knee to the face and palm strikes and hooking the leg was a great moment. Short but good. Also, for the scientific record: KAORU is fine as hell.

JIP 1 minute in. The opening exchanges are solid, but this really gets hot when Tenryu kicks Kojima in the face and his nose starts gushing blood. Tenryu & Koshinaka proceed punch and twist his nose to a smear and this is pretty grizzly and great. Some surprisingly clever spots ensue (I love that Fujinamis Dragon Screw is a super dangerous move), Koshinaka looks really good hitting people in the back of the head with his ass, there is also a really nice Fujinami/Tenryu showdown with Fujinami again busting out a huge kneedrop in a great moment. Kojima is not super compelling here getting punched in the nose, but he is perfectly alright as your dime store japanese heavy…

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It's a big shame that due to bad timing and some other external factors (Hashimoto leaving NJPW shortly after Nishimura returned from cancer treatment) this is the only singular time these two would share a ring in a singles match. It's also a shame because Hashimoto's intensity with Nishimura's style makes this a pretty great match for what it's worth, with them immediately establishing the tone with Nishimura bumping hard for leg kicks, trying for some Inoki-crab sweeps that get no-sold as Hashimoto coldly stares him down. Nishimura's frustration at being treated like this definitely shines though as he gets beaten down, but keeps getting back up every time despite the …

Awesome stuff here. The insane crowd reactions for the entrances clue you in on this being something special and commentary describes it as Maeda's final match in Osaka or something along those lines, definitely part of his retirement tour. The action itself is great as well, they did a great job of building up every transition on the mat and the keylock counter and the fighting over the leglocks were the highlights of the match, and honestly it probably wouldn't stand out if it happened on a smaller show a few years ago, but here it was more important that the action is good enough to supplement the beautiful atmosphere than to try and force a classic, which, with Maeda'…

If you need your suplex fix in RINGS, Bakouri is your guy. He's just suplexing all day long while Sakata is working through the textbook holds on the mat. Sakata tries to heat up with the open hands and the kicks but Bakouri keeps squashing those attempts, eventually suplexing him to the ground and tapping him with a heel hold. Fun little match-up.

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WOAH! Apparently this was the debut match of Mariko in ARSION. I was expecting something good, but this was far more than a formative bout. Rei Tamada, for a name that never gets dropped, looked damn impressive. The bout was built around establishing Yoshida's new, signature style, and her focus was to take it to the mat no matter what. Tamada was far more than a piece of luggage for Yoshida to chuck around, however. Tamada could roll on the mat and I really liked her determination to get the match into standing position. I want to emphasize the standing exchanges here were also really good. Tamada hit a mean elbow and tried her darndest to cut Yoshida of, who rolled one …

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Motegi is surprisingly effective as surely vet carrying skinny indy juniors and this was no exception. The match had a simple layout that worked: Fujita would get the advantage through a flashy move or highspot, and Motegi would repay him with a gritty stiff receipt. Highlights include a brutal lariat, some nasty as hell work on the stomach and making Fujita faceplant on the floor. Fujita is so skinny the beating looks double brutal and Motegi can just manhandle him. One goofy no selling spot, but this stuff ages better than your average 90s junior match.