Control21

The Road to WrestleMania is heating up! Bad News Brown vs Hiroshi Hase sounded like a great match. Hopefully, those two share some of the spotlight at the big event. I'm also enjoying your use of Vader so far. He feels like a big deal. Speaking of a big deal, Kevin von Erich seems to making a breakthrough in 1990.

Lots of interesting things going on in the USWA. Poor Chris got a hearty "welcome" from Curt Hennig. I like the duel-promotion system you are running. Can be a lot of work, but it's also interesting to see how these two operate under the USWA umbrella. It seems like the fans are getting their money's worth.

It's always money when Hulk Hogan and Stan Hansen square off, and AWA certainly has a high-value match in the making there. David Sammartino vs Jim Neidhart sounded like a tremendous match. David Sammartino scored a huge win there. Been a very fun year for AWA so far.

UWF Newborn – “Free Fight Holland ‘90” February 21st, 1990 Amsterdam, Netherlands Sport Hall South Attendance: 3,900 Broadcast: WOWOW (taped) (watch from 6:33 to 9:35 to get a sense of what the Dutch UWF guys were up to around this time) Kiyoshi Tamura def. Bert Kops Jr via submission, 1R of 3, 3:33 In a match featuring three five-minute rounds, a rapid and quite intense match saw Tamura overwhelm Bert Kops Jr on the mat with impressive submission wrestling skills. Tamura secured the rear-naked choke and got the hooks in, forcing Kops Jr to tap. Willie Peeters def. Naoyuki Taira via KO, 2R of 3, 1:22 Taira put up a spirited performance against the Dutch street fighter, but Peeters displayed some cool-looking takedown attempts and heated strikes to put his opponent away. A sharp kidney punch did the job and Taira was out for the count. Minoru Suzuki def. Marcel Haarmans via pinfall, 11:33 Haarmans was a disciplined wrestler and was able to match Suzuki's grappling skills, but Suzuki had a lot of fire in him and was determined to get the job done. A back-and-forth match eventually went in Suzuki's favor and the UWF prodigy was able to put his opponent away with a bridging German suplex. Masakatsu Funaki def. Tom von Maurik via submission, 9:33 Masakatsu Funaki did not know much about his opponent, who was another Dutch grappler from Dolman's gym in Amsterdam. Regardless, Funaki was able to get the job done. Tom had a bit more muscle than Funaki but was slower on the mat, enabling Funaki and his smooth transition game. Funaki caught Maurik with a heel hook in the middle of the ring to secure the victory. Andy Hug def. Kevin Kastelle via KO, 1R of 3, 0:59 In a total mismatch, Andy Hug dominated Kastelle with a series of furious strikes. Kastelle had no defense, and could not withstand the attack for long. A sharp kick to the head put Kastelle away for good. Duane Koslowski def. Fred Hamaker via pinfall, 10:49 Koslowski found himself against another amateur wrestler. While Hamaker wasn't as decorated as Koslowski and did not have the same pedigree, he put up an honorable fight against the American Greco-Roman wrestler. The two impressed the Dutch crowd with some clever mat wrestling and reversals. Koslowski's quality proved to be the important factor in the end and secured the pinfall after a series of impressive suplex throws. Gerard Gordeau def. Bart Vale via KO, 12:11 Gordeau and Vale put on a decent display of striking, with the art of kickboxing in full display. Vale's conditioning was not as good as Gordeau's and the American kickboxer found himself struggling down the stretch. While neither was good on the mat, both decided to buy some time there. In the end, Gordeau got the well-earned victory with a series of kicks and punches with his gloves. Wily Wilhelm def. Vladimir Berkovich via submission, 7:24 The Dutch Judoka was up against a good opponent in Vladimir Berkovich and the two were quite evenly matched in terms of strength. Both managed to impress the crowd with some huge throws, but Wilhelm's mat game was just a bit better and he managed to submit the Soviet wrestler with a shoulder lock after a harai-goshi. Dick Vrij def. Masashi Aoyagi via TKO, 12:06 The Dutch kicking machine had by far the most cheers of the night from the Dutch fans, and he made sure to put on a very impressive display against Aoyagi's karate skills. The two engaged in a very stiff encounter. Neither held anything back, but Vrij eventually pulled out the win after a series of knockdowns finally took Aoyagi out of the match. Akira Maeda def. Chris Dolman via submission, 15:11 Chris Dolman gave Akira Maeda everything he could handle as he used his strength to give Maeda a ton of trouble on the mat, but Maeda's striking skills and refined submission background earned him the advantage as the match went on. Dolman had the fans behind him and urged him on, but Maeda refused to go down. After a swift Capture Suplex, Maeda locked in an Achilles hold and eventually managed to force Dolman to tap after he refused for a brief moment. (OOC: My bad! I got sidetracked with LSAT studying and thought this show was scheduled for the 26th when it was meant for the 21st. This is a more condensed version of my usual format as I planned a bit of a break for this month, but expect your normal programming to resume next month.)

UWF Newborn never had a title in real life, so it is hard to say. UWFi had Lou Thesz's title (which is the angle I have borrowed) and it headlined every show it was defended on. The thinking here was that while Maeda/Fujinami was a major attraction, there was an equal amount of buzz (for different reasons) around Sayama defending the title against a legit shooter from Brazil. I guess I was trying to convey the uncertainty of a defense against such an unknown in the shadow of a Maeda/Fujinami match.

A huge loss. Gran Hamada was one of the best to do it. A constant innovator and someone who helped pushed pro wrestling forward in a lot of ways. RIP

This match is a masterclass. Not only in pure technique but how to make someone look dominant while keeping the loser relatively strong. Inoki had no answer for Roland Bock, and as the rounds progressed (10 European rounds), this became more clear. Bock dwarfs Inoki in size and sets the tone early on by suplexing Inoki and dominating him on the mat. This rarely happened at the time, although it probably didn't surprise the German crowd too much considering Bock's status in Europe. Inoki has his moments, and this isn't a total squash, but Bock just keeps pressing him and Inoki's exhaustion sets in pretty quickly. Towards the end, they both get pretty feisty and Roland gets rough with Inoki by delivering several headbutts, choking him with the ropes, and suplexing him at will in the 9th and 10th rounds. Inoki survives and goes the distance, but he does not look like the demi-god he was going into this match. On the other hand, Roland looks like a true monster and a force of nature. There's no running of the ropes in this match. It's just a pure fight between two superb wrestlers who begin to hate each other as the match progresses. It's a shame we didn't get more prime Roland footage because he looks tremendous here. A true classic for the books. *****

Randy Savage in Memphis is always a blast. I think you are using him well here. Curt Hennig vs Jerry Lawler was a great main event too, I could picture it very easily.

Goto finally got the monkey off his back. It feels surreal, but he did it. Best NJPW show top to bottom since COVID hit. Three MOTY contenders in Boltin/Takeshita, Tsuji/Kidd, and ZSJ/Goto.

AWA in Milwaukee was a very good show. Hogan and Patera re-igniting their old rivalry was a good way to cap things off. Cactus Jacks is having a great run this year. He looks like he is ready to break through and become one of AWA's primary attractions.

A pair of great main events this week with Eddie vs Regal and Rose vs Steamboat both being clinics

https://www.themat.com/news/2025/february/09/1988-greco-roman-olympian-duane-koslowski-65-has-passed-away Duane was an incredible athlete and wrestler. He had a handful of matches in pro wrestling as well, most notably against Ken Shamrock and Nobuhiko Takada. I don't think he ever had a "bad" match either. RIP.

Great work as always. All of these creative angles are interesting to follow and there's always something that makes Bluegrass one of the most interesting promotions east of the Mississippi.

Heenan with 1,500 friends? The man sure knows how to inflate his numbers. SNME will be a blast. You've set up that event quite nicely.

I'm really enjoying WCW in 1990 so far. I love the idea of a Owen and Davey tag team at this stage. They could be the next great tag team. Liger vs Muta should be awesome. Can't wait for that match

Oh yeah, there are definitely great matches that involve targeting certain limbs over extended periods. Like you said, it has to be done extremely well. Unfortunately, there's a lot of "limb work" today that is pointless and goes nowhere. Nothing is more frustrating than seeing someone like Ospreay forget to sell a leg that just got attacked and somehow summoning the strength to do one of his high-spot moves.

Would ZSJ's philosophy here be any different from a shoot-style worker? Obviously, ZSJ doesn't work like Tamura or Kohsaka but the point with submission holds in a real setting is to submit someone. I think the concept of "wearing down bodyparts" only goes so far. ZSJ's style has also changed a bit since earlier in his career when he often went from hold to hold without much of a direction. I think he's more direct with his submissions now, and that helps his matches a lot I think.

Interesting how this map compares to historical trends. You can kinda see why wrestling never really took off in the mountain states during the territory days.

UWF releases Mark Rocco

This is a great article. It is great that these kids have an outlet for their creativity, passion, and desire for connectivity. I think this is proof positive that pro wrestling can be a vehicle for all three.

Check out Wrestling With The Narrative and Four Pillars of Hell

UWF Newborn – “UWF ’90 1st” January 28th, 1990 Tokyo, Japan Nippon Budokan Attendance: 14,500 (sold out) Broadcast: WOWOW (live) UWF kicks off 1990 in a sold out Budokan Hall. The WOWOW broadcast opens with the pre-show display of lights and fireworks, followed by the opening parade of wrestlers coming out to the ring with the UWF theme blasting in the background. Sayama, Maeda, Takada, and Fujinami all give some opening remarks to welcome the fans into the new year. Sayama hypes up his title match with Eugenio Tadeu while Fujinami says he is very happy to be with UWF and looks forward to proving why he is the strongest. The WOWOW commentators are hyped up for tonight and break down the match card. We are soon underway with the opening bell! Yusuke Fuke vs Masahito Kakihara An exciting opener saw Kakihara go full throttle against Fuke, and the young lion pressed his fellow constantly with hard strikes and quick movement on his feet. Fuke struggled to get Kakihara to the ground in the opening few minutes but found more after weathering the storm. Yuke did find himself down 2-0 early on points after Kakihara got two quick knockdowns in, but he worked his back into the match after forcing Kakihara to go for the ropes twice with better-timed takedowns, followed by solid matwork to get into positions for a submission. After a brief lull, Kakihara turned into a bundle of energy again and cornered Fuke again with some hard knees near the turnbuckle. With a 3-1 lead on points after another knockdown, Kakihara perhaps became a bit too overconfident. Yuke was allowed back into the match and managed to catch Kakihara with a couple of hard suplexes. Fuke continued to demonstrate superiority on the mat worked hard again to get another point, and forced Kakihara to go for a rope break after a double wristlock attempt. Back on their feet, Yuke caught Kakihara with a bridging Fisherman’s suplex for the pinfall attempt. 1…2…3!!! Despite Kakihara’s fierce determination, he was still quite young compared to the other young lions and perhaps the greenness allowed Fuke to secure the victory. Fuke defeats Kakihara via pinfall, 11:33 Manabu Yamada vs Yasuto Sekishima Hoping to get an important win under his belt, Yamada seemed eager to tangle up with Sekishima and found some early success as he managed to catch his opponent with a couple of creative leg entries. Sekishima remained calm and his experience helped prevent Yamada from scoring a couple of rope breaks early on. Both wrestlers preferred to test each other on the mat, but at times they mixed in some great striking exchanges. The Shooto philosophy of fast striking mixed in with quick grappling and counterwork was on full display, with both being members of Sayama’s Shooto gym. After both managed to get rope breaks from each other, the match went into a period where it was tied at 1-1 on points. Yamada started to get some tough hits on his opponent, and Sekishima appeared rocked at one point as Yamada attempted to get an inverted guillotine locked in, but Yasuto managed to find a way to slither out somehow, impressing the crowd in the process. Back on his feet, Sekishima fired back with a flurry of sharp kicks and caught Yamada with a flying armbar. Sekishima quickly locked in the cross-armbreaker and Yamada had no choice but to tap in the center of the ring. Sekishima defeats Yamada via submission (cross-armbreaker), 10:19 Kiyoshi Tamura/Billy Scott vs Jerry Flynn/Erik Paulson In a bit of a showcase for younger wrestlers, these two teams were both chomping at the bit to make a statement. The team of Tamura and Scott were quite dangerous on the mat, and Tamura in particular caused Flynn all sorts of problems when they locked up despite Flynn’s height. Jerry’s reach did help him avoid the worse though, and he eventually made things even after hitting Tamura with a couple of sharp low kicks. Tamura found his match when Paulson got tagged in, and he was able to meet Tamura’s quickness and speed on the mat. Paulson was adept at beating Tamura at his own game and caught him by surprise in the middle of his quick transitions with a snappy cross-armbreaker attempt. Tamura was able to reach the ropes for a rope break and quickly tagged in his partner. Scott was willing to go toe-to-toe with Paulson but Paulson’s experience was the key factor here and Scott had to exhaust a few rope breaks of his own in short order. Scott’s firey demeanor impressed the fans in the Budokan but he didn’t find much luck in his first go. With Tamura back in, he changed the momentum once again and was able to catch Paulson with a double-leg takedown and a kneebar attempt. Paulson had to go for a rope break before tagging Flynn back in. Flynn focused on striking with Tamura this time, doing his best to avoid going back down to the mat with a superior submission wrestler. Flynn was able to hook Tamura for an impressive German suplex and attempted a bridging pinfall, but Tamura kicked out at two. Seeking to press the advantage, Flynn immediately followed up with a jumping rolling kick which caught Tamura square in the head. Tamura had to beat the ten count and quickly tag his opponent back in. Scott was able to hold his own against Flynn and almost caught him with a single-leg Boston crab, but Flynn was able to tag in Paulson who reasserted control over the match. Scott eventually found himself going for the ropes again, and after exhausting two points, he had no choice but to tag in Tamura. After a short, but impressive exchange on the mat, Paulson was able to surprise Tamura with a well-executed D’Arce choke for the submission victory. Tamura was frustrated with the loss, and Paulson celebrated with one of the newest members of the UWF roster. Flynn & Paulson defeat Tamura & Scott, 15:27 Naoki Sano vs Tatsuo Nakano Sano and Nakano had a scrappy contest which displayed the willpower and no-fear attitude in both wrestlers. Nakano took it to his opponent with a variety of stiff strikes while Sano answered back with some of his own. This defined the opening few minutes of the match until Nakano finally knocked down Sano with a palm strike combo. After getting back on his feet, Sano elected to try and take the match to the mat and Nakano was happy to oblige. The two battled to get a point off each other and it seemed like a stalemate with neither willing to give an inch. Sano was finally able to lock in a heel hook but Nakano quickly went to the ropes for a rope break. A few nice striking exchanges were mixed into what was increasingly becoming a more mat-based affair, and things settled at 2-2 on points after a back-and-forth battle with Nakano holding his own against someone who was probably just a bit quicker than he was. Down the stretch, Nakano and Sano elected to engage in another heated striking exchange, and this time Nakano got the better of Sano and scored the decisive knockdown after a really stiff palm strike that landed right on Sano’s nose. Sano wasn’t able to beat Ryogaku Wada’s ten count in time and Nakano celebrated a well-earned victory. Nakano defeats Sano via KO, 12:44 Shigeo Miyato vs Bob Backlund Bob Backlund was a man on a mission and wasted no time in delivering a stern lesson to Miyato. It was unfortunate that Miyato was in the way of a seemingly pissed off Backlund, but those were the cards that he was dealt with. He did his best despite Backlund delivering a bevy of suplexes early on, and Backlund’s skills on the mat were unquestionably among the best in UWF. Miyato was no slouch when it came to skill either, but Backlund was just too good and too determined. Finding himself down 2-0 on points relatively quickly, Miyato tried catching Backlund with a combo of strikes, but Backlund fought through it and picked up Miyato again for a huge side suplex. Miyato had to dig deep to find his “fighting spirit” as Backlund continued to pressure him on the mat. Miyato was able to earn a brief reprieve after finding Backlund’s foot for a Gotch toe hold, but Backlund was able to escape and returned the favor with a heel hook. The crowd urged Miyato to get to the ropes, which he did. Unfortunately, Backlund just picked him up again for another big side suplex. Miyato didn’t get the chance to recover before Backlund pounced on him to lock in the Crossface Chicken Wing. Miyato did his best to escape but Backlund forced the tapout. After the match, Backlund walks over to the side of the ring where Billy Robinson is sitting. Backlund leans over the ropes and it sounds like he is demanding a title shot against Sayama! Robinson seems like he is a bit annoyed by Backlund’s attitude. Backlund defeats Miyato via submission (Crossface Chicken Wing), 9:39 Naoya Ogawa vs Grigory Verichev Hot off his impressive debut against Bad News Allen last month, Ogawa was looking to further cement himself as the top new talent in UWF. Grigory Verichev, a fellow Judoka and 1988 Olympic bronze medalist, made his debut last year at UWF’s big event in the Soviet Union. Now he was facing someone he was familiar with from the international Judo circuit, and Ogawa presented a tough challenge despite his youth. Contested under normal UWF rules, both men opted to wear their usual Judo gis. Verichev’s size caused some issues for Ogawa early on, as he struggled to get Verichev off his feet. Verichev found more success on that front, tripped up Ogawa early on, and followed up by hunting for a quick cross-armbreaker on the mat. Ogawa was able to ward off the attempt after some struggle, but Verichev’s strength on the mat continued to present some issues as the Soviet Judoka continued to hold his dominant position on Ogawa. Ogawa knew he had to get back on his feet to find some momentum, and struggled to get out of his predicament. Verichev found another opening to apply a scarf choke, but Ogawa managed to get to the ropes to break the hold and force a reset. Ogawa lured Verichev in and managed to execute a Uchi-mata to the delight of the Budokan crowd. Ogawa returned the favor to Verichev by forcing a rope break of his own after a double wristlock attempt. The next few minutes saw both competitors exchange a variety of Judo throws as Verichev fought to control the flow of the match, but it appeared Ogawa’s throws were cleaner and more decisive as Ogawa’s techniques on this front had earned him world renown as a prodigy in Judo. Ogawa also had Verichev beat on the conditioning front and didn’t seem to tire as quickly as Verichev did. Sensing this, Ogawa took the match to the mat more often to tire out his opponent and kept the Soviet busy with some controlled and calculated matwork. In an impressive display of strength, Ogawa appeared to pull up Verichev by his gi-collar. Verichev attempted to use his remaining strength to execute a Uranage, but Ogawa once again demonstrated his strength in countering throws by hitting Verichev with an O-soto-gari. Sensing the end was near, Ogawa lifted Verichev again and finished off his opponent with the STO. Maybe Bad News Allen would be filing for gimmick infringement, but it appears Ogawa has decided to adopt the powerful finishing move as his own. With Verichev flat on the mat, Ogawa went for the pinfall and secured the victory. Ogawa defeats Verichev via pinfall, 13:47 Ogawa celebrates his victory while Verichev collects himself and exits the ring. It's a huge moment for the young Ogawa. With a victory over two accomplished Judokas, the young prodigy appears to be set for a huge rookie year. Who's next to stand in Ogawa's way? Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Nobuhiko Takada After a disappointing exit in the U-COMOS Grand Prix at the hands of Super Vader, Takada was looking to re-establish momentum in the new year. The only problem with that was that Fujiwara would be standing on the opposite side of the ring. Of course, Fujiwara was also looking to establish some momentum in 1990 and wanted to possibly earn himself a title shot against his old rival at some point. Takada knew he had a tough task at hand and immediately went to work by delivering a series of sharp kicks to Fujiwara’s abdomen. Fujiwara immediately wrestled Takada into a turnbuckle and punched away at Takada’s stomach with closed fists. The two continued the heated start by pounding into each other and testing each other’s willpower. Fujiwara finally managed to drag down his opponent with a double wristlock and a more mat-based contest evolved, with Fujiwara looking to best Takada with calm but intent grappling. Takada had to utilize his best defense to avoid Fujiwara’s submissions. Takada was able to surprise Fujiwara with some nice counterwork but Fujiwara managed to get two rope breaks off Takada eventually, giving him a 1-0 lead on points. Takada answered back with a quick high kick that led to a knockdown, but Fujiwara beat the ten count from Motoyuki Kitazawa with confidence. Another great striking exchange was assured, with Fujiwara beginning to boss around Takada with a flurry of punches and low kicks aimed at Takada’s thighs. Fujiwara grabbed Takada for a great German suplex which he quickly transformed into a rear-naked choke attempt. Takada had to quickly get to the ropes to escape Fujiwara’s tight constraint around his neck. What became a 1-1 affair eventually turned into a match tied 2-2 on points after Fujiwara forced another rope break from Takada on the mat, and Takada answered back with a belly-to-belly suplex that led to a ten count. After the surge in energy from both, a more controlled mat exchange took place on the canvas and both refused to relent while doing their best to conserve their energy. The decisive moment in the match came when Fujiwara cornered Takada again near a turnbuckle and pounded on him, leading to consecutive knockdowns. On the second knockdown, Takada struggled to get up in time and barely just beat the ten count. After a defiant display from Takada, in which he slapped Fujiwara across the face a few times with palm strikes, Fujiwara put him away with another German suplex followed by a series of vicious headbutts. Takada was down for good this time after exhausting all of his points. Fujiwara defeats Takada via TKO, 17:11 Akira Maeda vs Tatsumi Fujinami A defining moment in UWF history was set to take place as the former NJPW superstar and heir apparent to Antonio Inoki was set to make his debut in the promotion against a man who he had a bitter rivalry with a few years earlier in NJPW. Maeda was looking to make a statement with a victory tonight while Fujinami wanted to make it clear he was still the best wrestler in the world, pound-for-pound. Maeda and Fujinami made their respective entrances, and the Budokan was red hot as they awaited the opening bell to signal the start of the match. It seemed like a long wait, but once it did, Maeda and Fujinami immediately went to work. An opening mat exchange turned into a contested battle with Fujinami showing off his nifty submission skills, seemingly getting the best out of Maeda early on. It was apparent Maeda would become more frustrated, as he delivered several sharp kicks when he got the opportunity. Their connection to Fujinami’s shins and thighs was audible in the Budokan, drawing a reaction from the crowd. Chants for Maeda grew louder as the UWF icon began to press Fujinami in the stand-up, but Fujinami would not relent. Maeda’s kicks were less effective with Fujinami timing his leg checks and found success in taking down Maeda with a few leg takedowns. It was clear by this point that Fujinami was the better wrestler on the mat. Maeda was often on the defensive, working to prevent Fujinami from getting any rope breaks off him. The newcomer was adept at finding loose limbs though, and eventually managed to hook a sleeper hold on Maeda, which finally convinced Fujinami’s opponent to go for the ropes to force a break. It seemed like Fujinami was in control, dictating the pace of the match while Maeda continued to work to find a way through Fujinami’s impressive defense. Around the 15:00 mark, a breakthrough came when Maeda executed a great German suplex on Fujinami, which allowed Maeda to lock in a quick heel hook to force a rope break from Fujinami. The match was tied 1-1 on points and both wrestlers wanted to pick up the pace a bit. Fujinami got a German suplex of his own and attempted a full Boston crab, but Maeda reversed it into a kneebar, which got the Budokan rocking as Fujinami was forced to go to the ropes again. Maeda found a bit more success on the mat during this stretch and took a 2-1 lead on points after another submission attempt forced his opponent to exhaust another rope break. Fujinami demonstrated that he wasn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with Maeda and landed a series of sharp palm strikes to force Maeda to back off a bit. Maeda attempted a rolling kick, but Fujinami got out of the way just in time as Maeda flew into the ropes in a bit of a picturesque moment for the Budokan crowd. The chants for Maeda only grew louder as he started to feel the pressure. Maeda launched a series of high kicks which knocked Fujinami off his feet. Soranaka went for the ten count but Fujinami got back up quickly. Now down 3-1 on points, Fujinami put the pedal to the metal so to speak, and changed the momentum of the match with incredible mat-based wrestling. Maeda was overwhelmed by Fujinami’s offense, and a series of rope breaks got Fujinami back into the match at 3-2. With only five more minutes to go, the crowd was fully engaged and the Budokan was probably in danger of having its roof blown off. Some more kicks from Maeda only met a stone-faced Fujinami who got behind his opponent for another suplex. This time Fujinami attempted the pinfall but Maeda kicked out! With only a minute to go, Fujinami was able to catch Maeda with a huge Dragon Suplex! Maeda, landing on his head, was dazed and a ten count was initiated. Both wrestlers settled for a controlled mat exchange as the rest of the time expired. At 30:00, the match went to a draw, and a decision was thrown to the judges with both tied 3-3 on points. As both men stood in the middle of the ring with Soranaka between them, the judges made their decision official. Judge 1….Akira Maeda! Judge 2….Tatsumi Fujinami!…. and Judge 3…..TATSUMI FUJINAMI! By split decision, Tatsumi Fujinami scored the massive upset on his debut and Maeda was left frustrated. But surely we will see these two meet again soon. Fujinami defeats Maeda via split decision, 30:00 Fujinami offers to shake hands with Maeda. Maeda does the right thing and agrees, but the handshake is short and Maeda seems determined to meet Fujinami again. There's a brief exchange of words, but it is professional. Fujinami has made a statement even if he didn't get a decisive victory tonight. Will he be in the title hunt soon? Satoru Sayama vs Eugenio Tadeu While Akira Maeda vs Tatsumi Fujinami was seen by many as the headlining match based on namepower alone, there was no question that the new UWF title was going to play second fiddle, especially with Sayama involved. While many were excited about the prospect of Sayama taking on a relatively unknown Brazilian martial artist as his first defense, there were some questions about whether or not Tadeu should have been granted a title shot in only his second appearance for UWF. Tadeu would need to give the fans their money’s worth and make a statement tonight. There was a lot of curiosity about the match to his credit, and the Budokan remained buzzing for this encounter. Right out of the gate, Tadeu looked very impressive and surprised the crowd with a mixture of Capoeira and Muay Thai striking, and Sayama looked a bit overwhelmed at first with the Brazilian’s offense. Tadeu nearly got an opening knockdown with an acrobatic spinning kick, but Sayama somehow managed to stay on his feet. Knowing he needed to go into third gear fast, Sayama took it back right at Tadeu with a nice jumping roundhouse, followed by a combination of high kicks. The Budokan was thrilled by the display of high-level striking and they immediately got behind Sayama with Tadeu proving himself to be a credible threat. Things became even more urgent for them after Tadeu connected with a cartwheel kick that finally got Sayama off his feet. While the damage wasn’t serious, it was still enough to secure the first point of the match. Tadeu seemed to be enjoying himself and seemed thrilled with the challenge. Sayama connected with some more kicks and took down Tadeu with a flying armbar. Tadeu would cause a lot of problems on the mat as well with his dynamic grappling skills, and he was able to seamlessly transition from one limb to another to confuse his opponent. Sayama had to be on the top of his game to avoid an early submission. Sayama was able to establish some control of the match after Tadeu exhausted his gas tank a bit, which allowed Sayama to use a more methodical but still pointed approach. He kept Tadeu busy by going for his legs and prevented him from getting back on his feet. After two kneebar attempts that led to two rope breaks, the score was tied at 1-1. Tadeu took the opportunity to showcase his striking skills again, but this time Sayama was ready. Tadeu attempted a spinning backfist, but Sayama ducked it and struck him with another roundhouse. Tadeu was down for the count for the first time in the match, and Sayama seemed quite pleased with himself. Tadeu beat the ten count and immediately locked with Sayama. Tadeu locked in a rolling guillotine choke, which seemed to catch Sayama in no man’s land. Sayama found a way to fight out surprisingly, and this got the entire Budokan chanting for Sayama as he fought from underneath to escape Tadeu’s mount. After some struggle, Sayama managed to surprise his opponent with a triangle choke. Tadeu felt his arm being extended and had to grab the nearby ropes almost immediately. After another striking exchange in which both wrestlers managed to land some clean hits, Sayama grabbed Tadeu for Tiger Suplex. Tadeu landed hard on the canvas and didn’t have time to recover before Sayama started kicking away at him. With Tadeu slowly getting back on his feet, Sayama launched him for another suplex, this time a German. Sayama’s opponent was more vulnerable than ever and the reigning undisputed world wrestling champion quickly secured the necessary hooks for a rear-naked choke. Despite an impressive performance, there was no escape for Tadeu this time. The hooks were getting deeper and the Brazilian Luta Livre fighter decided to tap out. Sayama jumped up on the nearest turnbuckle to celebrate his victory in front of a rapturous Budokan crowd. Sayama defeats Tadeu via submission (rear-naked choke), 15:24 Sayama celebrates his victory some more. Eugenio Tadeu meets with his cornermen, and the Brazilian and Shooto teams shake hands. Tadeu and Sayama do the same and they embrace each other for the well-fought match that will certainly be on early Match of the Year lists. Tadeu has made a name for himself in UWF, and he leaves the ring with his head held high. Sayama is awarded his belt by Lou Thesz and Billy Robinson, who meet him in the ring. Sayama poses for some photos as he gets a nice trophy to go along with it The WOWOW commentators recap the great main event and the undercard. After a thorough breakdown of tonight's events, they announce that UWF Newborn will hold a special event in February. For the first time, UWF will be holding an event in Holland! On February 21st, the best from Japan, Holland, and around the world will meet for FREE FIGHT '90. The event will be broadcast on WOWOW as well! UWF will hold its next event in Japan on March 23rd, which will be at Osaka-jo Hall. The commentators sign off and we get the rolling credits set to Queen's "We Are The Champions" with highlights from tonight's event at the Budokan.

Card Announcement: UWF Newborn – “UWF ’90 1st” January 28th, 1990 Tokyo, Japan Nippon Budokan Yusuke Fuke vs Masahito Kakihara Manabu Yamada vs Yasuto Sekishima Kiyoshi Tamura/Billy Scott vs Jerry Flynn/Erik Paulson Naoki Sano vs Tatsuo Nakano Shigeo Miyato vs Bob Backlund Naoya Ogawa vs Grigory Verichev Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Nobuhiko Takada Akira Maeda vs Tatsumi Fujinami Satoru Sayama vs Eugenio Tadeu