Talk about it here.

Awesome, I've been waiting for this because I haven't see ANY Vader in UWFI. The heat is through the roof and Vader looks fantastic in this environment. Nakano puts him over strong, taking some tough shots and getting a bloody nose. Vader shows just enough vulnerability to show that he's not unbeatable and keep things exciting, but for the most part he looks really strong, just as he should, winning in less than four minutes with a knockout.

This was like a snuff film, or some experiment where you stick a real life South Park character in a cage with a polar bear and see how long it takes for the polar bear to claw the South Park character's face off. Vader looked totally unfuckwithable here and Nakano is a guy that has absolutely no qualms with getting cracked in the face.

Superbly done squash as Vader debuts in UWFI. He looked like an unstoppable monster and it would take the promotions top stars to have a prayer against him.

This is one of the best squash matches ever. You are fearing for Nakano's well being watching Vader just mash him in the face. But Nakano has so much fight in him beating the count each time until the TKO finish. Vader was such a monster in this.

Vader really doesn't come off as a shooter at all, but man alive was this a massacre. Nakano gets a few token hope spots in but it's mostly Vader just brutalizing him with slaps and a powerslam(!). After the first knockdown Vader comes barreling at him again as soon as he gets up, plowing through both Nakano and the referee! Vader bulldozes through all 15 of Nakano's points in a cozy 3:35. Molten crowd for this--I and educated MMA/shoot aficionados may not buy Vader as a shooter but they sure did.

Everything about the presentation here was phenomenal. From Vader's pre-match promo to the heat with Nakano looking like a mini next to Vader, to just how much like a shoot this felt. Give Vader a ton of credit as he didn't approach this similarly to what we're used to from him in WCW but rather made it feel like a shoot. Nakano gets a pop on a choke but is almost immediately thereafter knocked down and out with strikes for a brutal TKO. An almost perfect debut and hell of a match given how short it was.

 

***1/4

Vader looks like a boss here with his glasses in his promo and he wastes no time laying waste to Nakano in brutal but impressive fashion. A great squash match to show someone has arrived in the promotion with a vengeance. *1/2

Vader doing shoot style is one of my favorite things ever. He may not have the technical wizardry of Volk Han, but he has the size and there's a lot of power behind his strikes. This is Vader's debut and he just demolishes Nakano in three and a half minutes. UWFi's rule of banning closed fists doesn't affect Vader much as he puts over his perfectly legal open handed strikes as a threat nicely. A great squash match.
★★★¼

I liked the promos as much as the match itself. I got the feeling that I was listening to Leon White's true feelings aboiut being back in Japan, and the contrast between his soft-spoken but confident demeanor before the bout and how he shredded Nakano made him look even more awesome. He's been made to look great in WCW, but not this great.

 

This was so decisive that it doesn't hurt Takano at all; if Vader can fight like that, no one breathing has a chance against him, no matter how talented.

 

Nice to see that UWFI recognizes Vader as WCW World champion. Shoot-style is such a different discipline that I was wondering if Vader's "regular" pro wrestling credentials would carry any weight at all.

Vader vs Tatsuo Nakano - UWFi 5/6/93

 

It is amazing watching this knowing Vader just had those brutal matches with Catcus Jack a couple weeks prior to this. He takes that same brutality but he tweaks. You can tell he understands the objective of shoot-style even though he is not a shooter. There are no Irish whips and no theatrical bumps. It is just a brutal mauling. Lou Thesz promo of presenting real, credible wrestling and his desire to see one undisputed champion is great carny bullshit. This is of course how Vader made it to UWFi as Takada had challenged every major heavyweight champion in the world and only Vader answered the called. Vader DEMOLISHED Nakano. He bloodied his nose. He BULLDOZED the ref & him. Loved the way the German was applied. Thought the bodyslam was a little to pro wrestling-y. That KO shot was devastating. Loved the Takada matches and am looking forward to revisiting them. ***

I love Nakano because he never backs down from a fight, regardless of the size of his opponent. He's not scared here against Vader, who gets him down and tries for a single leg crab. Nakano tries kicking at Vader but the big man keeps popping him with shots and then hits him with like...I don't know, a German uranage? Nakano, of course, gets bloodied during the coruse of the match but he manages a sleeper hold! Unfortunately, Vader keeps popping him and though Nakano's spirit is strong, Vader eventually takes him out with the knockout shot.