Talk about it here.

I like both of these guys. There are some nice takedowns and reversals here, but this is good action and a decent match with a super hot final stretch. The matwork is as good as you'd expect it to be. Yamazaki's overly simple counter to the half crab is really fun and the finish is nicely done. Yamazaki wins.

There were a few moments where nothing was really happening, but I'm not sure that wasn't deliberate in order to draw the crowd in for the next big flurry, because they'd often burst into a short spell of rapid sprawling and countering and the crowd would just erupt. There are a few GREAT Anjoh moments in this. I remember the STF spot from the Sano match later in the year, but the STF spot here was just as good, the way he managed to put it on as quickly as he did. Moment of the match for me is where Yamazaki has Anjoh's back and is trying to take him down, so Anjoh grabs hold of an arm, stomps on Yamazaki's foot, and as Yamazaki lets go Anjoh shoots around and tries to lock in a chickenwing. Found myself really hoping Anjoh would get back up at the end. Loved this.

Generally solid fare before sharply picking up at the finish. Anjoh threatened the win on the ground but Yamazaki just killed him when the kicks started flying. I thought these guys summed up the two main characters of shoot style workers with the dick vs the consummate professional.

I’m wondering if stomping on your opponents foot is considered poor sportsmanship in these type of matches. Anjo got a reversal off it though. Big rush of kicks at the end by Yamazaki.

Really cool match between two of the most fun-to-watch guys in shootstyle. Loved Kazuo blocking an Anjoh kick, then kicking him in the kneecap to double him over before bringing his foot up into his face. Anjoh gets up from that but is pretty much the walking dead and is put away not long after.

Fun action all around here. Between the 96 Tenryu match and this one, Anjo is having a good week or so in my eyes. The style seemed accessible here and while nothing was groundbreaking, it was all very enjoyable and technically proficient. ***1/2

I thought for sure that Anjo was going to grind up Yamazaki's knee, but Yamazaki turned things around in a hurry. If Anjo was selling after the knockout, it was one hell of a job, because he looked like he had no idea what universe he was a part of.

 

I thought I heard Anjo give up in English during the final count. Did the ref not hear him, or does the count take precedence over a submission in a situation like this?

Great chemistry leads to a great match, as these two play a back-and-forth game of checkers, between their counters, holds, thwarted escape attempts, and blocked strikes. Loved Yamazaki's Exploder suplex counter to Anjoh's knee attempt. Yamazaki keeps stopping Anjoh's knees and Anjoh's able to avoid the German suplex, taking Yamazaki to the ropes with a Fujiwara armbar off the double wristlock. Yamazaki's really selling the arm at this point and then proceeds to annihilate Anjoh with kicks -- that leg catch kick to the face was real nasty. Yamazaki wins by KO.