Talk about it here.

Interesting looking venue for this one. Ishikawa takes over in the early going dismantling Usuda's leg. Every attack he does have Usuda lounging for the ropes trying to escape. Usuda is able to return the favor and he goes to work on the right leg of Ishikawa. The work advances to the arm and everything looks like it is cranked and painful. We got to a standing base where Ishikawa hits three back suplexes and then locks in the arm hold to end it. 14 minutes of super mat work, 1 minute of big bombs leading right to the finish. I can dig. (***1/2)

This was very good and typically brutal. Usuda is most dominant on the ground while Ishikawa seems to have the advantage when they are vertical. Unlucky for him, most of this is on the mat so Usuda is pretty dominant throughout. I think I would have liked this more if Ishikawa lost just because Usuda took so much of the match, but I still think this was very good bordering on great.

This was more very good BattlARTS than great BattlARTS. Usuda was an excellent striker and good mat technician but never came off as vicious as Ikeda or as creative as Otsuka. I loved the spot where Usuda reared back for a headbutt only to get his nose busted by a counter right from Ishikawa. That was an Inoki-Fujiwara spot, and it was cool to see them lift it from their inspirational godfathers. There's no promotion I'm looking more forward to seeing over the remainder of 1998 and 1999.

Yes, that punch was one of the stiffest you'll ever see, and Usuda's face afterward is a testament to that. I'm glad it was worked as a game-changing moment in the match instead of an excuse for two guys to try to show how tough they are.

I loved the punch and everything in the match from that point. I kind of drifted away during the meat of this so I'll have to go back and watch it. It does look like the best BattleArts match so far in '98.

The Ishikawa/Usuda matches are not talked about as much as the Ishikawa/Ikeda series, but may be just as violent. I mean, I don't recall Ishikawa bloodying Ikeda's nose with a punch. They have a different dynamic too because Usuda has the vibe of someone who kills fast, both with strikes and submissions. Him mixing up the body shots and palm strikes was dope too. This had lots of super nifty grappling and that trademark BattlARTS grittiness where one guy would eat punishment and then pay it back in kind later. Dig the Inoki tribute spots too. Last few minutes were utterly brutal and world class. Face punches, neck-breaking suplexes, flash submissions, it's all there. BattlARTS guys were work horses in 1998.