Talk about it here.

This is an interesting match that I suggested needed to be put on the yearbook, even though it is a 100% shoot. RINGS transitional period of blending more shoots alongside worked matches occurred from August 1996 until August 1999 when they went to a complete shoot company.

 

The company ran shows in Holland in 1997 and 1998 that were all shoots. Tamura participated in the Feb 1997 show and won his fight against Andre Mannaart in 2:11 with a rear naked choke. His April 1997 match against Tsyoshi Kohsaka looks to have been a shoot but no one is really 100% sure. In September 1997, Kohsaka would go to a 30:00 draw with Frank Shamrock in a legit shoot. Tamura won the RINGS Battle Dimension Tournament in January 1998 to win the RINGS World Title. For whatever reason, Maeda decided it would be okay for Tamura to fight Valentijn Overeem on 4/16 in a legit shoot. Tamura was noted for being highly talented as not only a worker but also as a shooter. Overeem was way too much for him and Tamura lost the fight in 4:00 minutes. Consequently, Tamura was forced to drop the RINGS World Title to Tariel Bitsadze in May 1998 because of his “real” loss. Tamura would get his win back from Overeen in a worked match in February 1999. The fight is so short that it won’t be hard for anyone to sit through (and it is entertaining in its own right) and the booking decisions that accompany it are something New Japan would deal with a lot from 1999-2005.

Interesting to watch. I haven't really watched very many shoots, so I'm always surprised at how much the worked RINGS style resembles shooting. This was fun to watch and it's unfortunate that they would put Tamura in such a position. Regardless of his talents as a shooter, he was probably the best worker in the world at this point. I wish wrestling promoters wouldn't play around with a sure thing like that.

Until the abrupt finish I had no idea it was a shoot. Thanks for the background information Tim, I was wondering why this was on the set.

Face Palm moment up there with Nagata going up against CroCrop. Overeem looks much more polished and in control for the 4:00 minutes this lasts and Tamura is forced to submit to a leg lock. Bummer and some boneheaded booking decision.

Shades of Takada vs. Gracie too, though with that one the hand was sort of forced for Takada to finally put up or shut up. This was pointless and counterproductive, as Tamura is pretty overmatched and taps rather quickly.

When I saw this ran 4 minutes, I figured Tamura would win in impressive fashion. I was legit shocked he tapped to that knee bar. Crazy.

Poor Tamura. Outclassed in the striking department, nearly gets choked out at least two or three times before he taps to the kneebar. Spoiler alert: Maeda isn't happy about the result.