Talk about it here.

This may be the first BattlArts match I've ever watched. It's shootstyle with a lot of pro wrasslin' elements--some stick out (guys picking up their opponents off the mat by the hair, punches while stomping the mat) and some make you marvel at how they fit them into a shootstyle match organically (Funaki's diving headbutt, fisherman buster, and plancha). There's one ten-count, but most of the knockdowns are ignored and guys are generally allowed to attack opponents on the mat. I could really get behind this, and this style could serve as a gateway drug for people (such as myself) not as enamored with shootstyle. Funaki and Usuda are much improved from their '95 PWFG bout, so this is far stronger even if Ikeda isn't quite the godlike force he came across as then. Really fun match that has me itching to see more from this group.

This was a pretty fun match that sets up the Ikeda/Ishikawa rivalry. Really liked the pissy opening matwork between Ishikawa and Ikeda, and how Ishikawa works his way into a cool fisherman suplex. Funaki is, more or less, the whipping boy in this match and eats a lot of kicks and suplexes from Ikeda/Usuda. At one point, Usuda hits a nasty looking spinning back elbow followed by some good knee strikes to Funaki. Like Pete said, Funaki gets in some token pro-wrestling offense but it doesn't feel out of place. When Ishikawa gets the 'hot tag', he ends up cutting Ikeda open after a flurry of strikes.

Yeah, this wasn't close to the highest highs of the style, but it had a nice enough story and plenty of the elements integral to what made Battlarts to great. Ishikawa/Ikeda is the main event pairing and this was a decent enough introduction to what that match-up would entail going forward. I quite liked Funaki resorting to the pro-style offence as a means of taking Ikeda off his stride, and then again when Ishikawa had him occupied, but this was at its best when Ikeda was beating on the little fella with kicks. That Usuda back fist was a cracker as well. Fun way to cap off your debut show. 

Rewatching the yearbook stuff and the Lucha stuff that dragged for me first go around continued to, so this was a nice break from that. Funaki really got marred and Usuda looked more on point with his strikes than he does at times. Ikeda vs Ishikawa were just turning up what would be one of the best feuds of the next decade. Good stuff. ***1/2 (7.1)