UWF with ‘90 2ND 

 

February 9, 1990 

 

We’re in Osaka, Japan. This has only recently been uploaded to YouTube, so it looks like an underseen show. Mad respect to JC Satire for the YouTube upload. If you’re interested in this era of shootstyle, he’s uploaded a lot of UWF onto YouTube. There are other shows available elsewhere, if you know where to look*. 

 

*V K DOT COM  

  

The intro steals the THX music, which is quite funny. We then see some crowds outside and some wrestlers warming up. It’s hard to explain just how hot UWF got, how quickly it got there, and how quickly the whole thing imploded and went away. Modern wrestling fans are used to seeing the status quo gently continue over many years.  

POSHBOY SPORTS CLUB!  

 

Tatsuo Nakano vs. Johnny Barrett 

Barrett is a big dude, but he’s not good at shootstyle. The big blubbery boy got to wrestle Takada last year and, having seen that, I have no idea why he got invited back. I’m guessing he was very polite and got some pints in. Barrett gets a lot more in this match than he did against Takada, given a weight (*cough*) advantage over Nakano. The crowd get excited when he hits an Enzuigiri and a dropkick though. The benefit of being crap at wrestling, especially in Japan, is when you manage to do something cool the crowd goes wild.  

 

Unfortunately, he’s still taking bumps like a trainee. His German suplex bump is pretty funny but this is the UWF. We have a high level of expectation on execution here. If I never see this guy wrestle again, I’d be fine with that. Nakano uses him as target practice for his kicks before dropping him on his head off a snap suplex and choking him out. Barrett, in his horrible condition, had no business in wrestling and this was the peak of his career. 

 

Shigeo Miyato vs. Minoru Suzuki 

They do something cool right at the start with Miyato accidentally catching Suzuki in the balls with a kick, intended to be across the leg. That’s awesome because it makes it feel more like a real sport. We wait for MiSu to recover, and the crowd applaud when he’s ready to go again. That’s followed by another cool spot where both guys knock each other down with slaps at the same time. In reality, whoever landed first would have scored the knock down, but it looks close enough that we get a convincing double down.  

 

The bulk of the match is grapplefuck. Which is unfortunate because most of the better matches in UWF lean into strikes and knock downs. A prime example is Suzuki getting fed up with it all and hitting a dropkick, causing a knockdown, and screaming at the fallen Miyato afterwards. That’s what the crowd wants! Suzuki gets a sleeper hold applied but Miyato sneakily grabs a heel hook and Suzuki taps out. The crowd don’t even realise what’s happened until his hand is raised. That was a cool finish too, because not all sports moments are the definitive conclusion that you get in pro-wrestling. The whole match was nicely done and worth a look to see how to pervert the rules of UWF/wrestling. *** 

 

Yoji Anjo vs. Wellington Wilkins Jr 

Wilkins worked MiSu last time out and they had a good match. Anjo seems unimpressed and is generally a dick. Wilkins doesn’t help himself and does a fisherman suplex in the hopes of getting a pin. There are no pins in UWF. They do a lot of very dull mat work where they sit in a hold for a bit and then it’s countered. The referee, and Anjo, are pernickety about downs. Anjo eventually gets a submission, and we can move on. Wilkins was horrible here and it showed how much Suzuki carried him last time out. Or Anjo was just being a wanker. Either way this sucked.  

 

Nobuhiko Takada vs. Kazuo Yamazaki 

The lack of titles in this promotion means that people get over by working the big two; Maeda and Takada. I can’t help but feel a title belt could have elevated someone other than these two lads but there were clearly issues at play behind the scenes. These two redo the spot from the Suzuki match, where a kick from Yamazaki causes an accidental low blow on Takada. It’s odd they chose to do that again. The exact same spot in the same part of the ring.  

 

Takada takes a weird approach to grounding the match. He attempts to smother Yamazaki with his crotch. As if to say “oh, you want to kiss it better after that kick?” They work in another curious ‘mistake’ where Yamazaki is trying to kick the fuck out of Takada in the corner and his foot catches on the ropes, instead of knocking Takada’s head clean off. They do something similar a few minutes later, where Takada is again reeling from multiple kicks and Yamzaki gets tied up on the ropes. This time Takada knocks him down with a big kick and the whole momentum of the match is changed. 

 

Takada then grounds it again, this time with a kneebar. Yamazaki is hurt and must use the ropes. You would think Takada would go in for the kill after this but instead Yamazaki gets a receipt on the leglock. It’s an odd match that favours 50-50 booking over logic. Yamazaki’s kicking is still the most dangerous aspect of his game, and he scores four knockdowns with an assortment of kicks. Takada then just grabs a Boston crab and wins.  

 

I have complex feelings about this match. It never really made any sense from a pro-wrestling standpoint and yet the logic felt halfway between wrestling and shooting. Which is what we’re going for so fuck it. I still think the ‘mistake’ from Yamazaki should have led directly to the conclusion of the match and his rallies afterwards felt wrong. Especially as Takada’s kneebar feels like an obvious finish and is followed by a bunch of kicks. ***¼. Imagine how good this would have been if it made sense?  

 

 

Akira Maeda vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara 

They’ve done this match before, and it ended with a Maeda triumph. Fujiwara looked like he got increasingly annoyed with Maeda during the match. This time we start with a lot of grapplefuck, which has been a theme. Fujiwara plays along for a while before deciding it’s headbutting time. Having got Maeda on the defensive he starts going after submissions. One of those headbutts bloodied Maeda’s nose, which gives him a desperate look.  

 

Sadly, Maeda decides to put it in the cooler. Do you want to continue this blood feud or slap on a chinlock? Hmmm….chinlock please. Fujiwara’s mat work is always worth seeing. He’s creative and makes everything look like a struggle with his plan in the background. Maeda gets into trouble and can only escape by kicking Fujiwara in the face. Is this a receipt for the headbutt? He busts open Fujiwara’s mouth and then puts him to sleep. ***½  

 

This match did nothing to convince me of Maeda’s personal growth. I bet he was a right dickhead to work for. Fujiwara is an artist so it’s worth seeing for him, but Maeda continues to frustrate me. This match was good in spite of Maeda, not because of him. Fujiwara’s willingness to put himself through the brutality at the finish is impressive but he carried the mat work segments. A great, great wrestler.  

 

The 411: 

A solid but unspectacular UWF card. Three solid matches, although all three have gaping flaws. The lack of Masakatsu Funaki on the show was unfortunate as he’s been their best worker recently. Johnny Barrett is dreadful. Wellington Wilkins Jr and Yoji Anjo had basically no chemistry. So, you can skip two matches here easily. Your mileage on the rest may vary based on how much you like the style.  

 

NEXT: FMW Battle Brave in Korakuen! You will (probably) not be prepared for what the opening match is on that bad boy. Also, February bits and bobs as we get ready to move into March.