NJPW 2/5/86 Akira Maeda vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara Be aware this is very much a catch wrestling/MMA bout more than your typical wrestling match even for Japan(with these two what did expect) If this is not your style(I find the number of Pro Wrestling fans who are turned of by this style shocking, I personally love it, but I thought it fair to warn the reader there will be no chair shots or "Flippy Shit" here! I always wanted try my hand at MMA Reporting so here we go!
This is indeed billed as a UWF match. They start in Catch wrestling stances(one arm behind the head of the opponent) Maeda goes behind gets the takedown and tries immediately to transition to an arm bar. Fujiwara turns into his man stacks Maeda on his shoulders for a 1 count then lets him back up to a vertical base. They clasp hands and Maeda tries a kick, caught by Fujiwara who sweeps the other leg and claps on a side headlock. Maeda rolls him onto his back, their however he makes an era as he left his arm free for Fujiwara to clamp onto. Fujiwara gets the hammerlock(or the Americana if you like). Maeda gets to his feet but Fujiwara clamps on the headlock again and takes Maeda over in a side mare. Maeda gets back to his feet and gets Fujiwara down with a drop toe hold and quick as a cat transitions to a one-legged crab hold. Fujiwara manages to use his free foot to push Maeda off the hold. Both men back up now Fujiwara favoring the leg somewhat. Maeda uses the Thai plum clinch and drives knees into Fujiwara, he grabs Maeda foot who attempts to use the other foot for a vicious looking one foot roundhouse kick, but Fujiwara calmly ducks out of range. They lock up and Fujiwara picks up Maeda over one shoulder walks around with him and dumps him mid-ring and tries for a pinning combination. Maeda comes up out of that predicament with a armbar of his own. Fujiwara counters by trapping one of Maeda's legs with his own and attempting a choke. In order to prevent the choke Maeda rolls to his stomach giving up his back with Fujiwara in top positon. Fujiwara gets both hooks in and forces Maeda to go back on his back and tries to sink in the choke/sleeper?(i'm not sure what's legal?) Maeda manages to shed one leg and twist the other at an ugly angle putting a tremendous amount of toque on the knee joint and ligaments of Fujiwara! Fujiwara manages to roll Maeda back over and clap on his armbar once again. Maeda gets to his feet grabs one of Fujiwara's legs and stiff kicks him in the back so many times with such power Fujiwara is forced to cover up in the corner until the ref steps in and makes Maeda back off! They lock up mid-ring Fujiwara bullies Maeda to the corner and tries to strike him, but Maeda blocks it. When they lock up again Fujiwara grabs a headlock, but Maeda quickly counters with a devastating overhead back suplex and quickly goes into a figure four head scissors trying to make Fujiwara give up his arm for an another armbar. Fujiwara shifts all his weight and pressure down on the leg and knee of Maeda making him give up the hold. When the lock up the next time Maeda does a leg trip tries for what appears to be a heel hook, Fujiwara counters by bowing up, so Maeda counters his counter still has Fujiwara's leg trapped and turns the hold into a straight kneebar. Fujiwara has to grab the ropes to get the hold broken. During the next lockup Maeda tries for a spinning head kick in the corner but Fujiwara ducks and Maeda ends up on the ground. Fujiwara picks him up and delivers several headbutts(so it's not exactly MMA)but the crowd popped big for this. (I believe it's a signature Fujiwara move???) After the headbutts He goes around in behind Maeda who counters with hammerlock throw, but they are in the ropes so the ref forces a break. As the get back up Maeda hits multiple stiff kicks again(man his kicks are deadly) Fujiwara slumps in the corner and the ref once again makes Maeda back off. The ref administers a ten count Maeda gets up at 8. The two men grapple on the ground with no one having a clear advantage until Maeda does another beautiful back heel trip and puts Fujiwara in a leg grapevine. Fujiwara returns the favor and counters Maeda's grapevine with one of his own. Both men work their over to the bottom rope and roll out of the ring both maintaining the hold! The official is forced to stop the bout as they refuse to relinquish the hold and get back in the ring. Very quickly both men agree to continue the bout. The crowd loved that decision! As the match restarts both men are limping and very wary of the other Maeda explodes with a knee and a kick to the chest so hard you can hear the echo trough the building! Fujiwara goes down and rolls outside. He comes back in hits a leg dive, but in the scramble Maeda comes up with a nasty looking hammerlock in side control. Fujiwara is in obvious pain but manages to get his foot on the rope, hold is broken and he scoots outside again. Maeda Peppers Fujiwara again with kicks in the corner. They lock up Maeda ducks in behind, but Fujiwara sits out and locks on the armbar that bares his name. This time it's Maeda who has to struggle to get to the ropes to force the break! (Fujiwara had actually turned into a hammerlock when the rope break occurred.) Maeda tried those rapid fire kicks again, Fujiwara sidestepped them and went back to a tight armbar. Maeda again found the save harbor of the ropes with his foot. Fujiwara gets an inside leg dive again attacking the knee joint of Maeda, Maeda claps on a choke from the bottom and Fujiwara passes out! Your winner in one of the most epic struggles I've ever witnessed, Akira Maeda!
Match #2 Keiichi Yamada/Antonio Inoki vs Osamu Kido/Nobuhiko Takada The story of this bout was simple but well laid out. Kido and Takada out worked the youngster Yamada every time we was in the ring. He tried hard and never quit. Every Time Inoki made the tag it was even again until he made the tag! :REPEAT CYCLE! The match was crisp and fast and quite good despite the repetition. It began right at the bell as Yamada bows to Inoki and asks to start the match. Yamada hits a one-footed head kick, but gets taken to the mat quickly on the next exchange by Kido. Kido puts on a reverse chin lock. Yamada gets to his feet and turns into the hold so it becomes a side-headlock. Kido quickly transitions spins Yamada down and chinches up a hammerlock in side control. Yamada makes the ropes forcing a break. Takada comes in after a tag they lock up, Takada goes behind trips Yamada come up with the leg and puts on the grapevine. Yamada gets a rope break and when they are stood back up Takada kicks him 11 times in a row(I counted standing on the ground, to the chest head and back, just a mugging!) Takada attempts a cross-arm breaker Yamada blocks that so Takada picks him up and plants him like shrub with a jumping tombstone piledriver(lesson here next time take the armbar!) Kido tags in drops a knee in the chest and delivers a side backbreaker! Kido puts on the MMA style hammerlock/armbar. When he makes the ropes the crowd applauses is very loud. They try a Greco-Roman knuckle lock. Yamada is put on his back, but bridges up and hits a standing close in dropkick and quickly tags Inoki. Who quickly hits a leg dive and applies a grapevine of his own to Kido. Kido tags Takada, as the two men jockey for position Takada slaps Inoki in the face on a rope break. They grapple on the ground in a stalemate until Takada puts on the grapevine. Inoki makes the tag still in the leglock Yamada steps in a smacks a prone Takada across the face. He soon pays a heavy price however as Takada gets back to his feet and Knocks Yamada flat with three open hand face slaps and proceeds to kick the holly hell out of him again for the second time in about 7 minutes! Kido comes back in and hits Yamada with a back suplex. In a scramble on the ground Yamada puts on his leg grapevine(so now every man in the match has done one!) Kido escapes the hold and puts Yamada in a Boston Crab. Yamada powers out and hits his own back suplex. Inoki tags in and hits a nice standing dropkick. Takada tags in and soon finds himself in the leg grapevine Again! After he escapes Inoki hits him with his famous Insigeary (I know that spelling is in correct if you know what it should be, Please let me know!) Yamada takes a tag and hits a lariat. Yamada goes to the top rope and flies off, but eats a stiff kick to the ribs. Takada hits a flurry of five stiff kicks and hits a perfect Bridging overhead German Suplex for the pin!
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