Vol.33 Continued....
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Next up is Takaku Fuke vs a debuting Ryushi Yanagisawa. Yanagisawa and Ishikawa were the last of the âyoung boysâ that competed in the PWFG before Funaki & Suzuki left, and tonight marks the beginning for both. Yanagisawa would become a regular fixture in Pancrase for almost a decade, until migrating back to pro wrestling in 2002, joining NJPW. Anyone that may only know Ryushi for some of his lackluster later showings in Pancrase, will get to see him move splendidly here, even making Fuke look slow by comparison.
After a brief feeling-out process on the ground, these two start really laying into each other with some ultra-stiff kicks, before Ishikawa manages to excuse himself from the melee by forcing Fuke to the mat. Here, the skill disparity is much less significant than the prior match, with Ryushi probably having the edge in the stand-up, but like Ishikawa, doesnât yet have the experience on the mat. He was put in a heel hook by Fuke, but was positioned close enough to the ropes to escape. The next exchange was like the first, with Yanagisawaâs landing another excellent kick on Fuke, only to get taken down on the 2nd attempt, and put into another heel hook. Credit to Fuke for not falling back for the elementary straight ankle lock like so many of his peers did in these days and rather positioning his hands/wrists correctly as he was falling back, making for a very smooth entry into this attack. They continued to go at it for a few more minutes, with Fuke looking overwhelmed on his feet, but too smooth with his grappling, and he won via heel-hook. Another proto Pancrase fight here. I just wasnât seeing any overt cooperation, or holes in this, outside of the fact that they were only punching each other on the ground enough to try and keep the grappling from stalling. Does that make it a work? Perhaps, but not in my estimation. Regardless, we have two highly realistic and exciting matches in a row, and if this continues we are on our way to having the most realistic PWFG card, yet.
ML: Ryushi Yanagisawa is an important, if overlooked figure, the most exciting big shooter of the era. He was everything Yoshihiro Takiyama wasn't, a fast, skilled, talented striker who could hang with anyone. Though his record in shoots wasn't that great, most of the fighters he lost to, including Bas Rutten (0-2), Masakatsu Funaki (0-2), Ken Shamrock, Jason DeLucia (1-2), Guy Mezger (0-4-1), Frank Shamrock, Evan Tanner, Randy Couture, Fedor Emelianenko & Mirko Cro Cop (in kickboxing), would be considered among the best of the era, if not all-time. This fight had some explosive scrambling and intense moments, but it wasn't a shoot. The strikes, Yanagisawa's kicks especially, were rarely designed to connect properly, even though he had success with the few low kicks he threw, often he would throw middle kicks with the top of his kick pad almost to where the knee pad starts, and then go with the takedown when Fuke predictably caught the leg. He even cooperated for a clean ipponzeoi. If the kick wasn't off high, it would basically be with his toes. Fuke also threw a mount elbow that purposely missed entirely, or almost entirely (Fuke brought his arm right back towards Yanagisawa's nose just after it passed to close the visual gap), which they did their best to make look brutal. Both fighters would concede positions and holds easily once the opponent was close. Fuke even managed to drag Yanagisawa, who must outweigh him by close to 50 pounds, to the center of the ring for the final submission. Stylistically, this was pretty much the same match as the previous, with the debuting fighter being the better kicker, but just being taken down and threatened with heel hooks and arm bars until he was finally caught. It was a pretty good match.
It looks like I may have spoken too soon, as another apex predator in the form of âKiller Whaleâ Kiraware is set to fight the newly christened âChampion of the World,â Bart Vale. It's amazing how after winning such a prestigious title, his first defense is against this portly behemoth. All we can hope for now is a quick and merciful death, as surely this match will surely be torturous if taken beyond a few minutes. Things start with Kiraware rushing Vale into a corner and both men trading heavy slaps back and forth, before a protracted ground battle. To be fair, this was passable, and would have been a reasonable bit of filler on a late 80s UWF card, but held up next to the first two bouts, let alone some of the output from their competitors, it is obvious that this does not belong. Thankfully, it ended quickly at the 7 ½ min mark. **
ML: The dreaded Vale vs. Whale matchup wasn't as atrocious as expected, though I'm sure Free Willy wasn't the only one rushing for a refund. No one will ever accuse Kiraware of being fast as a shark, but because the killer whale was on the attack, he at least kept Vale from humiliating himself with too many of his movie kicks where he is like Jerry Trimble, except at 1/100th the speed. Vale's kicks were extra fluffy today though. You'd think an opponent as gigantic as Kiraware could at least absorb more than a grazing impact. There was one funny spot just before Vale won with a high kick were Vale did a ridiculous jumping hook kick that cleared Kiraware's head entirely almost looking like an odd sort of leapfrog, but for the most part, this was a clinching and grappling battle, which while not particularly exciting, was less laughable than the typical Bart match.
ow to continue to push the envelope and risk the goodwill that the first two matches generated for us, is Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Jerry Flynn. This has the potential to be adequate if Fujiwara can keep the comedy to a minimum and give us a quick match. Things start with Flynn showing some tasty kicks, while Fujiwara responds with his usual unathletic variations. Thankfully, it went to the mat quickly, and Flynn is looking good here, by showing a lot of intensity, and itâs clear that his confidence is growing. Tto his credit, Fujiwara allows himself to be a grappling dummy/punching back for Flynn, until there was a good moment where Fujiwara looked to have no answers for Flynn, before restoring to a desperation single-leg takedown. Fujiwara would get moments of mat control, but spent most of the match trying to ward off Flynnâs aggression. Eventually, Flynn succumbs to an ankle lock, but thanks to Fujiwara he looked good throughout, and his intensity led to a *** outcome.
ML: There was a huge discrepancy in the quality of kicks, with Flynn throwing some snappy low kicks, while Fujiwara looked more like a dog who had found an appealing tree. Fujiwara had a better attitude here, at least, and was willing to allow Flynn to show growth, dominating the stand-up, and even having good moments on the ground, early on. As the match progressed, it began to durdle, with Fujiwara controlling until he found the finisher. It was ** if you want to be really generous, but when you follow the Bartman, all you really have to do is something that bares some resemblance to an athletic contest and you will probably seem like a return to form.