GLEAT Ver. 12

Welcome everybody to some more obscure Japanese pro wrestling splinter fed watching as today I am going to take you into a journey called GLEAT. Now, what is GLEAT? Well, it’s a company that does a hybrid of styles where they do actual MMA matches, worked MMA matches, and actual pro wrestling matches. Why is GLEAT? Well after the old owners of Pro Wrestling NOAH sold it off to CyberAgent they wanted a new company and GLEAT was born. Allegedly they are mobbed up but I don’t wanna get my fingers broken so that is lies, slander, and propaganda. Onto the show as we have 1500 people (allegedly) in a nice looking if somewhat spare building that is apparently the Tokyo Dome City Hall. Anyway let’s get to the show! Oh, and GLEAT’s official YouTube put the show up for the moment so here’s a link if you want to check it out. But anyway let’s get on with the show.

A guy comes down with a suit to announce the show to some pretty awesome music and we have a big overblown entrance video that makes it look like I’m about to fight a Dark Souls boss. And they bring out the entire roster and introduce them in tracksuits.

Kaji Tomato, Riki Aitaka, Tyson Maeguchi, Yukimitsu Takahashi & Yumehito Imanari vs. Joe Lando, Junjie, Jun Tonsho, MICHIKO & Shuji Ishikawa

Background: Oh lord. Uh, let me try to break this down. Junjie has facepaint, baggy pants, and a spear, MICHIKO is a jacked up goth-y lady with purple and black gear, fishnets, and a black face-covering/mask thing and she’s part of Diamond Egoist, I’ve seen her in Stardom and Sendai beforehand. Jun Tonsho has simple trunks and a blonde mushroom cut that makes him look like Kenoh’s little brother. Joe Lando is a white guy with bad tattoos, blue, white and red tights and the broccoli hair. Shuji we know and he’s a giant in this group with his red pants. The other group is Riki has blond hair and red trunks. Takahashi has a reedy build, black hair, and baggy blue and white pants. Yumehito has kinda wild hair, a graying goatee, glasses, and purple trunks that reveal a lot. Kaji has floppy hair and he’s wearing tomato themed gear. Tyson has zebra pants and curly hair and does some shadowboxing to start us out. This group is apparently Ibushi Pro Wrestling Lab.

The Match: MICHIKO starts against Yumehito in a battle of the purple and they run towards each other. Inamari shrieks and shrieks and shrieks and then when he tries to German MICHIKO she gets a kick to the groin area and he shrieks but she shoulderblocks herself running at him and in comes Junjie and Tyson who trade strikes and Tyson shrikes too and maybe that is this stables thing. And apparently Tyson is a kickboxer and I think all of Ibushi Wrestling Lab are shootfighters primarily. Anyway Junjie gets some kung fu and poses and in comes Shuji and Riki to slug it out and I think Aitaka is supposed to be a big guy but man he’s not very big at all. But he dropkicks Ishikawa and kicks away. And then Riki gets the brainbuster on Shuji? Anyway both tag out and we get a full on brawl. Lando and Takahashi are in and geez these guys both look like total geeks with their build. But Yukimitsu kicks Joe down until Jun Tonsho shows up with a missile dropkick to let Lando hit a standing SSP. Yay I guess. Tomato then pops in and that lets Jun get a springboard moonsault to the outside and we reset back to Lando and Takahashi and the Brit gets a cutter to set up a Shooting Star Senton for the win.

**¼

Well, that was just a bunch of guys doing like one thing and then it ended but it went at a good clip and that finish was pretty decent at least. Still, not too impressed with those guys.

Kazuki Hirata & Minoru Tanaka vs. Yan’s Family (Issei Onitsuka & Yusuke Kodama)

Background: So I have no idea what Yan’s Family are but they’re wearing like…chef outfits and one has a chinois so maybe they’re kung fu cooks? Issei has short hair and Yusuke has medium hair. Both guys are wearing cargo pants and shirts. Tanaka is an older but pretty credible junior who has bounced around all the big 3 puro feds, him and his partner are hyper as heck and dance before the match but Yan’s Family jump them. Kazuki is in white and has long hair.

The Match: Well we start with Issei and Kazuki and Hirata leaves the chinlock to get a drink of water before returning to the chinlock. Yusuke comes in with a slingshot senton and I’ll be honest I wasn’t expecting “two evil linecooks” to be a GLEAT gimmick but I love it. Kazuki gets a big jump kick and then he does a big exaggerated jump to tag in Tanaka who takes down Issei with kicks but does a backflip dodge and gets wiped out and Issei gets an ura-nage. But Tanaka hits a…secret hidden kung fu strike that Issei keels over for, and then Kazuki does the same to Yusuke and uh, I absolutely love that they’re using secret kung fu strikes. Issei though comes back with some strikes while selling his neck from the secret kung fu strikes and Tanaka and Kazuki drag him into the corner for a Tanaka double stomp for 3.

**¾

Man I…kinda loved this? Kazuki seems quite bad, but Yan’s Family have a fun vibe and Tanaka throwing hidden martial arts death touches is exactly the sort of pro wrestling stupid I adore.

Post-match Tanaka and Kazuki put on little eyemasks and do a dance and Yan’s Family provide backup and this is absolutely ridiculous but I am smiling.

And now Dorian Roldan of AAA is out here and he’s bringing out the next guys.

Octagon Jr. & Soma Watanabe vs. SBK & TAKUMA

Background: Oh lord now I gotta explain AAA talent? Uh, so first out are SBK and TAKUMA who used to be DragonGate guys (and SBK was apparently a rising star) but they got terminated ‘with consent’ from DG and are now in GLEAT after spending a year in Mexico and I’m gathering that maybe they might like the sticky icky. SBK has floppy hair and black and blue tights and TAKUMA wears a mask to the ring before revealing his mullet. Octagon Jr. had a black and red Mortal Kombat outfit with a gold mask and Soma is a gangly Japanese guy with some brief trunks in blue and silver and blonde hair and he looks like budget Kota Ibushi.

The Match: SBK and Soma start and do an international and then some armdrags and both guys are just waiting to get to the fireworks. TAKUMA comes in with a flip and then Octagon does the same. Lucha sequence and it ends with Octagon getting the ropewalk headscissors into a somersault plancha but Soma wants to follow up and SBK cuts him off. That dastardly fellow! We get a splash and a concert dropkick as SBK heels it up a bit and in comes TAKUMA for some doubles and Soma has no real presence as a face. Soma eventually manages to counter the constant doubles with a Spanish Fly and in comes Octagon with a springboard diving armdrag and then a headscissors and he sets up Soma to get a tope and then Octagon gets a rope-jump quebrada. Very impressive athleticism at display. Octagon gets a springboard cutter and a slingshot splash and I don’t know if this guy can do any moves without the help of the rope. TAKUMA slaps some guys but then we get the doubles and this is bad TAKUMA and Octagon slug it out and then Octagon gets a destroyer but his springboard moonsault is cutoff by TAKUMA getting his feet up and they just do more stuff next and now it’s Soma and SBK. . And it breaks down again with a bunch of stuff and then SBK tries to finish and Soma dropkicks the heels into each other. Octagon tries a diving rana from over the ropes and it falls apart but Soma dropkicks TAKUMA who is on the top ropes and Octagon gets a backflip scoop slam from the top and that’s that.

*½

Mostly a hot mess but SBK and TAKUMA seem like they could be a decent heel team like MX in the right situation. Octagon isn’t very good and Soma is worse though.

STRONGHEARTS (Seiki Yoshioka, T-Hawk & Takehiro Yamamura) vs. Black Generation International (Hartley Jackson & Kotaro Suzuki) & So Daimonji

Background: So STRONGHEARTS are a bunch of jacked up GLEAT guys that go fast and do a lot of moves, T-Hawk is their top star who had a good run in the Champion Carnival recently, Seiki is a jacked up cruiser I’m a fan of, and Takehiro is small for even these two guys and has blue tights. Black Generation International I think are the evil jerk heels who hang out with foreigners. Hartley is a jacked up Australian, Kotaro is a NOAH guy with a super deep offensive bag, while So has long hair and some size.

The Match: We immediately start brawling but focus on Kotaro and Takehiro. Yamamura blocks a whip and gets a back elbow and then some rapidfire stuff on Suzuki and then STRONGHEARTS isolate Kotaro in the corner but Takehiro misses a swanton and in comes Hartley to work him over with a chop and then a leg drop. So comes in and hits a powerslam and an elbow drop and Hartley is back in to keep the abuse with a senton. Nice solid trios heeling right now. Lots of space between the moves to give the face time to react and sell. T-Hawk is in to take down everybody with his generic offense and Seiki finishes it off with a Asai Moonsault to all of BGI T-Hawk versus So and the smaller wrestler takes down the big BGI guy with speed until a rebound corkscrew lariat wipes out T-Hawk and in comes Kotaro and Takehiro. Take gets a brainbuster but Hartley breaks it up and it breaks down and So gets a double Samoan drop on Hawk and Seiki and we reset back to Kotaro and Yamamura but the STRONGHEARTS guy gets tagged with So’s belt and Suzuki gets a Tiger Driver for 3.

**½

Just a classic heel vs. face trios but BGI work well together and STRONGHEARTS brought some energy to it. I am forever unimpressed by T-Hawk but I kinda dug So and see maybe some heavyweight potential for him, Seiki and Kotaro are always great.

Gamerasu, Kazuyuki Fujita & Kendo Kashin vs. BULK Orchestra (KAZMA SAKAMOTO, Quiet Storm & Ryuichi Kawakami)

Background: So from what I understand BULK Orchestra are just a stable of big, beefy boys and they have some beef here. Ryuichi is new to me but he has a sleeveless red pleather shirt on and red hair and he’s big and screaming. KAZMA is the guy that yes, was Lord Tensai’s manservant back in the day and he has a baggy outfit and a shaved head and a flag so you know he’s legit. Quiet Storm is a beefy gaijin with long hair who kinda looks like if Jack Black was a pro wrestler, er I mean other than when he…nevermind. He has red shorts on. Fujita is a MMA legend with multiple world titles, a large bald head, a camo singlet, and a reluctance to sell. Kendo is a masked guy who was part of the Inokism deal 25 years ago and booked NOAH once upon a time. Also there’s Gamerasu here and he’s got a collar, a mask, and is being lead on a leash and this is kinkier than I imagined.

The Match: Team Old NOAH Guys steal a mic and hand it to their weird manager who introduces the stable and we get something resembling a hot start as the Orchestra ambush them and we get some slow brawling. Kawakami holds various members of the outsiders in front of some lady on the commentary desk who slaps them. BULK Orchestra isolate on Kendo and all triple-team him and pose to the crowd in the process. Kendo eventually gets the leg-up on Ryuichi when he does a literal “look what’s over there” and then a kick to the groin and now Gamerasu is in to do weird animalistic headbutts on guys and this is bizarre. Fujita in to do actual wrestling moves but now it’s his turn to get triple-teamed by BULK but Fuijita is too fast (?!) and he leads to some miscommunication and takes down KAZMA with a Beast Bomb and a punt and that’s it for the win.

*

Look there’s enough weirdness in this match to make it not a total waste of time, but it was a waste of time. Fujita and his crew didn’t even seem like they wanted to wrestle and BULK are fun enough if not like…anything to write home about.

Post-match Ryuichi throws Kendo over a balcony and then the heels drown Ryuichi with bottled tea. Well then.

Coelacanths (CIMA & Kaz Hayashi) (c) vs. Black Generation International (Kaito Ishida & Tetsuya Izuchi) – G-INFINITY Championships

Background: So I’m picking up that GLEAT is where a ton of ex-DG wrestlers are going. CIMA of course is a legend that got iced out of DG and is now doing his own weird stuff, and that apparently includes being the tag-champions in GLEAT with Kaz Hayashi in a team named after a mostly extinct species of fish. Kaito has blonde hair and dark gray trunks and Tetsuya’s has cornrows and his gear has a sorta purple/black/white harlequin pattern, they’re both kick devils. The old-timers are in the regular style of gear but have an orange and white color scheme. CIMA has his tassels and Kaz has his goatee. Oh, and all of BGI are at ring-side for this to amp up the heel business.

The Match: Kaz and Kaito start and do some shoulderblock business but Kaz gets distracted and BGI try some double-teams but get waxed immediately. CIMA gets a legbar in Kaito and then Kaz comes in again with a senton and now Tetsuya shows up to spread mayhem that cad. BGI get some doubles on Kaz and then Coelacanths get a double-slam to set up stereo moonsaults but they both whiff and now Kaito takes over and does some taunting with an earcup as he kicks around Kaz with Tetsuya’s help. Izuchi facewashes Kaz a ton but Hayashi comes back with a backdrop suplex and in comes CIMA with some knees in the corner and a bulldog/jumping clothesline to follow. Tetsuya tries his strikes but CIMA gets a Superdrol and in comes Kaz and Kaito. It breaks down and everybody hits everybody and BGI get some double-team kicks on Kaz as I think Tetsuya was a kickboxer. We get Izuchi and Hayashi slapping it out and then Kaz gets a lariat and that brings in CIMA who gets a very delayed springboard Meteora, then a dragonscrew, then a fancy kneebar. Kaz then comes in with a splash and Coelacanth gets stereo Schwein’s and then Kaz gets the twisting standing elbow drop to set up another Meteora on Kaito but that only gets 2 and Tetsuya slipped in a chair so that when CIMA landed he also dropped on the chair! That devil! But Kaz blasts Izuchi with the chair to give him some comeuppance and now we got Hayashi 1v1 with Ishida but Kaz’s handspring kick wipes out the ref and we get BGI running in. So gets a northern forearm and Hartley loads up the powerbomb but Soma comes in with a missile dropkick! And now MICHIKO is here with a whip! But So wipes her out but I think one of Yan’s Family is here to take out So and then Tetsuya gets him with an enzuigiri and I don’t know why this is happening but Tanaka is here and then somebody else wipes out Kaito and I think BGI are such jerks all the other stables hate them. But Kaz gets the twisting elbow drop and that’s not enough so this all is kinda stupid. Tetsuya comes in again and then Kaito almost gets Kaz with kicks. Kaz almost gets his flash headlock takeover pin! Kaz almost gets his suplex for 3! Kaito brainbuster and we should probably end this very soon. Kaito gets a few buzzsaw kicks and then Tetsuya gets some and Kaz still kicks out. Kaito gets the Tiger Suplex though and that’s the 3.

**¾

Weird match that should have been a lot better, but blowing your load on a ton of run-ins only for it not to matter and then you just do a regular finishing sequence afterwards boggles the mind. Still, lots of energy even if team Ancient Old Dudes are not at their prime. BGI seem a capable team of kicky jerks at least.

Hayato Tamura (c) vs. Yuki Ino – G-REX Championship

Background: So the G-REX title is the top belt for GLEAT. The challenger is DDT wrestler Yuki Ino, he is pretty beefy and has a goatee and undercut style and his cauliflower ears make me think he was an amateur wrestler once upon a time. Apparently he was in Burning (which I liked) and Pheromones (which I hated!) so I don’t know what to think about the guy. Hayato is the champ and I believe the leader of BULK Orchestra. He’s very tan, very beefy, and has pretty terrible braids dyed white and tied up and is coming to the ring in a fur coat with a wolf mask on. Yuki’s in black trunks with his name on the back and Hayato is in white and red trunks.

The Match: Both of these human charcuterie plates charge at each other and engage in a shoulderblock war that Yuki gets the first blow in, but Tamura strikes right back and then they tumble outside and they trade some shoulderblocks out there with them getting increasingly larger amounts of distance for the run-ups while Tamura jiggles his pecs and Yuki talks junk at the camera. Tamura eventually gets a lariat to knock down Ino and they both go back inside and Hayato gets a diving shoulderblock and then a crossface. Ropebreak and Yuki makes his feet and does some pretty hammy acting and then we’re immediately back into a chinlock by Tamura and another roperbeak and they trade chops and Yuki looks a bit gassed out. Tamura gets a spinning neckbreaker out of a suplex attempt and Yuki rolls to the outside to desperately regain some breath and we are in minute 7 here. They fight on the apron and Ino plays to the crowd to avoid having to do wrestling moves but Hayato wants to still actually wrestle and we get a really weak brainbuster onto the apron from Yuki. Yuki works Hayato’s back over with some clubbering and they go back inside. Yuki gets an elbow drop on the back and poses and talks more smack while talking trash. Yuki gets the back with some more shoulders to the back and then a Boston Crab as Tamura is selling his back like mad. Big goofy elbow drop from Yuki follows. But Ino showboats (I know, crazy) and Hayata gets a shoulder to get a breather. Corner charge and a DDT keep the champ in control, sliding lariat follows up and Yuki is just totally gassed out here. But maybe not as the challenger gets some corner splashes and a brainbuster. Ino goes to pick up Tamura for the kill but the champ is deadweight until he rises up and they start chopping and at least Tamura is clutching his back during the slugfest. They trade suplexes and do a double-lariat into a double-down. And boy, yes, they milk that count. Back up and they slug it out more with Hayato getting the advantage until Yuki gets yes, a shoulderblock and a loose samoan drop. Ino gets a spear for 2.9 and I think that’s his finish as they cut to the faces afterwards for the big reaction. Yuki loads up a lariat but Tamura kicks out at 1 and a second spear gets 2.999 and we get another shocked kickout face. A third spear though is blocked by Tamura’s lariat and then the champ gets rolling backdrop drivers and another lariat, and a running lariat gets 3.

*½

Man this was…bad. And it’s bad in a way that made me really think about why I like the wrestling I like. Cause slow, physical fights are the core of All Japan which I love, but this was slow and physical, but it was weirdly paced, Yuki clearly has cardio issues so they needed to stop constantly to let him regain his breath and it destroyed the pacing. Instead of slowly lumbering through things at a steady pace, they did sprints, Ino would collapse, then he’d get some juice back to do another flurry and collapse again. It felt like a NOAH style main-event where guys whale on each other, they didn’t have that pace, weird mix between two styles I love and it fell into the crack between. Hayato does seem decent though and I’ve liked him in other situations where his opponent was better. And before I get too harsh on Yuki, I did notice a pretty substantial scar in his L4 region so I wonder if he’s a back surgery survivor. Still, just a slow, sludgy mess of a match with no real story and poor execution beyond that.

Post-match Tamura cuts a promo but nobody comes out to challenge him so who cares?

Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Kota Ibushi – Five Minute Exhibition Match

Background: So we know who Kota is, and I guess this is his comeback match after a series of brutal injuries over the last 2-3 years. Daisuke is the ace of Big Japan, and he’s a square shaped mass of beef who is nonetheless incredibly talented. This is a five minute exhibition match apparently and I think they’re doing everything possible to let us not expect too much from Ibushi.

The Match: Kota charges in with a kick and then they trade forearms. Kota gets some weak kicks and tries an armbar but Sekimoto sidewalk slams him out of it and gets a running crossbody. Kota gets cornered and eats some machinegun chops and a back elbow before Ibushi FINALLY leaves his feet and hits a pretty good dropkick! Kots warms up a bit and gets a strike flurry and a pretty decent standing moonsault! Kota goes up and hits a pretty alright frog splash for 2. But they slug it out and Daisuke gets a judo throw into a knee and a monster lariat and then gets a boston crab as he’s flexing his neck and popping his traps and it’s a pretty terrifying image. Ibushi makes the ropes but Daisuke gets a deadlift German But when Sekimoto picks up Ibushi in a fireman’s carry Kota gets a crucifix pin attempt into a sliding knee and then loads up the Kamigoye which Daisuke breaks with a short-arm lariat attempt but Ibushi gets the inverted Kamigoye and then the normal Kamigoye that Sekimoto kicks out of as time expires.

**½

Well it’s an exhibition match but Ibushi exhibited…being okay? I mean he doesn’t have the same pop as he did in the past but he was moving okay and didn’t look like the crippled loser he did in his last couple appearances. Daisuke of course has been awesome forever.

Post-match they clutch hands and both guys look a bit emotional as they bow to each other and talk a bit.

Josh Barnett vs. Yu Iizuka – UWF Rules Match

Background: So I don’t need to get into a total puro background thing but UWF was a ‘shoot style’ promotion that did worked MMA matches back in the 90s and it was a big deal and lead to Pride and MMA borrowed a ton from it. Josh is a legit MMA legend who has trained a ton of guys and does the Bloodsport thing. He’s a big chunky American with a beard and a blue bodysuit and goes by the Warmaster. Yu is a much smaller Japanese guy with real MMA experience with a howling wolf theme and his tron introduces him as Eden Fall Wolf or Wolf Eden Fall, I dunno, it flickered through them, he has white fight trunks and the too-lean build of a guy who actually trains to make weight. So UWF rules are 10-count knockdown, knockout, and submission, and sometimes include a points system as well, no idea what they’re doing here.

The Match: So we start and we have a 5 and a 5 on screen in different colors so I think we’re getting a points deal after all. Yu gets some quick kicks at first but Josh catches him going in and gets a massive gutwrench suplex to set up a headlock something but Yu makes the ropes and it’s -1 point for him. 4-5 and they reset. Iizuka tries a takedown and they got to the mat and Yu almost gets an armbar but Josh reverses and gets a choke and that’s another ropebreak and we’re 3-5. Reset and Josh goes in for a massive throw by Yu climbs out and gets a manji-gatame and Josh breaks and we’re 3-4. Barnett looks worn out and Yu flies in with a knee and some strikes in the ropes and Josh clinches to stop it and loads up an exploder suplex (classic MMA move there) and Yu counters into an armbar that almost gets Josh but he gets a massive powerbomb and then a choke for the instant tap.

***

Well I actually really enjoyed this! I don’t always want to see the shoot wrestling stuff but this was pretty fun and it did a good job of establishing how different it was from regular wrestling matches on the card. Though I will say when you have guys doing secret kung fu death touches maybe don’t have guys doing worked MMA stuff in the main-event? Or maybe you do, I dunno, I’m not a booker.

El Lindaman vs. Shinya Aoki – UWF Rules Match

Background: So Shinya is a pretty notable MMA guy who is famous for his crazy submissions (many of them flying) and being a jerk who breaks people’s arms and flips off the crowd afterwards. He’s really lean and has a buzzcut and plain gear. Lindaman is a very tan, very tiny, very jacked guy who I think is GLEAT’s ace.

The Match: Really patient start as Shinya gets to his knees and they just kinda stare at each other before Aoki goes for an ankle pick but Lindaman slips out. Shinya keeps up the routine of aggression on his smaller opponent. Lindaman gets Aoki into the ropes but it’s not a hold so the ref breaks but Aoki doesn’t lose a point. Aoki gets Lindaman down and goes for a double chickenwing. Lindaman breaks and reverses into a full-nelson and I realize Lindaman has painted fingernails. Shinya slithers out of the hold and gets Lindaman on the mat as he rides him and goes for a wristlock as LIndaman scrambles to the ropes. Break and it’s 4-5 as I realize I should rank these scores in the order in which I announce the participants of the match. Shinya goes for a takedown and attempts an achilles lock as Lindaman really does look totally lost in the match. Ropebreak and it’s 3-5. Reset Shinya is just punking the smaller guy around and almost gets a sleeper as Lindaman breaks and gets his one-armed iconoclasm and then a few suplexes as he’s finally taking over but he bridges on a German and Shinya gets an armbar from that and Lindaman instantly taps.

**

Man this was…less good. While Barnett (obviously) and Yu seemed to have an idea how to do the worked MMA stuff, Lindaman looked totally lost and him getting punked out made him look terrible, personally. Like I think he’s your top guy and you put him in a situation where he got eaten alive by a submission god. This is almost dumber than Inokism cause this is worked Inokism. Like you worked a match that made one of your top guys look terrible. Shinya is an interesting performer though, I like the weirdo submission god aspects and he has charisma in the role.

Lindaman tries to regain some heat post-match by doing a tope to Shinya’s back so Aoki doesn’t see it so he can’t catch it and LIndaman splats on the ring mats. Well…okay.

Afterwards somebody comes to the ring with crutches and a leg brace and wait that’s Fujita “Jr.” Hayato? Wow he looks so different in street clothes. He has glasses and a baseball hat and earrings and he looks so…normal. Anyway he’s cutting a promo and he seems pretty emotional and the crowd is giving him a ton of love and I hope that he’s alright. Anyway he has the LIDET UWF Championship with him that he was champion of and he’s obviously giving it up cause I’m doing more research and he’s battling cancer that’s on his spine and that absolutely sucks.

Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Takanori Ito – LIDET UWF Championship

Background: Well if you don’t know Nakajima you should, he’s one of the few remaining bad boys of pro wrestling as his incredible talent is only matched by his reputation as an arrogant jerk who isn’t afraid to KO guys for real if they aren’t tough enough. I will say I think the reputation is a bit overblown but he’s certainly played into it after leaving NOAH, embracing a ton of Inoki mannerisms and using his shoot style history to be a self-declared defender of old-school Japanese wrestling. And after declaring himself to be the Lord of Strong Style the Inoki estate apparently really upset at him so he’s X’d out the Strong Style kanji and now uses XX Style. He’s here with his hair grown out a bit, dyed blonde with dark roots, clean-shaven, and in white and black trunks. Takanori is new for me but apparently he’s part of Yan’s Family and has some bulk on him and a light goatee.

The Match: They circle and Nakajima lets out a crazy spinning heel kick early to keep Ito on his toes. More dancing and probing kicks from the both of them as they both are just teasing each other. They do a bit more standup and this is pretty hard to recap as it’s “guys circle and throw light strikes” for a few minutes. Nakajima counters a kick and gets a knockdown but doesn’t further it and Ito stands back up and goes for a clinch and they end up in the ropes and the ref breaks. Nakajima gets a fireman’s carry takeover and takes the back but just lightly slaps the back of Takanori’s head and then gets into a full mount and those slaps ain’t light anymore. Ito gets a clinch and some knees but Nakajima falls back into the corner and Ito keeps the aggression up but the ref forces a break and Nakajima uses the full 10 count to regain his strength. Okay, fun spot and it establishes that Ito does have the power advantage and doesn’t want to get in close with Ito but Katsu is a canny operator and he demonstrates this by coming out of the count with a strike combo and does the showtime choke when he corners Takanori to a pretty big reaction and the ref is all over him as we’re 4-5 but Nakajima kicks Ito over the refs shoulder and gets him in the corner and does another showtime choke and this is too much for the ref and we get a YELLOWCARD and we’re 3-5. I also realize that both guys have wristbands with the colors of their number score. Nakajima is blue, Ito is red. Katsu is admonished by the ref enforcing the rules but seems to have the gears spinning in his head. They do standup and do some cliches with knees and Katsu attempts a guillotine until Ito gets a brainbuster to counter and Naka gets a backdrop suplex and Ito with a Saito suplex and we get a double high kick into a double down and both guys tease a countdown but they get to their feet but I guess since both guys were down we’re at 2-4 now. Okay these UWF rules are a bit confusing. Both guys go back to a close position and trade slaps as I think open-fist strikes are illegal and Nakajima squeezes in a tight roundhouse to the jaw and that drops Ito who gets up at 8. 2-3 now and Ito is frantic and gets a flurry of strikes and a high kick slides in and down goes Nakajima and we’re 1-3. Ito smells blood and goes in with a flying knee and strikes into the corner and gets a German! Ito with a big kick as a followup but Nakajima only drops to a knee, second big kick from Ito but Naka ducks and gets the slap of death and Takanori is on dream street, Nakajima gets the Northern Light’s Bomb and the Strangle Hold Gamma and that’s a submission win.

***½

Well that was really interesting, I thought they used the ropes well which shouldn’t shock me since Nakajima is such a brilliant wrestler, but him worming out some cheating and getting chewed out by the ref was a great touch and I wish refs were more aggressive on cheating to really put over that this guy is a jerk. Takanori is new for me but he was impressive. He wasn’t as dramatic a personality but he did the shoot style well and has presence as this sort of heavyweight striker. Fun match with a lot of cool ideas implemented well but I’m still unsure how much of it I need to see in one night.

Post-match Nakajima cuts a promo while he gets belted and seems to give some love to Fujita and then I think he calls out Minoru Tanaka and El Lindaman flies in to attack Nakajima but gets separated and Katsuhiko continues to talk trash and then poses aggressively with the belt.

Ito cuts a promo next and seems forlorn and then Lindaman and then the roster comes out and then Kaz Hayashi says stuff which hypes everybody up and I’ll be honest I don’t speak Japanese really so this is missing me for obvious reasons.

Overall this was a really…interesting show with a lot of neat ideas, clearly some money put into it, and they do have real talent, but it does strike me as having that bizarre stink of NOAH I remember from the pre-CyberFight days which well, that was LIDET. Just sorta bizarre booking and no real sense of card construction. Just tonally doing some of the silly junior stuff against main-events of shoot style business is bizarre to me. Anyway this show was really unique and if you just like being a freak, check this out.