IGF Genome PPV 09/08/07

NGK Insulators Hall
Attendance 7,684

Inoki continues his descent into MMAdness so lets give his second show a shot.

Inoki starts the show by talking, presumably about himself.

Daisuke Nakamura vs. Kazuki Okubo

Nakamura is a fighter-turned-wrestler, Okubo is a wrestler turned shoot styler. Will they ever get along? This is under U-Style rules where both guys start with five points but lose one for knockdowns or tap outs when it’s relevant to the plot.

Okubo attempts a low kick but it’s deflected with ease and the force from the block sends him to the mat where a side headlock is shoved in. No submissions yet so both men are raised to their feet only to go to the mat via cross armbreaker and a tap from Okubo to lose the first point.

Nakamura’s rolling armbreaker looks nice but Okubo blocks it by being next to the ropes. Okubo’s knees to the head are enough to send Nakamura rolling and cost him his first point.

Okubo’s single crab costs Nakamura a point as he has to grab the ropes to get it released. A mad Nakamura rails away on Okubo with kicks until he collapses as both men are now 3-3.

A gentle slap session threatens to turn the crowd against both men so Nakamura throws a WILD head kick to send Okubo to the mat.

Luckily he’s somehow awake enough to stand up and walk directly into a tight ankle lock. That doesn’t stop him so Nakamura wrangles him down and into an armbar as the crowd are dead for this. Hell’s Gate is applied and turned into a powerbomb far too easily for anyone to care so Okubo throws two nasty backdrop drivers which don’t count as knock-downs for some reason. Cross Armbreaker costs Nakamura another rope break so we’re down to 2-2.

Nakamura dumps Okubo with a head-first German Suplex before another armbreaker causes the tap out…which is enough for the overall victory at 9:45 even though he had two points remaining? Huh. Buncha bullshit. Anyway this was an acceptable opener with nothing really sticking out but nothing bad either.

Yuki Ishikawa vs. Atsushi Sawada

I’ve had the pleasure of watching Ishikawa in real life so I’m biased as hell. This is Sawada’s wrestling debut and isn’t put off by Ishikawa’s attempts at scaring him pre-match as he sails with a sit-out dropkick as the bell rings. Ishikawa elbows him very hard in the face to let him know he fucked up. Ishikawa comes back with a strike of his own before attempting a side headlock on the mat. That wasn’t too convincing because Ishikawa looks so natural doing this and Sawada looks like he’s remembering what page of the script he’s on. Both men go for ankle locks at the same time to re-start vertically. Sawada’s very set-up kicks to the chest don’t do anything so Ishikawa thumps him like a caveman eyeing up a tasty snake. Sawada drives Ishikawa into the mat with an unintentionally brutal German Suplex but he’s tough enough to take it. Ishikawa’s double-arms Sawada to the mat before both men exchange strikes. Sawada smacks Ishikawa with a friggin headbutt with an audible THUD but Ishikawa shrugs it away. Ishikawa decides to work over Sawada’s sloppy mid-section with strikes. It looks like a baker preparing dough. Both lads continue to strike away with little urgency until Sawada demands Ishikawa kick him harder. So he does. Ishikawa gets his revenge with a headbutt of his own before a backdrop and various kicks to the head result in a sleeper victory at 7:20.

This was the equivalent to Jerry Lawler doing his best to disguise the disadvantages of his weak opponent as everything Ishikawa did looked great but Sawada was treating this far too hammy. Like his mid-section.

Alexander Otsuka vs. Tom Howard

Howard is wearing one boxing glove like Art Jimmerson. Well things worked out well for him. Otsuka attempts a dropkick as the bell rings, which we just saw in the previous match, with Howard punching him out of the air. Howard goes head-over-tit attempting to spinkick Otsuka in the corner. Otsuka I think attempts a slingshot? In a shoot-style match? Anyway Howard blocks it and we get a scissor choke for a bit. Irish whip into the corner sees Howard landing a second rope missile dropkick to the crowd’s approval. Otsuka lands a mandatory German Suplex but Howard is back with a running dropkick. Howard asks the crowd if they want to know what this glove is all about before walking into a Frankensteiner to be sent outside. Both men recover long enough for Otsuka to land a suplex into a cross armbreaker. Howard escapes but he tries to tell the ref he’s hurt. Otsuka doesn’t care leading to Howard taking a German Suplex into a jacknife roll-up for the win at 6:07.

One of Howard’s last matches and you could tell. Crowd popped for some of the spots but as an attempt to do shoot-style this was a bad joke. Speaking of which, remember when Kendrick & London talked about Tom Howard enjoying stomper clubs? Like clubs you go to to get your balls stomped on? Yeah.

WAKASHOYO vs. Erik Paulson

Wakashoyo is a former sumo and his name apparently translates as “you’re welcome.” Erik Paulson is a very legit fighter who doesn’t appear to have any prior wrestling experience so this is going to be something.

Wakashoyo sumo shoves Erik into the corner immediately, with Erik able to roll out and slap his opponent in the face to laughter from the crowd. Erik lands high kicks until Wakashoyo slams him down in a cool moment. Erik manages to mount Wakashoyo but can only play around with him with almost playful strikes. Likely because he wasn’t used to pulling his punches. Wakashoyo gets back up and attempts to win by shoving Erik into the ropes. Erik somehow recovers from that to again slap him in the face. Wakashoyo’s grunts of pain are filling the arena. Erik locks in a STF and it’s over at 2:48.

That was the kind of small car wreck you hope to see at a show like this. Erik did his best despite the staggering odds against him.

Taka Kunou vs. Kazuhiro Hamanaka

Kunou is 0-2 in MMA so he’s perfect for IGF. He’s wearing a gi which only makes it easier for Hamanaka to pick him up and slam him. Kunou holds on though and manages a cross armbreaker easily enough. Plenty of them tonight. Both lads exchange strikes in a very forced manner as I’m getting the feeling these matches were agented by the same guy as we’re getting very similar spots. Another cross ambreaker is attempted because they must have had to pay for the move lists tonight. Kunou locks in a tight side headlock which looks like it could finish. It doesn’t, instead Kunou applies Hell’s Gate which again is turned into a powerbomb, but this time Kunou holds it on which sees the ref end it quickly at 3:14.

Why are all these matches filled with the exact same spots now? Not the worst outing here, even with Kunou’s questionable Rising Sun patch on his arm.

Michiyoshi Ohara vs. Kevin Randleman

It’s impossible to look at Kevin and not hear Mauro’s “RANDLEMAN JUST KNOCKED OUT CRO COP!!!” The commentator says Ohara’s nick name is “Donkey Kong” which I don’t understand. Maybe he meant just “Donkey”. Ohara lands some gentle headbutts to Randleman’s shoulder as the camera angle did not help him there. Ohara throws more strikes that are softer and further away than Sid’s in 2000 until Randleman attempts The Randleplex!

Like against Fedor, it doesn’t end the match so Randleman applies a side headlock. Randleman refuses to release after Ohara grabs the ropes so Ohara spits at him. Randleman charges to land a…front facelock, then declines to release cos “he spit on me!” Ohara takes advantage of the distracted Randleman to land a running headbutt to end it at 3:40.

A furious Randleman attacks the ref afterwards before bowing to his opponent. Randleman complains backstage about being spat on “cos Bushidos don’t do that.” He’d not return.

Tadao Yasuda vs. Mark Coleman

Oh good, more Tadao Yasuda aka the Jack Swagger of IWGP champions. Coleman immediately takes him down and batters him out of the ring. Yasuda takes his time outside, rethinking his life options. It goes on for so long that Fujiwara has to jump the guardrail to punch him back inside. Yasuda attempts to shove Coleman through the ropes before Coleman turns it into an impressive suplex. Coleman delivers a few more before winning with a quick side headlock at 3:10.

An effective squash and some much needed variety. Fujiwara attacks Tadao afterwards to continue that redemption arc involving a man with no hope in his near future.

Post-match Coleman wants Kurt Angle. That…would not happen.

Montanha Silva vs. Kiyoshi Tamura

Silva’s a big K-1 kickboxer guy. Meanwhile, Tamura is half his size and wears a shirt that reads “I HEART YOU.” Aw.

Tamura’s going to need all that love as Silva keeps his opponent at bay with massive knees. Tamura throws his own kicks but Silva ignores them, preferring to land punches. Tamura takes a one-sided beating but refuses to stop, which gets the crowd on his side in a big way. Silva then kicks him in the mid-section for the first point.

Silva won’t stop flattening poor Tamura who takes more strikes before falling down again.

Silva’s two points ahead and easily blocks Tamura’s shots. He uses his size to lock in a headlock and take Tamura to the mat. Tamura won’t stop walking directly in front of Silva who effortlessly pummels his foe before a Sparta Kick sends Tamura down again.

Three points down and with the crowd chanting his name, Tamura dodges a high knee. Silva is so scary he drops his guard and dares Tamura to hit him. Nothing Tamura does has any effect and the crowd “ooo” in awe. Silva keeps firing away with little hope for poor Tamura. A headlock takedown is deemed a knockdown so Tamura has one more point remaining.

Silva again orders Tamura to hit him but Tamura learns from his previous mistake instead locks in a guillotine and takes the giant to the mat for the submission victory at 7:49!

Oh that ruled and- wait, Silva immediately gets up out of the hold and confuses the crowd who think that Tamura won. He did but Silva’s complete lack of selling took away from the otherwise effective finish there. Anyway, this is easily the best thing on the show so far as Tamura took a pounding until the crowd were loving him and then he won with skill over strength. Not a classic by any means but you take what you can get on shows like this.

The Predator vs. Naoya Ogawa

I do not have high hopes for this. The fans like Predator and his Brody tribute, which is on them. Predator slams Ogawa before the bell rings and continues landing them. A jumping elbow gets a decent pop which is fascinating. Ogawa kicks Predator in the corner as the crowd yell “hey!” whenever he lands something. Predator does more Brody tribute moves as the crowd continue to yell “hey that’s a move Brody used to do!!” I wonder if being forced to do Brody stuff is what turned Sylvester Terkay into a crap wrestler or if he was already like that. Ogawa weakly brawls with Predator outside before landing back suplexes. Some action occurs. Where’s Inoki when you need him? Predator manages a torture rack into a neckbreaker for two. Ogawa slips out of a second attempt to lock in a Jarrett sleeper hold. Ogawa manages a basic takedown before landing a running STO. A second running STO sets up a sleeper hold for the Ogawa win at 10:04.

Shite unconvincing action, hot crowd. I imagine this is how Americans feel when watching Big Daddy.

Josh Barnett vs. Don Frye

Don’s only IGF appearance. The crowd adore him. Don punches Josh and sends him outside to start this off hot. Don taunts on every corner post to rile up Josh who enters the ring to kick Don into the air comically. Both lads roll on the mat, both looking for the advantage and both looking like they enjoy this type of thing. Don has to grab the ropes to release Josh from his ankle lock. Both end up on the mat again, trading punches like half the card has already done with Josh doing a grand job of selling Don’s strikes. Don isn’t impressed with Josh’s strikes but he does yell “ow” when Josh sends him flying with a Russian neck drop. Don recovers so he can land more big strikes with Josh again doing an admirable job selling them convincingly.

Josh bravely gets to his feet to land a quick strike to Don’s leg. It was accurate enough to take Don to the mat. After getting his breath back, Don punches Josh around the ring as he continues his one man sell job to make this match work. Josh finds himself in an ankle lock and yells a lot while Don attempts to remove it. Josh overcomes this to roll Don right into the middle of the ring and grapevine Don’s ankle…but Don somehow manages to drag his way to the ropes. Crowd very appreciative now. Josh can’t deliver a German Suplex because of the damage done to his ankle, leading to Don rolling him into another hold. Don for some reason is the one who needs to then roll outside, likely because he’s shoot-fucked. Luckily for him, Josh is really feeling it and flies into the air following another Don punch. Josh wrangles Don to the mat with an armbar and despite Don flipping off the ref, it’s taken as a submission loss at 14:38.

Not a great encounter or anything but an impressive showing from Josh who knew at this point what a Japanese crowd wanted to see and hear, and he was prepared to work his arse off for an elder opponent. Decent main event.

Overall: With shows like this, you hope for either really good matches or disasters. Worst case scenario is dullness but sadly that’s we mostly got here with little being recommendable outside of Silva vs. Tamura and the main event. C’mon Inoki, you’re supposed to be wackier than this.

I’ve been Maffew