Fujiwara Family: RINGS Astral Step: Final 12/7/91

Grom Zaza vs. Koichiro Kimura 

PAS: The Russians are here! Zaza is completely relentless, constantly swarming all over Kimura, trying to grab and arm, leg or neck to twist. Kimura fends him off for a while with kicks and punches, but eventually just seems to try to survive scrambling to the ropes and turtling . Eventually Zaza grabs his neck in almost a shoot full nelson for the tap. I am excited to see more Zaza, but this got dull and was really long (and may have even been clipped if the time stamp was right).

Herman Renting vs. Nobuaki Kakuta 

PAS: I am not sure what or why this ways. Kakuta was a popular karate fighter who represented Japan in international compition, and really over with the crowd. This might have been a shoot, or a dull work. First three or so rounds they just circled each other and feinted. Everytime Kakuta threw anything the crowd would go bonkers, but I am not sure he landed a single solid shot. Renting, who looks like the evil neighbor kid in Toy Story, gets a knock down with an illegal closed fist, which suggested work to me, but this ended with an unsatisfying draw which kind of suggests shoot. Either way I suggest that you don't watch it. 

Chris Dolman vs. Tiger Levani

PAS: Levani is another Russian from the Zaza and Han family. He shoots for limbs, but gets stuffed by Dolman on almost all of his attempts. Dolman gets a neck crank for the tap. Hard to really get a sense of Levani, as Dolman ate him up. Pretty dull although at least it wasn't super long.

Dick Vrij vs. Willie Peeters

PAS: This has been a rough show so far, but this was awesome. These are my two favorite pre-Russian gaijin, and they go after it. Really aggressive match with both guys winging kicks to the head and wild punches. Vrij has heavy kicks and drops Peeters with both a head kick and scything body kick. Peeters is a spunky energetic babyface, and I loved him trying to break down the bigger Vrij with hard body shots and he even gets off a couple of throws. Peeters eventually gets dropped by a a awesome three kick combo, right to the body, left to the body, right to the head to crumple him. Every moment was exciting, loved this.

ER: I skipped past the other matches right to this one, Phil took the body shots on the first hour of the show. And this might have been the best 10 minutes we have in RINGS so far, especially in terms of big moments. This felt more like the final fight in a movie, where both guys keep knocking each other down after initially looking like the fight would be over a minute in. Peeters gets a big belly to belly but gets absolutely leveled by a Vrij high kick shortly after, and while Peeters got up at 5 he looked like a guy who shouldn't be getting up at 5. I thought Peeters was a sitting duck, he kept lasting, and started getting very vocal with Vrij. Peeters might keep getting knocked down, but he keeps springing back to his feet to shove it in the much larger Vrij's face. The whole match was nothing but finishers, the moments of Peeters actually making Vrij sweat were great, and each new explosive Vrij strike kept looking like it should leave Peeters motionless. BUT, Vrij kept breathing harder and harder, and the possibility of Peeters surviving and outlasting became more real. I got really into Peeters' babyface performance, probably my favorite in RINGS so far.  Vrij goes full bully when his breathing gets harder, shoving Peeters into the ropes and catching him with a knee on the recoil, and Vrij's final left-right-left kick combo was devastating. Two body shots and that left high kick, and the way Peeters fell the ref knew to immediately wave it. This whole match is a highlight video. 

Gerard Gordeau vs. Mitsuya Nagai

PAS: Gordeau is a kickboxer who got to the finals of the first UFC, and fought in Zero-One and New Japan. He might also be a Nazi, although he claims Jewish heritage and says his swastika tattoo is the Buddist symbol (take that with the coke rock sized grain of salt in deserves) Gordeau is a guy who was known for taking liberties and he roughs up Naga, blooding his nose and finishing him with a sick guillotine. Pretty one sided I would have liked to see later years crowbar Nagai against Gordeau.

ER: Gerard Gordeau is a real problematic wrestling legend. He's a scummy Dutch guy who had to work for a living as a child after he lost his dad, and used karate as a way out. He's Daniel Larusso, if Larusso were a Nazi in the early 70s. But Gordeau has been in some major historical portions of Mixed Martial Arts history. He broke his foot on future Hawaii 5-0 actor Teila Tuli's teeth in the first UFC fight ever. He's got less than 20 worked matches in history, yet he's faced Inoki, Hashimoto, Naoya Ogawa, Akebono, Maeda, literally the biggest legends of Japanese wrestling. He's a methlab Kazunari Murakami (who Gordeau also faced!), just with a more vacant serial killer face than an anime villain face. He really overwhelms Nagai here, and Nagai is a really tough guy. Nagai is a rookie in RINGS going up against a bunch of way bigger Dutch dudes, and now he's in his early 50s and still going at it. But Gordeau is all sharp knees and kicks thrown so hard he doesn't care if he falls over. Nagai is constantly on his heels with Gordeau lurching in. He catches Nagai with two different sick standing guillotines and then just drops him like a dead body. The second one finishes Nagai, but the fight went into the 4th round and it was so totally one sided that Nagai came out more impressive for surviving. Gordeau came off like a real killer, and it's too bad we didn't get to see him against any Russians. Maybe that's for the best though. 

Masaaki Satake vs. Hans Nyman

PAS: This also might have been a shoot. Satake is an original K1 guy who is probably best known for getting German suplexed nearly to death by Rampage Jackson in Pride. No finish in this match either, but it had a lot of activity especially by Satake who threw constantly kicks, hooks to the body and straight punches. Nyman fired back too, and while this never came close to a finish, but it was at least brisk. 

Volk Han vs. Akira Maeda

ER: I didn't realize Han debuted in the main event, against the biggest star, on the biggest RINGS show (up to that point of their history). They obviously saw something special in him, because of course how could you not? We get a good feeling out process, Han looking to get Maeda to throw first by throwing little slaps to Maeda's stomach and cheek, checking leg kicks. And once Han starts to do Volk Han things, it's like Maeda instantly gets dragged into playing Han's game when Han times a Maeda strike to hit a flying armbar. Han is the guy most likely to destroy someone's legs with a shoot figure 4 variation, and the way he makes knots out of Maeda's legs is pure art. It looks like he knows dozens of different pressure points in the legs, and it's amazing to watch him make even slight movements to apply different pressure. Maeda has to scramble for the ropes pretty quick a couple times, and that's when he decides to go for suplexes. There were some great suplexes in this fight, with Maeda's snap vertical looking picture perfect, and Han gets a huge deadlift belly to belly and back suplex, and even spikes Maeda with a kind of DDT. Maeda seems somewhat befuddled by Han, who keeps flinging himself at Maeda's legs and gets an absolutely disgusting kneebar that was hyperextending Maeda's long leg at such a gross angle that the biggest crowd in RINGS history had to think the ace was leaving limbless. 

Maeda gets a miracle rope break, and Han really starts looking like a monster. He steps out of the way of Maeda's big leaping heel kick and starts taunting him to do it again, then starts basically knocking Maeda to the mat. Han catches a high kick and just shoves Maeda over, then sweeps his leg like a real jerk after Maeda gets up. BUT, fighting over those suplexes and going full strength with submissions start to suddenly, visibly catch up to Han, as he appears to gas out down the stretch. At first it looks like Han is baiting Maeda into throwing some more, some obvious trick by resting his hands on his knees and leaning in with his face. It looks like a total trap, and Maeda treats it like a trap, until he realizes that Han is washed. NOW that leaping heel kick doesn't miss, and Han eating canvas felt like a triumphant moment. After barely beating the count from that kick, Han uses the rest of his strength to throw Maeda with a big uranage, but doesn't have quite the same energy to tap Maeda, legs getting all pretzeled together again, and Maeda taps him with a toehold as Han is bending at Maeda's knee (for the dozenth time). I spent so much of this match wondering how Han was able to keep up such a furious pace, and well, eventually he was not. This was such an excellent way to close out the first year of RINGS, Han the invading Russian who almost embarrassed the ace, no doubt setting up huge things for the next year. 

PAS: What a debut for Han, right up there with the greatest debut matches in wrestling history. We all know Han as a master of technique, smooth, violent, innovative, his execution is unparalleled, but man did he just get pro-wrestling as a storytelling medium so quickly. I loved the way this progressed, with Han showing such virtuosity early and Maeda seeming taken aback at the speed and force of his attacks. That first leaping cross armbreaker threw Maeda both literally and figuratively. Then Maeda seemed to adjust and find moments to shine, a kick which lands, a snap suplex, and Maeda doesn't die with some of those submissions, he just lives another day, and eventually that is enough. Han starts to wilt, his hair starts to get mussed (shout out to my brother from another Tomk for coming up with his theory about Han's hair selling), and Maeda hits his big spin kick, dropping Han like a stone. Han is able to get back, hit a throw and tie up Maeda again, but Akira pulls out a trick and is able to snatch an ankle before Han can snatch a knee. Man am I excited to revisit this match up again, what a pair of legends.