RINGS 9/22/95: RISING SERIES: NAGATSUKI

Rising Series: Nagatsuki
September 22, 1995 in Sapporo, Japan
Nakajima Sports Center drawing 6,380

SOME WILL TELL YOU THE PAST IS A LAND NO LONGER WHOLESOME TO US but how can that be true when the '90s are there and specifically the Japanese shoot-style '90s that constitute our chief concern? Also to my knowledge no one has ever actually said the thing I have just claimed some will tell you but I think there is an emotional truth that I am expressing here that we can all share in if you will at first indulge and then secondly forgive me. As the fighters parade we are told of the impending MEGA BATTLE TOURNAMENT 95 but it so looms that we needn't have been told, we would have felt its presence at any distance. Before, that, though, this: Rising Series Nagatsuki (長月, "The Long Month" [my god that's beautiful]). 

My impression is that Sotir Gotchev has never truly failed us; he is struck to the mat at once, though, by Wataru Sakata's spinning backhand karate chop. Already this is unreal. I love to watch RINGS, to watch it and to speak of it with you. Gotchev's ura-nage (裏投, rear throw) surely ranks among the most pleasing to have yet been enacted in any of these opening RINGS bouts, and the openers are so consistently good that there is worthy competition for that distinction. When Gotchev next attempts ura-nage, Sakata wisely drops and rolls through for a hiza-juji-gatame knee-bar and you know what has always struck me about rolling through for knee-bars? Thank you for your interest, I will totally tell you and be glad of the opportunity: if we are on the mat, and I am in the turtle or kame position, and I would like to hiza-juji your left leg, I am going roll over my right shoulder, right? But if we are standing, and say I have just failed an attempt at the inner-thigh throw of uchi-mata (内股, this is difficult to imagine I know but please try) and I want to hiza-juji your left leg, I am going to roll over my left shoulder, aren't I? So strange! Please, if you have not done so before, try this next time you are on the mats or perhaps messing around in the yærd with your little buddies and you will experience the paradox or perhaps dialectic of this waza. A spirited contest between the able Gotchev and Kakuta! It ends in the naked strangle of 裸絞 hadaka-jime at 8:34 and Gotchev's hand is raised. A Lenny Kravitz song is played over match highlights and one's thoughts turn at once to copyright implications (what a time to be alive). 

Fine Georgian boxer Georgi Keandelaki is well-known to us but has been largely absent in our recent encounters in the RINGSspace, hasn't he? Aldinov Roussimov will face him in I suppose a boxing match, given the state of their hands (in gloves). My friends Alan and Jonathan know an awful lot about boxing but I know very little! To me this looks like fairly light sparring but again I am no Alan, no Jonathan. Keandelaki takes the decision after five not at all displeasing rounds of swift combos thrown right into gloves and guys occasionally pitching themselves weirdly back to feign a knockdown. 

TSUYOSHI KOHSAKA versus Joop Van Der Ven, this is much closer to a thing that could contain things that I could possibly have things to tell you about. This is an odd encounter æsthetically in that, physically, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka is a near-perfect embodiment of a certain vision of human masculinity whereas Joop Van Der Ven more closely resembles the non-human masculinity that overran the mines of Moria (goblins).       

Kohsaka has JVDV down twice within seconds, his two techniques impeded only by rope breaks, as is his kesa-gatame 袈裟固 scarf hold just now. After TK visits upon Van Der Ven the kindness of being taken over by his koshi-waza (hip technique) and allowing himself to be kesa-gatame'd in turn, he escapes out "the back door" and attacks with hadaka-jime; JVDV again grabs a rope (this is wise). Van Der Ven has +2 dexterity and +1 constitution and the defining trait of "Nimble Escape" and so is better suited to life in Fighting Network RINGS than several other frequently encountered creatures. The oddest thing about him is not the build nor the jail (I could easily be mistaken) tattoos nor the skullet (I mean no disrespect, it is a noble style) but the pants, which seem to be just normal pants, not gi pants, not tights, not a treated skin, just pants. Kohsaka hits a lovely gyaku-ude-garami/reverse-arm-entanglement/double-wrist-lock/Kimura sweep that Van Der Ven nimbly escapes (see?) with a toe on the ropes. Kohsaka's next renraku-waza or combination technique sees sumi-gaeshi (隅返 corner reversal) glide into ude-hishigi-juji-gatame (腕挫十字固) but, again, ropes. In the end it is the directness of the two-hand-reap of morote-gari and then at last the most ancient application of juji-gatame known to us (hip-side foot tucked deep under uke's ribs) that sees Kohsaka mark the XP that is his through right of conquest at 6:42 as Van Der Ven retreats to the the blackwater of the cavern-lair he best loves.

Mitsuya Nagai strides to the ring with great purpose and also with a great robe to face Pieter Oele, who surprisingly has Nagai down early. This is maybe the way Pieter Oele matches go, though, if I am remembering them correctly, in that he is above all a man of kickboxing but he nevertheless gets a few throws in here and there and even, on occasion, wins by submission, I think. To me this seems a little selfish, if I may speak frankly, in that it makes the græpplørz he faces look slightly weak in what should be their strongest suit, and for what? To "get over" (forgive me) the third-best skill (I am counting kicking and punching separately for this) of a mid-carder (again I apologize)? I think I am feeling this very acutely right now because I do not like the way this match is unfolding for Mitsuya Nagai, who, just as I announce my grievance in full, secures a nasty twisting foot-lock and takes the win at 7:42 WELL GOOD HE SHOULD HAVE.

Only two matches to go on this slightly brief card but I am pretty excited for both of them! First up is Yoshihisa Yamamoto and Dick Vrij but even before that it is time for Q&A, a segment that has so far delivered. This week's is with Yamamoto, whose acne looks to have totally cleared up (good for him, that must have been awful), and who definitely says judo a couple of times in his answers and has a tracksuit. His new, less floppy hair is a move in the wrong direction for him but is brimming with confidence as he readies himself for Dick Vrij; if the haircut is part of that then so be it. Dick Vrij, let's note, still enjoys a popularity that has not wavered since its beginning at RINGS' own beginning. Yamamoto, who had been loved before his Rickson Enduring (so strange; please reflect on it), is all the more so now, and he wears the pure white of heroism on both trunk and kickpad. His aspect is almost unrecognizable, look: 

You say you miss the old Yoshihisa Yamamoto; girl don't tempt he

Holy moly Yamamoto just ran right over and lit into Dick Vrij! Now he's hooks-in and sliding to the side for an Iatskevich/Yatskevich juji-gatame roll! He truly is a new man here. I am not sure I like it as much but that could just be because it is new and change is hard; maybe I will grow into this. Good gravy (lol good gravy?) that was a slick juji-gatame attempt from the bottom, too! Woah. He has adopted a slight Rickson-esque erectness of posture and a stompy little front kick, too, bold affectations both (I reject them). He probably should have been given a yellow card for messing around with Dick Vrij's nose near the ropes but Yuji Shimada remains very much his own man. I have made this all sound quite one-side but Vrij is going hard and is super intense with his striking so this bout has a great energy to it overall. Yamamoto briefly attempts the sankaku-jime (triangle choke) that is fast becoming a signature waza. I am not saying this is a shoot -- in fact I am saying the opposite -- but this is a match that contains within its bounds such real techniques and indeed real emotion that, of all the mid-90s shoot-style bouts that show up on people's records as legit contests, I could totally see how this one might AND MAYBE SHOULD (I don't know what that means but I ask you to feel it). Yamamoto attempts a spinning front choke; Yamamoto is driven through the ropes and to the floor by savage strikes; Yamamoto wins by hadaka-jime (rear naked strangle) at 8:21 of a match that was bananas. YAMA-MO-TO YAMA-MO-TO YAMA-MO-TO is the well-earned cry of the people. 

This might sound weird to say about an Akira Maeda vs. Volk Han bout but the Akira Maeda vs. Volk Han bout that has to follow the previous bout is going to have to be one hekk of an Akira Maeda vs. Volk Han bout to match that intensity. That had something of the wild sprint energy to it I most recently encountered in a 2001 Pancrase fight between Sanae Kikuta and Ikuhisa Minowa[man] (it's old but I saw it for the first time a few weeks ago). Have I mentioned that Sanae Kikuta's wikipedia page mentions tenuous links to RINGS? Imagine if that had happened! Of the several post-RINGS things I have in mind for this blog of RINGS is a consideration of The Complete Youtube Works of Sanae Kikuta. Forgive me if I have mentioned this previously. Also it's just not the time as this is AKIRA MAEDA vs. VOLK HAN, as big as it gets! Maeda is wearing, like, boxer briefs, though, rather than trunks; what gives. NO TIME FOR THAT NO TIME as Maeda shoots in for a "high crotch" but Han grabs that just disgusting standing gyaku-ude-garami/Kimura and the crowd, feeling as I do, just shrieks its horror as Maeda is dragged down, trapped in niju-garami (two-leg entanglement); it's pretty serious:

Oh dear lord Volk Han has just transitioned the position I have shown you just now effortlessly and seamlessly into juji-gatame. I know that Akira Maeda is not exactly standing in the way of that happening but just as an instance of demoing I admire that movement and its place in physical culture (reasonably near the apex). Dueling ashi-kansetu (leg bone-locks) lead to rope escapes as the river to the sea. Maeda throws and seeks a head-scissor; both seek further leg-locks; I don't know this is just really intense right now and I have no idea how this is going to go! After a rope break, Maeda kicks Volk Han so hard that you would swear Han was a Giant or an orbital bone and the crowd is losing it. HOLY SHIT MAEDA WINS IT BY WEIRD KUBI-HISHIGI NECK CRUSH OFF A HIZA-JUJI KNEE BAR TRAP DO YOU REMEMBER HOW I WAS TALKING ABOUT WHICH SHOULDER YOU ROLL OVER FOR THOSE EARLIER THIS IS UNCANNY:

A GREAT SHOW! WHAT MIGHT DAVE MELTZER HAVE SAID CONCERNING THIS: 

September 11, 1995: 

"The K-1 promotion drew a sellout 17,500 fans to the Yokohama Arena on 9/3. They had one UFC rules match with unknown fighters. The only two names that would be familiar here on the show were Patrick Smith, who was knocked out by a 22-year-old Japanese fighter named Musashi that they're giving a big push to, and Rings wrestler Masayoshi Naruse, who also lost under kick boxing rules by a TKO."

September 18, 1995: While this is not directly RINGS-related, it is of considerable shoot-style importance generally and also speaks of Kiyoshi Tamura so I know you will be with me as I share this with you: 

"The hottest thing in Japan continues to be the build-up for the 10/9 Tokyo Dome show with UWFI vs. New Japan. At the UFC, the Japanese there was raving about the angle at the dual press conferences and saying it was the hottest thing in the country in a long time.

The angle is being played out all the way. The gimmick was this past Wednesday that UWFI announced the card and it's basically a one-match show with Nobuhiko Takada vs. Keiji Muto with both the UWFI and IWGP world heavyweight titles at stake. The other matches announced by UWFI (the angle was that New Japan told the UWFI to make the card itself) were Shinya Hashimoto vs. Tatsuo Nakano, Kensuke Sasaki vs. Masahito Kakihara, Riki Choshu vs. Yoji Anjyo, Masa Chono vs. Yuko Miyato, Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano, Takayuki Iizuka vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, Shinjiro Otani vs. Kenichi Yamamoto and Yuji Nagata & Tokimitsu Ishizawa vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Hiromitsu Kanehara. UWFI's No. 2 wrestler, Kiyoshi Tamura, is not on the card and they'll probably work their own internal angle that he doesn't want to be part of this show because he's trying to change the wrestling style to Pancrase style and less pro wrestling style. Besides, it appears to me that this line-up is booked for New Japan to dominate the undercard and nearly everyone agrees the best thing for business would be for Takada to win the main event because it sets up all kinds of business for matches with Takada as IWGP champion against numerous New Japan wrestlers. New Japan usually does the best thing for business even though a lot of Japanese fans don't believe New Japan will allow its world champion to lose his title to a wrestler from a smaller organization, which is precisely why the match is going to draw the heat it will.

The next day Chono complained to the press about wrestling Miyato and said he was going to attack and finish off Miyato in the parking lot before the show begins. Chono and Miyato are playing off old heat because Miyato was the spokesperson a few years ago when Chono held the NWA world title and Miyato did the much publicized grandstand challenge for Chono to fight Takada when the two companies were at war.

In addition, the first interpromotional match appears to be 9/23 at the Yokohama Arena with Anjyo & Nakano vs. Choshu & Kazuo Yamazaki. And this set up another feud because Yamazaki was originally to face Shiro Koshinaka of HI. Koshinaka lost his chance to work a main event match on such a big show so he'll probably work that into a storyline feud with both New Japan and UWFI down the road.

The new angle they are working involves the rules. The two groups had a meeting supposedly to decide what rules these matches would take place under on 9/8 with UWFI represented by Ken Suzuki, Anjyo and referee Wada and New Japan represented by Tetsuo Baisho (a former brother-in-law of Antonio Inoki and key front office man), Katsuji Nagashima and Kotetsu Yamamoto. New Japan says the matches should be under New Japan rules because the vast majority of the crowd will be New Japan fans and because the New Japan fans won't understand the UWFI point system (both men start with 15 points and lose one point for a rope break and lose three points for a suplex or knockdown and if someone runs out of points he loses although very rarely to matches end when points run out) and rules, where pinfalls aren't counted and they are submission matches. New Japan, as the story goes and also correctly, thinks the crowd will understand pinfall finishes better. Choshu said he's leaving it up to members of each group's front office to decide the rules. Anyway, expect an announcement of rule compromises during this upcoming week."

September 25, 1995: 

"The rival World Combat Championships, which runs the biggest competition to UFC to date on 10/7 on PPV, lost the guy who in its own publicity it was pushing the hardest in pro wrestler Dick Leon-Vrij (Rings) who has apparently pulled out." Nooooooooooo.

October 2, 1995: 

"Rings ran on 9/22 in Sapporo drawing 4,678 for its two biggest names on top as Akira Maeda beat Volk Han in 9:41. Its annual Battle Dimension tournament starts on 10/21 in Fukuoka with Han vs. Peter Ura, Andrei Kopilov vs. Grom Zaza, Mitsuya Nagai vs. Gogiteze Bakuli, Bitarze Amilan vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto, Micha vs. Nikolai Zouev, Hans Nyman vs. Ramaji, Maeda vs. Dick Leon-Vrij and Dimita Petkov vs. Bitarze Tariel. The winners advance to 11/16 in Nagoya, with the semifinals on 12/19 in Osaka and final on 1/24 at Budokan Hall.

9/22 Sapporo Nakajima Sports Center (RINGS - 4,678): Sotir Gotchev b Wataru Sakata, Georgi Kandelaki b Lucinoff, Takasaka b Van Dam, Mitsuya Nagai b Peter Ura, Yoshihisa Yamamoto b Dick Leon-Vrij, Akira Maeda b Volk Han"

MEGA BATTLE TOURNAMENT 95 BECKONS LET US ATTEND TO IT SOON . . . TOGETHER but not before I offer my thanks as always for your time.