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Yuki Ishikawa


Grimmas

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If you ask me to list my top native Japanese workers it'd look like this:

 

1.) Fujiwara

2.) Misawa

3.) Ishikawa, Tenryu, and Hashimoto duking it out (which sounds like a cool match)

 

I like his rise to prominence in PWFG. He is a tenacious young babyface in the Vale and Kozlowski matches. He was a fearsome top babyface when working Battlarts main events and excels when he has to tough it out. When he appears in other promotions he is frequently a believably scummy heel. If you can handle the brutally stiff striking and appreciate matwork you will love his offense which mixes New Japan style heavyweight grappling and shoot style. He always makes his opponents look great, especially evident given the number of rookies, crowbars, and stiffs he's brought into Battlarts over the years.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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  • 7 months later...

I actually watched that Murakami match right after I made the post. When I was poking around youtube I saw that and remembered loving it back in 2000.

 

There is absolutely an Ishikawa vs Murakami Custom Comp tape in my dad's house that I wish I had here and was a dvd :)

 

I'll check out the other matches tonight. :)

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You should watch his peak years from '96-99. I don't know how much of it is online still. Real Man's Man uploaded a bunch of it, but it was on Megaupload and went poof. I'm not a huge fan of the BattlARTS style, and I'm kind of anti tag matches in shoot style, but I do like Ishikawa and you probably won't have as many hangs-up as me. Plus you get to check out guys like Ono. Also worth checking out, if you really get into him, is his PWFG stuff.

 

Looking through my old shoot style list on WKO, I have these matches listed as worth watching:

 

Yuki Ishikawa vs. Alexander Otsuka (2/28/97)

Yuki Ishikawa vs. Hiroyuki Ito (10/9/04)

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  • 7 months later...

Anything and everything with Ikeda on the other side is a good place to start. He's all over Loss' top 100 rankings from '96 to '99 so they're great resources for dates. After that, look for the Murakami match from 11/26/00, the Ikeda singles from '05 and the 7/26/08 6-man.

 

Edit: also the '08 match with Greco Tim mentioned above for a pure mat showcase.

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The 7/26/08 trios would be up there with Atlantis-V3 and the best of Hashimoto, Samoa Joe, and Regal/Benoit/Finlay as the best stuff of the 2000s. I've called elsewhere the best match to occur since 2005 when I started reading the Wrestling Internet, and that might still be true. But that trios was truly exceptional as the height of shoot style in a "low dishonest decade" that could have used more of it.

 

The '05 Ishikawa-Ikeda match is good too. I was kind of surprised to hear Bix say that he didn't like their matches and that Otsuka (who will make my list) and Minoru Fujita (who won't) were the darlings of the fed in its first '96-'01 run.

 

Graham's writeup of Ishikawa's career is quite good, and I've always enjoyed the legend of him moving to Canada to work for Santino, which sounds like something out of the last season of Breaking Bad.

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The link to Ishikawa's thread in the index of nominees is broken.

 

I just did a big match dump for Navarro, so why not Ishikawa too? This one's gonna be real easy as Ishikawa's career is loaded with awesome and weird. As far as finding this stuff goes, the Best of BattlARTS compilation is a must have. Maybe you can find it in a torrent or something. IVP guy had it up for download for a while, maybe you can email him too.

 

Why Yuki Ishikawa is the greatest darn wrestler ever in 25 steps

 

1. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Duane Koslowski (PWFG 8/29/1993)

Tenacious baby Ishikawa makes a name for himself against the beastly olympian. Great young lions match, with plenty of fight and piss and vinegar. Crowd gets really into this.

 

2. Yuki Ishikawa/Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Don Arakawa/Carl Greco (Weekly Pro 2/4/1995)

Don Arakawa cranks up the stiffness. Ishikawa and Greco do some blow away great wrestling here. One of those matches you might find randomly on a japanese youtube channel and walk away with a smile on your face.

 

3. Yuki Ishikawa/Sho Funaki vs. Daisuke Ikeda/ Katsumi Usuda (PWFG 5/19/1995)

The demise of PWFG and it's UWF style brings forth the creation of the madness that is BattlARTS. Ishikawa and Ikeda introduce the style here by annihilating eachother. Funaki and Usuda also bring the goods.

 

Yuki Ishikawa/Sho Funaki vs. Daisuke Ikeda/Katsumi Usuda (BattlARTS 1/13/1996)

Bigger and better main event continuation of the previous match. They establish the Ishikawa/Ikeda dynamic aswell as Ishikawa as the mini-Fujiwaraish company ace.

 

4. Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka vs Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono (BattlARTS 10/30/96)

A real corker of a match. This is really BattlARTS at it's very essence. Violent, crazy pace, matwork interspersed with guys punching eachother in the jaw... Ikeda and Ono heel it up and Ishikawa makes them pay with some nasty submissions in the second half.

 

5. Yuki Ishikawa/Alexander Otsuka vs. Carl Greco/Victor Krueger (BattlARTS 12/4/1996)

Greco has top notch exchanges with everyone. What a shock! Even more shocking is that Ishikawa carries Krueger like it's nothing.

 

6. Yuki Ishikawa / Great Sasuke v. Gulliver X / Gulliver XX (12/26/1996)

Pirates invade BattlARTS!!!!. Ishikawa and Sasuke beat the shit out of these goons. I mean really they beat the absolute piss out of these guys considering this looks like a weird light hearted indy match on the surface. Ishikawa does a slingshot tope to crown the strangeness.

 

7. Daisuke Ikeda / Katsumi Usuda v. Yuki Ishikawa / Takeshi Ono (BattlARTS 1.21.1997)

Another tag classic. Gritty, hard fought, awesome mat exchanges, all four guys ruling it. This is also interesting because we get a role reversal where Ishikawa and Ono attack Ikeda's leg.

 

8. Yuki Ishikawa/Minoru Tanaka vs. Alexander Otsuka/Katsumi Usuda (BattlARTS 25.12.1997)

BattlARTS crew continues to rock. Lots of quality exchanges in this and Ishikawa carries his side of the team.

 

9. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda (BattlArts 9/1/97)

First classic in the series. And just under 15 minutes! The great thing about Ishikawa/Ikeda is that while all their matches guarantee brutality, they are all different from eachother. They dish out some insane punishment and do great on the mat, while still leaving plenty on the table for later matches.

 

Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda (BattlARTS 4/15/97)

Fantastic 30+ minute shootstyle clinic. Not for the faint of the heart, but they went out to prove something here and succeeded. Not an all out war like their other matches, but they do some spectacular wrestling.

 

Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda (BattlARTS 27.05.1998)

Streak of epic Ishikawa/Ikeda matches continues. And this is another fucking great fight and very possibly their best match so far. This worked more like an NJPW vs. UWF star match, Ishikawa channeling Fujinami, while Ikeda destroys him. Except this has better matwork and is much stiffer than most NJPW matches so... well.

 

10. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Carl Greco (BattlARTS 4/24/1998)

Ishikawa faces the beast the is Carl Greco. Greco is machine on the mat and may kick you in the face. Ishikawa presents himself as a real superstar on the mat here and finds nifty ways to counter the beast.

 

11. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Alexander Otsuka (BattlARTS 1/20/1998)

God damn Ishikawa was on a tear of epic matches in 1998. This expands on their previous match and really exemplifies how badass and innovative the BattlARTS guys could get. Otsuka as experimentalist grappler is brilliant and Ishikawa with his Fujiwara-ish no-nonsense approach is a great counter to him. This stomps any junior match that year.

 

12. Yuki Ishikawa v. Daisuke Ikeda (7.29.1999)

This may be the stiffest Ishikawa/Ikeda match to date. Think of the ground that covers. Both guys had previously worked matches that night as this is a tournament final, so they work this like a fight to death full of great exhaustion selling. Ishikawa is super aggressive here. They keep the match building and building, and the result is a slam-dunk MOTYC and one of the best BattlARTS singles matches.

 

13. Yuki Ishikawa v. Kazunari Murakami (11.26.2000)

This is a good of an intro to Ishikawa as I can think of. Murakami is a maniac. Ishikawa must counter this madness. Ishikawa takes a murderous beating and rules it on the mat. Super simple, fast pace, this is in your face greatness exemplified.

 

14. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Hiroyuki Ito (U-Style 9.10.2004)

Ishikawa faces U-Styles best in this rocking shootstyle match. One of the best of 2004.

 

15. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda (Futen 24.4.2005)

Their most famous match, and rightfully so. Terrifying brutal, but there's also some really nifty submission and counterwork going on here. Not just a spectacle, a great match all around.

 

16. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Alexander Otsuka (BML 11.9.2005)

Their best match to date. This is the debut BML show and they totally steal it. Not only is the matwork and hard hitting great, but they lay this out and time everything in such a way that you get almost a perfect TV match.

 

17. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Munenori Sawa (BattlARTS 5/13/2007)

The 2000s BattlARTS reemergence begins and Ishikawa establishes himself in his new role of carrying spotty youngsters. By beating the tar out of them and schooling them on the mat.

 

Intermission: Here is a laundry list of king sized Ishikawa carry jobs:

Ishikawa vs. Super Tiger II, 10/25/2008: Shitty ST2 gets to look world class thanks to Ishikawa leaning his face into his kicks and working for 2 on the mat.

Ishikawa vs. Ryuji Walter, 6/5/2009: Walter can punch you in the face really hard and not much else. That is enough for Ishikawa to expertly carry this into a pretty great 20 minute war.

Ishikawa vs. Sanshu Tsubakichi, 8/8/2010: Ishikawa twists this kid into pretzels.I

Ishikawa vs. Hideki Suzuki, 10/24/2010: Suzuki rocks a bizarre 70s style moveset and Ishikawa turns this into a really great unique match with some of the best selling you will ever see.

Ishikawa vs. Kawakami, BJW 1/17/2011: Ishikawa carries this limited BJW guy into his career match without breaking a sweat.

Ishikawa vs. Munenori Sawa, 6/19/2011: Their final confrontation. Ishikawa carries Sawa at the peak of Sawa's awfulness.

Yuki Ishikawa vs. Mitsuya Nagai (RJPW 9/21/2012): Broken down old Nagai was back to giving a shit during this period and Ishikawa makes the most out of it.

 

18. Yuki Ishikawa/Munenori Sawa/Alexander Otsuka vs. Daisuke Ikeda/Katsumi Usuda/Super Tiger II (BattlARTS 7/26/2008)

My gateway drug into the style, and among the best things done in this style. Ishikawa and Ikeda are the stars here and their epic face off near the end of this is among the most satisfying in wrestling history.

 

19. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Carl Greco (BattlARTs 6/9/2008)

Ishikawa faces the most dangerous BattlARTS matworker in an all-grappling match. An aquired taste, but I consider this match a borderline masterpiece. Great grappling and they tell a story.

 

20. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (Kana Produce 4/29/2010)

Japanese wrestling masters face off and this is a really nifty dream match. Both guys bring plenty to the table in a match that goes just about 10 minutes.

 

Intermission: here are the best Yuki Ishikawa Velocity style matches:

Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda (Michinoku Pro 12/15/1994): They shock unsuspecting Michinoku Pro fans in this frantic paced sub-10 minute. A pretty great shootstyle showcase as they hit the mat hard and beat the fuck out of eachother.

Ishikawa vs. Alexander Otsuka (Real Japan 6/19/2008)

Ishikawa vs. Alexander Otsuka (BattlARTS 10/1/2009) -> 2 great maestro vs. maestro style matches in under 10 minutes.

Yuki Ishikawa vs. Yujiro Yamamoto (Real Japan 10/25/2011): Ishikawa faces his best student in a slick, high end 7 minute contest.

 

21. Yuki Ishikawa/Carlos Amano vs. Kana/Yoshiaki Fujiwara (Kana Produce 1/10/2011)

Tremendously fun intergender match, Ishikawa assists Kana's transformation into a great wrestler and valiantly allows her to look like a killing machine.

 

22. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda (BattlARTS 11/5/2011)

Final BattlARTS face off. They go all out but are wise enough not to try and make this too "epic" for it's own good. Instead they beat the snot out of eachother, do nifty selling and have a great finish in the tradition of BattlARTS matches that end abruptly on a high note.

 

23. Yuki Ishikawa vs. AKIRA (Kana Produce 6/17/2012)

Kana continues to provide Ishikawa opportunities to rule. This is a great veteran vs. veteran match and a chance to see Ishikawa killing it while working an opponent who's a little outside his usual circle.

 

24. Yuki Ishikawa/Super Tiger II vs. Kazunari Murakami/Hidek Suzuki (Ishikawa Produce 1/13/2013)

BattlARTs is gone, but that doesn't stop Ishikawa from booking himself into getting massacred. Murakami looks like he did in 2000. Great mix of violent (Ishikawa vs. Murakami) and more technical sections (Ishikawa vs. Suzuki).

 

25. Yuki Ishikawa vs. George Terzis (Battle Arts 6/14/2014)

This marks the beginning of a really fun match series of semi retired Ishikawa carrying random scrubs as enthusiastic kids cheer him on.

 

Summary: Ishikawa has +20 years of greatness to his resume. The footage-wise patchy spots (mid 2000s) are compensated by a handful of outstanding matches during the period.

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Came across this quote from Ditch's interview with Ishikawa a few years back. Not a reason to vote for him exactly but it doesn't hurt:

 

Q: Why do you and Ikeda hit each other harder than any other wrestlers hit each other?

A: Because we are not hitting each other, we are hitting the fucking stupid people in the world who think that pro-wrestling is fake like a trained monkey show. They say that pro wrestling kicks are fake so it is not painful. etc. Once they see our fight, they have nothing to say. They watch our fight like a fool with their mouth open with surprise. So our violent fight is not only for our opponents but for the fucking people that make light of BATTLARTS. Our fight is anger towards people who make light of us.

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  • 5 years later...

Ishikawa was in my top 10 in 2016. He's added to his case since then with both his return to the ring and a number of unearthed matches from the last 25 years. I wonder if he may even be a potential number 1. Something for myself to consider at least.

@Grimmas
the link to this thread in the index of nominees is not working.

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On 4/16/2021 at 7:49 AM, Graham Crackers said:

Ishikawa was in my top 10 in 2016. He's added to his case since then with both his return to the ring and a number of unearthed matches from the last 25 years. I wonder if he may even be a potential number 1. Something for myself to consider at least.

@Grimmas
the link to this thread in the index of nominees is not working.

fixed

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On 4/16/2021 at 7:49 AM, Graham Crackers said:

Ishikawa was in my top 10 in 2016. He's added to his case since then with both his return to the ring and a number of unearthed matches from the last 25 years. I wonder if he may even be a potential number 1. Something for myself to consider at least.

 

Ishikawa does strike me as a stealth #1 contender if you're someone who has really immersed themselves in the style and followed his career. He was one of those guys who wasn't fully formed right away but was GOOD right away, got great and then stayed great forever. What do people think are his peak years?

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Hadn’t seen enough BattlArts the last time I voted to have him but I’ve grown to totally adore the dude. From the PWFG stuff to his wXw weekend last year, it’s rare to find any Ishikawa match that I don’t love Ishikawa in. Very much someone in play for my top 10, but he won’t be dropping any further than top 20.

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4 hours ago, Grimmas said:

fixed

Thank you!

4 hours ago, elliott said:

 

Ishikawa does strike me as a stealth #1 contender if you're someone who has really immersed themselves in the style and followed his career. He was one of those guys who wasn't fully formed right away but was GOOD right away, got great and then stayed great forever. What do people think are his peak years?

2008 into 2009 he has the epic against Carl Greco which is one of my five favorite matches of all time, the long six man elimination tag from 7/2008, and the International Lightweight Tag Team Championship match from 8/2008, and a B Rules match with Otsuka. A bunch of guys you'd never think of as elite have incredible singles matches with Ishikawa during this time period including Super Tiger II and Ryuji Walter.

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