[1992-01-25-RINGS] Akira Maeda vs Dick Vrij

[superkix]

I thought this was on par with their second match in terms of quality but obviously, less of a Dick Vrij beatdown and more of an evenly-matched contest. I like that it immediately builds off their previous encounter with Maeda catching Vrij’s first kick and delivering the capture suplex. But he can’t follow up and for the most part, neither has the advantage. Vrij targets Maeda’s bum left leg and Maeda’s selling is always subtle but good, in that his movements are a little slower and his kicks weaker, which Vrij taunts him with. As Vrij begins to show off some of that dominance with his strikes, knocking Maeda on his ass a few times and busting his nose with a kick, Maeda’s able to squeeze out the victory by snagging a heel hook out of nowhere.

[Makai Club #1]

Good match. It’s not on a par with the other matches of their trilogy but an awesome one nonetheless. Most of the best RINGS matches are when they have pro wrestling elements in, like Maeda’s matches do. Maeda was on the defensive, kicking some nasty shots in the side of the body by Vrij (or Fry as the package showed). Maeda had a few good shots of his own which was all he needed and made a great comeback.