Loss Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Talk about it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Schneider Posted October 13, 2012 Report Share Posted October 13, 2012 This is a matchup that can be really great, but this wasn’t one of those times. Really listless for large sections of the match, with neither guy showing much emotion. Individual spots were okay, but this felt like they were sleepwalking. They heated it up for the finish, but at that point it really was too little too late. This was the worst match on the card which is pretty bad for you two biggest stars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted October 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 I don't think this was a great match, but it was a really good one that felt like a big main event. Takada is the aggressor for most of this while Maeda works from underneath, which is not the role I am used to seeing him in. Takada shows a lot more fire than I often see from him in his more acclaimed matches. Maeda's 3/4 crab (a half crab and a half-half crab) was a highlight for me. As the match progresses, Maeda, despite having taken more punishment, looks fresher, and this match starts to look like a big rope-a-dope. Maeda starts to look like the surefire winner as the match gets close the finish. In the end, it wasn't enough to close the gap and Takada outskills him and comes back yet again. This was a nice story, and it feels like a chapter in a feud more than it does a great match on its own. There are probably some 1988-1989 prerequisites worth checking out to appreciate this even more, but I did like this a standalone match quite a bit. Very simple, but very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteF3 Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Hah--I liked the first UWF match and found this to be everything I hate about the style. Circle each other, trade holds, get up, circle each other some more. Every so often unleash a shoot kick to keep people's attention. That's a gross oversimplification of course and there was stuff to like here, but it felt like trawling through a sea of nothing much happening. I didn't get a sense that either man was ever in danger outside of some work over the cross armbreaker towards the beginning and Maeda trying to escape the anklelocks at the very end. Yeah, I get that building parity was the point but there are ways to show parity outside of getting up and resetting 38 times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Ridge Posted November 2, 2012 Report Share Posted November 2, 2012 Tough to watch early as seemed to drag on with neither guy doing match. I can really only get into Takada when he is going up against American pro wrestlers. Crowd was pretty into match though. Takada gets in a shot to Maeda's face which effects his vision. It's gets going at the end and Takada gets the ankle lock on. Overall, near the bottom of the matches on set so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childs Posted November 2, 2012 Report Share Posted November 2, 2012 Unlike Pete, I'm a fan of UWF style. But I agree that this match encompassed a lot of the worst of it. I didn't mind the pauses and restarts for rope breaks and knockdowns. I did mind the numerous sections of listless matwork, a common problem for Takada and an occasional problem for Maeda. The groundwork in Yamazaki/Anjoh, for example, reached a whole different level of intensity. The Takada/Maeda match-up worked best when they went to war standing, as they did on 11/10/88. I did like the finish, with Takada taking Maeda's ankle in a neat way and Maeda really selling his desperation to get out before tapping. I also liked Takada's little celebration, putting over how big a deal it was to beat the ace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soup23 Posted November 3, 2012 Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 This would have been on the verge of a great match with some editing. It did have a unique finish and a big main event feel. I also enjoyed Maeda's strategy for the most part and the crab looked brutal. Takada really playing up the win also solidified the magnitude of the victory. Good match that could have been much better with a few subtractions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cox Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 I was bored with most of this, though they built well towards what I assume was an upset finish. I enjoyed the previous match a lot more. A large part of this was worked like a boring UFC fight, about 20 years before anybody knew what a boring UFC fight was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted December 1, 2012 Report Share Posted December 1, 2012 This had some cool kicks and things at the start, but lots of tentative stuff and laying around on the mat and shouting. Occasionally -- and for me this is the worst sin of any submission hold -- I couldn't see how the hold was actually meant to hurt. Sitting on someone's back or just holding their arm in and of itself isn't painful and all-in-all there's quite a lot of that. In my mind that is almost absurd: guys, you are MAKING THIS UP, that means within the confines of your ability, you can do pretty much anything you want, so you CHOOSE to spend a huge portion of the match laying on the floor doing moves that don't always look that painful? I don't understand that, I don't understand that mentality. That said, the 3/4 crab did look mean, but how many matches can you think of where the HIGH SPOT is a bloody Boston crab? I do like the shoot kicks though, they are cool. But this is just not my scene at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenjo Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 The meat of the match was solid fare, reasonable without being spectacular. Some toukon shown by Takada in submissions. What made it were the bookends. Lively opening with a big match feel. Then an excellent finish with Maeda desparately struggling before succumbing. Just beforehand he had been rocked legit by a nasty shot to the eye. Big win for Takada as he takes out the UWF top dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laney Posted April 22, 2013 Report Share Posted April 22, 2013 This match had its moments for the most part it was pretty dull. Maeda seemed to be in control for most of this match, but Takada was able to throw him off his game when he gets a shot to Maeda's eye that impairs his vision. Good finish which reasonably allows a rematch. Awesome leg capture suplex in this as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheapshot Posted November 1, 2013 Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 I was expecting good things in this but it didn't deliver for me apart from the finish where the crowd popped huge for the ankle lock, and then the submission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 I'm with the majority here. This seemed to really drag, and I had a hard time remaining focused on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DR Ackermann Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 Two guys going out and pretending to have a boring fight. What's the point? It was tough following Yamazaki vs Anjoh, but still. The crowd was into it but they probably thought it was real. Least favorite match so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garretta Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 Again I seem to have a contrary opinion. The entire purpose of shoot style is to avoid being knocked down or having to use the ropes to break a submission hold. Matches worked with this in mind, like this one, can be very exciting; the trouble is that there are some shoot-style matches that are worked almost like amateur matches, only without the possibility of pinfalls. In other words, each man is trying to put the other on his back for no reason whatsoever, which leads to interminable boredom for a lot of people. Fortunately, Maeda and Takada remembered what they were there for and delivered. Maeda controlled most of this match by trying to break Takada's ankle with the three-quarter crab, and for a while, it seemed almost like a squash. But then Takada got that shot to the face in, slapped on the anklelock, and all of a sudden it was over, to the crowd's delight. I'm still not as keen on shoot-style as on "regular" pro wrestling, and I'm not sure I'd buy another set like the Other Japan 80s set where most of the bouts are worked this way, but a well-done bout like this is a nice change of pace from the American style here and there on a long set like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Guitar Posted September 30, 2015 Report Share Posted September 30, 2015 I found this a real slog to get through. But that is probably down to my unfamiliarity with this style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drew wardlaw Posted October 24, 2015 Report Share Posted October 24, 2015 A Sundays song to open disc 2! I'm curious to see what other treats are on these discs. I liked this one more than Anjoh/Yamazaki. The two biggest stars in the promotion going at it. Again, with this style, there's always a fine line between pro wrestling and play fighting. I actually didn't find the submission holds very boring and I liked the bursts of kicks and strikes going into the mat stuff. Mean Maeda is a few years out from breaking Choshu's eye and he hasn't gotten any nicer it looks like. really good drama when Takada hits Maeda's eye and is finally able to get an upper hand. The crowd was really feeling it and there was a great struggle during the ankle lock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soup23 Posted October 24, 2015 Report Share Posted October 24, 2015 "Here's where the Story Ends" is still my favorite song an any yearbook menu disc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawho5 Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Was not a fan of this. Long stretches of not much interesting at all happening killed it for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactus Posted October 8, 2017 Report Share Posted October 8, 2017 This is hard to rate. Most of this match was grappling that went nowhere, it just felt like a boring shot. Very dull. However, there are moments sprinkled throughout where I can see why this match was included on this set. I loved Maeda's comeback where he hits a gorgeous capture suplex. Takada showed great fire when he has a fighting chance against the superior fighter, and he sold the fatigue of the fight brilliantly. The eyepoke spot create some compelling drama the pop at the finish of the match was deafening. I would of enjoyed this a lot more if it was clipped, I reckon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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