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[1998-01-21-RINGS] Kiyoshi Tamura vs Mikhail Ilioukhine


Loss

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  • 1 month later...

Mika starts out the match using his size to his advantage and taking Tamura down. Once Tamura gets back to his feet, he throws a flurry of kicks that Mika is barely able to avoid. This gives him all the warning that he needs to go after the leg to try to neutralize the strikes of Tamura. Mika is absolutely suffocating on top, not giving or letting up an inch. Mika locks in a rings of saturn headscissors submission that is treated like a finisher 5 minutes in. Mika gets another near submission with a arm bar. I really enjoy seeing Volk Han giving him pointers on the outside. Finally, Tamura is able to strike with a head kick and it is treated as a huge transition in the match. Mika looks like a wounded bear gathering his bearings as Tamura stalks him with leg kicks and body shots. Luckily for Mika, he is able to take Tamura down and into a leg lock which the crowd explodes on. There is a beautiful story being told here. Tamura blows through another rope break off an arm submission. We are at a standing base as the crowd chants Tamura. You hear an audible groan as Mika gets too close again and is able to lock a body lock on. Tamura uses his speed to transition into an armbar and eventually a leg lock and Mika is the one that needs to utilize the rope break. Suddenly, Mika is looking tentative and winded due to the quickness and fear of Tamura. This match has done a better job than any other I can recall in utilizing the reset spot as each new sequence is different and all sequences play into the overall narrative of the match. We get dueling leg locks and then Tamura gets one of his better flurries of the match with a lot of knees sending Mika down. A body shot, punch and knee to the head has Mika prime for the picking. Mika drops down but Tamura is able to lock on the cross armbreaker and Mika must tap. This was one of my favorite shoot style matches of all time. (****1/2)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Tamura is a guy who consistently blows me away. I think I've always respected the skill it takes to be great at professional wrestling, but Tamura really delivers something that goes beyond the norm. The cardio needed to work this style is a pretty high standard, but on top of that, his technique and explosiveness is incredible. On top of that, he really understands the psychology and timing aspects of great pro wrestling and is tremendous at building to a series of moments - both where he's dishing out punishment and also where he's on the receiving end - that get a huge response from the crowd. This was just an unrivaled display of mat wrestling and was a super match.

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Let's get this party started! It didn't take long to get hot and, by Rings standards, had a generous duration. Tamura is such a gifted athlete with extraordinary instinct and movement on the deck. The Russian also stood out, the hours spent sparring with Han paying dividends. The Maestro was even dispensing advice from the apron in a nice touch. The noisy crowd were fully behind the native. They produced some fantastic submissions and reversals. During the standing exchanges Ilioukhine simply defended and tried to get back to the mat. The only downside was that it peaked a little too early and they were flagging the last couple of minutes. It's only in shoot style wrestling that you regularly see guys legit worn out. The best bout of January.

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Yeah, anyone who thinks shoot style is boring should watch this and re-assess. Tamura might well have been the best wrestler in the world at this point. But Ilioukhine also deserves great credit for being athletic and fit enough to go spot for spot with him. I liked the more fatigued work at the end because the duress was so obviously legitimate. Another classic from RINGS after a lights-out 1997. Thank heavens for them and Battlarts.

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  • 1 year later...

The dyanamic of Ilioukhine strength on the mat vs. Tamura's unmatchable speed in striking on the feet made this really compelling to add to all the great exchanges on the mat. Ilioukhine's strength on the mat really came down to his power -- Tamura showed plenty of technique but Ilioukhine was always able to power each exchange to his advantage early on. Tamura shows an advantage on the feet with his super quick striking, much faster than any strikes Ilioukhine can attempt to land. Even this takes a while to pay off as Ilioukhine is so big and powerful that he can even withstand headkicks without going down, but in time Tamura really wears him down and is able to take the advantage. It really turns when Tamura secures a clinch and unleashes a fury of knees to the head -- there's a great spot where Tamura has the clinch and Tamura is hitting knees while Ilioukhine is hitting body shots. At the end Tamura has done enough damage with strikes to lock in an armbar for the submission. Great story and some really awesome mat work especially toward the beginning, and a really good crowd that buys a lot of the submission attempts. Real MOTYC.

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Yep, that's a MOTYC. I thought Tamura carried this totally but Mikhail to his credit didn't fuck anything up, and did a great job of matching Tamura as they were in dueling leglocks at several points during the match. Mikhail's other high point was his back-and-forth rolling to try to escape a knee bar, which was almost something you might see on World of Sport but works seamlessly in RINGS here. Tamura continues to be the Best in the World ™, a master class in striking, mat working, and good old wrasslin'-style theatrics.

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  • 1 month later...

I believe this is my very first RINGS match. I may have seen stray clips of a Volk Han match, but I do think this is my first full viewing of a match. Tamura is incredibly awesome. This was a huge improvement over the last match and definitely something to revisit.

 

RATING: Kiyoshi Fucking Tamura.

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  • 1 year later...

Some pretty high end shootstyle mat exchanges in this contest, which shouldn't come as a surprise considering it's super athlete Tamura vs. A whacky Sambo artist. Match got really great whenever Ilioukhine was outgrappling Tamura and forced him to come up with something. Ilioukhine avoiding losing points when he was knocked off his feet hinted at the Tamura as a surperior striker story, which is not his strongest suit, and selling that shit wasn't Ilioukhine's strongest suit either. I was slightly disappointed by how easily Tamura won this one considering how awesome the earlier sections were. Borderline great match.


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  • GSR changed the title to [1998-01-21-RINGS] Kiyoshi Tamura vs Mikhail Ilioukhine
  • 5 months later...

Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Mikhail Ilioukhine - RINGS 1/21/98 Mega-Battle Tournament Final

A lot of people liked that Kohsaka vs Ilioukhine match but I thought it was just very good and again I feel like I am step below most other people on this match. There is something about Misha that does nothing for me. He is a stocky, powerful brute and he does not have much charm. He is actually able to impose his will on Tamura early and often. He forced at least three if not four rope breaks before Tamura scored a knockdown. It is not that Tamura looked lost, but he just couldnt get anything going. Misha was getting standing wristlocks and armbars and turning them into cross armbreakers. This fight was more about Tamura's stand up. In the RINGS, I have watched it seems more like a grappling promotion, but Tamura was committed to the stand up game. It almost cost him on a couple occasions. The first go around Miswa caught the foot and Tamura went for a wild back heel kick and lost his balance. Misha closed in with a deep guillotine choke. Tamura eventually did make in-roads. First with a Judy Martin like Kick of Fear, then a legsweep and then a finally a head kick that sent the stocky Russian down. That became the story of the match Tamura trying to avoid the submission and just knock the Russian off his feet. They do my least favorite spot in wrestling: the bundle of leglocks. At least these two apply it properly with the anklecrosses but still it feels like they are just hugging one and another's legs. Upon stand up, Tamura gets him in the clinch and just starts rocking him with the knees. The end feels nigh. Misha gets some token offense, but Tamura knocks him down again and submits him with a cross armbreaker to win the Mega Battle Tournament. 

Definitely a great standup vs wrestling match and showed how stand up could be effectively used to defend against the takedown and then be converted into offense. Tamura is a wizard of spinning around in submissions and because he only sells in certain moments when he does register pain or scramble for the ropes you know it is a big deal. Tamura just wore down the stocky Russian with a lot of kicks and it seemed like Misha blowed up on his own. Tamura took it. I saw a great match, but not an extraordinary one. ****

 

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  • 1 year later...

This ruled. Mikhail looked like a legitimate threat on the ground whereas Tamura on his feet is so quick and dangerous. When Mikhail's able to grab a hold of something (i.e. the head-and-arm choke takedown), it looks brutal but Tamura's beautiful escapes (and failed attempts) keep you on the edge of your seat. Never a dull moment. Tamura just cracks him with kicks and later on, crumples him with some gnarly knee strikes to the dome. But there was a lot to love here. 1) Mikhail grabbing the straight armbar and when Tamura tries to slip out, Mikhail rodeos him down to the ground, forcing the rope break. 2) The German suplex tease and Tamura's lightning-quick counter. 3) Tamura staying in control of the leg as Mikhail scrambles for a way out. World-class athleticism from Tamura and a strong victory. And yeah, Volk Han berating the losing Ilioukhine with water was very good. 

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