Comprehensive CMA Gym #1

           (Written by jom)

Kei Tsukada vs. Takeshi Miyamoto (Union Pro 12/25/1994)

    Starting off is a straight singles match between the two men in question for this series, and my lord does it go hard. Maybe the best way to express how great this rivalry was is the feeling out process of this match, which consists of both guys taking potshots at each other just to see what'll work and what doesn't. Tsukada lands one or two blows to the face and Miyamoto lands a few cracking leg kicks, and we've got ourselves this match's story. Tsukada is a wrestler that really falls perfectly into that category of "based glove punchy guy" that is also occupied by Toba and Shinjuku Same, most of his punches don't come off as one-hit killers but he goes so absolutely nuts with combinations that it seems like any string of punches he throws could stop the match right there.

    Meanwhile, Miyamoto fought like he was on a mission from god to destroy Tsukada's leg. He dished out some fucking insane kicks all over Tsuakada's body, but whenever he shot at the leg it seemed borderline cruel, with every single one of them producing a sickening noise that really has to be heard to be believed. He didn't just throw outside leg kicks either, as seen right here when he throws a truly evil kick to the inner thigh that pretty much took Tsukada's mobility away for the rest of this round.

    The finishing stretch of this match was just fucking amazing too. Really wrapping the story together, Tsukada went for a crazy windup punch but Miyamoto just barely caught him with one more kick to the inner thigh, which just cripples Tsukada right away. Tsukada was able to get a few more killer shots in on Miyamoto after this and even got Miyamoto down to a 7 count, but the end result of the match was pretty much known after that thigh kick. A couple head kicks and a real stiff side headlock are all it takes for Miyamoto to get the win.

    This is probably all you would want from a straight "Karate vs Boxing" match. Both guys threw caution to the wind and held back nothing with their strikes, resulting in some awesome action. Definitely check this one out if you enjoy this type of wrestling at all, you won't regret it.

Rating: B+

Isamu Teranishi & Takeshi Miyamoto vs. Masahiko Takasugi & Kei Tsukada (Tokyo Pro 02/23/1995)

    This was a very different match from the last one. While the last was a different style fight with a karateka and boxer going as hard as possible, this was more of a fun undercard tag, but Miyamoto and Tsukada still were able to make the best of it with their own brand of violence, while also showing that in the last two months, both guys had gotten significantly more pro-wrestling in their arsenals.

    Just to get it out of the way, Teranishi and Takasugi did next to nothing in what was shown, so I won't be really talking about them at all here. Tsukada was much more like Toba in this match than he was in the last one, still peppering Miyamoto and Teranishi with punches but also throwing in some awesome diving punches like the one seen below.

    Miyamoto meanwhile was way more vicious than the last match, at one point dragging Tsukada outside the ring to attack him with a chair. He also incorporated more grappling into his moves, like this pretty damn good german suplex he hit Tsukada with near the end of the match.

    Very soon after this, the match ended with Miyamoto rolling up Tsukada for the three count. This was definitely a step down in terms of overall quality compared to the last match, but it absolutely served its purpose well and showed that both Miyamoto and Tsukada had been developing themselves into becoming more suitable as wrestlers than solely being different style fighters.

Rating: B-

Kei Tsukada vs. Takeshi Miyamoto (Go Gundan 01/16/1996)

    I'm not even going to give a preamble or anything. This match was fucking phenomenal. Miyamoto and Tsukada both had a perfect understanding of how best to blend pro wrestling and martial arts at this point, and the crowd at this show were red hot for this match, resulting in one of the best different style fights I've ever seen.

    Tsukada was absolutely on fire here. At this point in his career he's integrated spinning backfists into his moveset and jesus christ they're disgusting. He's also still doing the diving punches which the crowd love, as well as throwing some of the hardest punches I've ever seen him throw, busting Miyamoto's nose open with the combination shown below.

    Miyamoto absolutely responded in kind however. He blasted Tsukada throughout the match with his signature kicks, mostly targeting the stomach this time around and probably giving Tsukada digestive issues for the rest of his life. This culminated in an amazing moment where Miyamoto was seemingly down for the count and Tsukada turned away to start celebrating, before Miyamoto did this:

    Miyamoto at this point had also introduced powerbombs into his arsenal, and my lord was he destroying Tsukada with those powerbombs. Most of them were borderline deadlifting too, which really goes to show how insanely powerful Miyamoto was. Eventually, the match ended with Miyamoto hitting a final disgusting powerbomb, only for the bell to ring before he could get a 3 count, ending the match in a time limit draw.

    I said it at the beginning but it bears repeating, this match was fucking wonderful. Possibly the best match these two ever had, a perfect example of the pure violence these types of matches can produce and more proof that CMA Gym was filled with killers.

Rating: A