FU*CK! 01/14/2007

          (Written by jom)

Shinigami Shuucho vs. JET Shinomura

    Starting us off is a weird spooky demon thing vs. a karateka. Once again, Shiratori shows himself to be the goat booker. The ref enters the ring and Shuucho's theme starts to play, but he doesn't appear from the doorway. Some time passes before the camera pans down and

    Shinomura eventually rushes Shuucho while he's attacking fans and the match begins. The actual match was honestly nothing special for 90% of it. Shuucho did only tomahawk chops (that is, attacking Shinomura with his actual tomahawk) while Shinomura threw alright kicks in response. Eventually they brawl to the outside where I learn this is falls count anywhere, and Shuucho goes to open the garage door of the J2K dojo. The door lifts up and he sees... this.

    I'll be entirely honest here. This might be the first time I have ever truly been taken aback like this. When Koriki Senshu appeared and lost immediately, I was surprised but still able to somewhat see what was going on. When Takaku Fuke disappeared and reappeared as Takaku Pehlwan, I was shocked but could also see how this happened. When a fucking gorilla appeared to beat up Shuucho, leading to Shinomura getting the win, I was absolutely flabbergasted. There is no way to interpret this. There is no way to make sense of this. This is pure, unmitigated chaos.

Rating:

Great Ninja vs. Yoshiaki Iwata

    Great Ninja, contrary to his extremely intriguing name, is just a dude who wears a lotta clothes in this match. I did have a solid amount of hope for his performance as previously I had seen him doing good work with Toby Klein and Mad Man Pondo in one of FU*CK!'s annual tag team tournaments. Yoshiaki Iwata, meanwhile, I had never seen before this match, and based on his street clothes I wasn't expecting much.

    Contrary to my initial predictions, Iwata was definitely the better guy in this match. A lot of his stuff was genuinely pretty crisp, with a very solid dropkick and this awesome running knee:

    Ninja was alright here as well, at one point locking in a nice one-legged bow and arrow stretch (before immediately letting go of it because he couldn't balance Iwata properly on his knee). He also hit a good frog splash to get the win. I truly don't think this was anything worth going out of your way to see, but it also was entirely inoffensive and at least introduced me to Iwata, who I'll hopefully be seeing more of in the future.

Rating: C

Mammoth Handa, Hideki Shioda, & Killer Master vs. Toshiya Iwata, MASADA, & Konaka = Pehlwan

    Such an absolutely stacked six-man tag on paper. Shioda is solid, Master is solid, Konaka is awesome, MASADA (the American one) is usually sweet in his FU*CK! appearances, and Handa is fucking hilarious. The only person I'd never seen before this was Iwata, who based on the last name and the resemblance I assume is the brother of Yoshiaki Iwata from the previous match. But yeah, going into this I was excited to see what happens here.

    Thankfully my expectations were 100% met because this was just the best type of car crash. Awesome crazy stuff throughout with much of it courtesy of MASADA being a total menace. Early on he hit an insane powerbomb to Master onto a bunch of the audience's chairs, and he spent a lot of this match just absolutely destroying Master with moments like this:

    He didn't only destroy Master though, as he also went crazy on Handa with some sick shots with the ladder and another spot that we will get to very soon.

    Everyone else also delivered the goods here. Konaka of course was awesome as usual, just being a weird little fucker throwing Kawada kicks using his heel (I can't really explain it but you'd understand if you saw it) and just spitting on people because of course he did. Shioda and Master also did pretty sweet here, doing some cool juniors stuff like Shioda's strike combo into a nice russian leg sweep and Master's beautifully ugly moonsault press. Iwata, similar to how I had never seen him before this match, was absolutely nowhere to be seen for most of it. His one notable moment was completely missing a shining wizard, so probably not the best first impression possible.

    The best person in this match besides MASADA was Handa. This guy is fucking amazing. I truly believe that at this point, Handa could not have been a trained wrestler, because I refuse to believe any trained wrestler would do the things he did. At one point, MASADA tried to whip him into the ropes, but Handa just... stopped running. It has been long understood that the irish whip, no matter how nonsensical it is, is 100% legitimate in the world of professional wrestling. Handa said "fuck that this shit is fake" and I applaud him for his bravery. MASADA however does not and truly brutalizes him, of course with the ladder shots mentioned previously but also with this, what I believe is maybe the most fucked up fireball I have ever seen:

    The best part? When MASADA went for the cover after this, the ref decided "hey, you guys are too close to the ropes", so he REFUSED to count the pinfall. MASADA pulled Handa to the center of the ring and hit a fucking moonsault (something I had no idea he could even do) to finally get the win. This was just an absolute trainwreck in more ways than one, and I loved every second of it. Also, as I'm writing this, I just realized that MASADA was seemingly trying to go for the cover as Handa's leg was still very much on fire. Truly an all-time moment.

Rating: B+

Different Style Rules: Kenji Fukimoto vs. Hideaki Sumi

    Four months ago, Fukimoto and Sumi had a different style fight and it rocked my fucking world. By the time it reached its conclusion, it had become my favorite match to ever take place in FU*CK! (outside of Mambo/Shioda of course). After Sumi's victory he went on an absolute warpath, beating Takuya Fujiwara, Yoshiaki Iwata, and Yoshihiro Kawaguchi in Different Style Fights. However, the original match to start this war on pro wrestling, no matter how amazing it was, ended on an unfulfilling note with the ref calling the match prematurely due to Fukimoto's blood loss. When a match that heated ends in such a way, there's really only one thing you can do: RUN. IT. BACK. Four months later, here we are.

    Of course, I did have some worries. The previous match they had was phenomenal stuff, and living up to that would be difficult. I was excited but also preparing for potential disappointment. However, when I saw that the match started with this:

    I knew immediately that oh baby, I'm in for a god damn ride. Contrary to the first match they had, Sumi was in total control for this first round. He decimated Fukimoto with some awesome combos, leading Fukimoto to start bleeding within the first minute of the match. He also was a lot more vicious than before, ignoring the ref on multiple occasions just to get more shots in. Fukimoto, for his part, was much calmer and collected than he was four months prior. He didn't rush in to brawl and he didn't use weapons like he did in the past. He kept his distance, trying to measure out any opportunities he could take. While he was totally dominated in the first round because of this strategy, it started to bear fruit in the second one, with him pulling off this awesome counter:

    Fukimoto's grappling onslaught continued on through the second round, with Sumi at first refusing to use rope breaks before eventually being forced to due to Fukimoto's hyperfocus on his arm. The second round ends and Fukimoto refuses to let go of a gross armbar, leading to JET Shinomura (Sumi's second for the match) coming in and kicking the shit out of him before a bunch of FU*CK! regulars rushed the ring to force Shinomura out.

    The third round was really the total bomb-throwing portion of the match though, with Fukimoto and Sumi absolutely worn out and throwing it all out there in an attempt to finally finish this. Sumi hit more of his awesome combos, and Fukimoto hit some great strikes of his own, especially an awesome lariat he hit while the ref was trying to force Sumi off of him. Finally, Fukimoto was able to take the advantage, and, in the ultimate tribute to the Different Style Fights that clearly had major inspiration on this whole rivalry, hit this gnarly Fire Thunder Powerbomb on Sumi:

    Fukimoto then picked Sumi up and hit one final hard brainbuster, leading to Sumi staying down for the 10 count and giving Fukimoto a decisive win over the invading karateka.

    After the match, Fukimoto and Sumi had a silent staredown, and it seemed like Fukimoto was going to go for a handshake. However, Sumi kept his distance, so Fukimoto started to leave. Right before he could walk out though, Sumi called him back over and after a little more hesitation, the two finally shook hands.

    Truly a great match, one that lives up to the expectations set by the original match they had while adding a lot to it. Fukimoto coming in with a new strategy to defeat his karateka rival was awesome, and Sumi's developing evilness was truly amazing. Totally what you would want from these two, and hopefully I'll be able to find more interactions between them in the future.

Rating: A

Dragon Soldier LAW vs. Takaku Fuke

    Once again, FU*CK! follows up an insane Different Style Fight between Fukimoto and Sumi with a FU*CK! regular taking on an unsung MMA legend. This time, Dragon Soldier LAW is here to fight for FU*CK!'s honor, and he's taking on Takaku Fuke, Pancrase pioneer and all-around badass. Before the match, a bunch of clips played of Mammoth Handa, Killer Master, and Hideki Shioda repeatedly ambushing DSL and attempting to cut off pieces of his hair. I'm not really sure what caused these three to be so hell-bent on getting one of DSL's locks, but it certainly was entertaining to watch. DSL also came out here wearing MMA gloves because he's facing Fuke, meaning it's real shooter hours baby.

    In terms of the actual match, it sadly turned out to be nothing special. DSL, while a lot of fun, is kinda meh in the ring, only doing some cool weird flipping headbutts and a nice stunner. Fuke meanwhile was seemingly off his game, hitting some strikes with a lot of weakness and generally seeming to not be entirely sure how he should be wrestling. He did have a couple really awesome moments where he countered DSL into some tight holds, like this one shown below:

    Eventually, DSL tapped out to an armbar from Fuke... for about 25 seconds straight, during which the ref seemingly kept asking "do you actually want to tap out?", before realizing that yes, DSL does want to tap out and at this point Fuke has probably broken DSL's elbow, set it back in place, and then broken it again.

    Overall, this was fine, but sadly didn't live up to be anything more than that. Fuke and DSL seemingly couldn't mesh at all, and it wasn't in a funny way either. After the match, Hideaki Sumi came out and challenged Fuke, and that is a match that I have to see if it actually ended up happening. Fuke leaves and after DSL cuts a show-ending promo, Handa, Master, and Shioda all rush him one last time, getting one more piece of hair for whatever collection they've got going. Once again, Long Live FU*CK!.

Rating: B-

Comprehensive Rikiya Fudo #2

              (Written by jom)

Yusaku & Koki Kitahara vs. Daisaku & Tomohiro Ishii (CAPTURE International 05/30/2000)

    Starting us off is one of the very few publicly available CAPTURE matches from before the 2022 broadcasts started. Besides this match, another on the CAPTURE channel, and three TV broadcasts from 2002-2003, there's absolutely nothing in full online. I guess we do have to thank Koki for gracing us with this match at least, because on paper, this sounds phenomenal. You have the Shimoda brothers facing off in their early shooter days, Ishii fully embracing Tenryuism and the CAPTURE ideology before Choshu ruined him, and of course, the god of CAPTURE himself, Koki fucking Kitahara. Also, Yusaku is wearing matching gear with Kitahara, which is just so powerful.

    Yusaku was definitely tied for the best part of this match with Ishii. He came in and did a ton of the same stuff he does today, but with less of a domineering force behind it and more youthful enthusiasm to everything. He threw the same types of headbutts, forearms, and lariats that he hit in CAPTURE just a few months ago, but they all came off as much more energetic rather than powerful, which definitely still works and fit with him at this point considering he was a young rookie wrestler.

    As said when talking about Yusaku, Ishii was absolutely tied with him as the best guy here. He came in with a lot of hate (the appropriate way to enter a match for CAPTURE), throwing a ton of closed fist punches and hard kicks, all while coming off as having little to no respect for neither Yusaku nor Kitahara. His punches especially were harrowing, as I'm 99% sure he held back nothing when just destroying the face of Yusaku.

    Daisaku was also pretty damn good throughout, throwing some hard strikes and especially going in with a few stiff knees. I feel like while he didn't do a ton of memorable stuff, what he did do was really well executed and he deserves praise for that. Kitahara shockingly was the weakest link. He wasn't really a factor until half the match had gone by, and the stuff he did just wasn't as good as what the other three did. I do wanna shout out the pretty awesome powerbomb he did to Ishii onto Daisaku, definitely was not expecting to see that but it made for a memorable moment near the end of the match.

    I think that overall, this match rocked a good bit, but also never really got to a point where I would call it great. It was a little disjointed overall and it never felt like it hit a 2nd gear for me, but that 1st gear it stayed in was pretty damn brutal and made for a fun watch. Also, after the match, Ishii and Kitahara get into a pull-apart brawl and Fugofugo Yumeji (who came out to try and break it up) gets hit with a stray spinning sole kick from Kitahara, which does in my eyes bump this up a grade.

Rating: B

Rikiya Fudo & Hirotaka Yokoi vs. Kazushi Miyamoto & Tomoaki Honma (Kings Road 05/26/2006)

    This match is from the only Kings Road show not broadcast on Samurai! TV. Originally this whole show was thought to be completely unattainable, but thanks to Miyamoto and his absolutely awesome YouTube channel, we are finally able to watch at least a handheld the main event. There's bound to be more matches in this series from the channel considering Fudo and Miyamoto are seemingly good friends and Fudo has worked a shit ton for Miyamoto and his Kazushigumi fed. Plus, Miyamoto just barely missed out on his own Comprehensive, so you know he's got the jom seal of approval and you should definitely subscribe to his channel if you haven't already. 

    I also do want to say before anything else that anything said in reference to Honma here is referring to him as a wrestler and not as a person. I don't know as much as I probably should about the accusations that have been put against him, and I've heard other talks of his less than favorable character outside the ring not connected to the abuse allegations by his ex-wife. As far as I'm concerned, there's a solid chance Honma is a genuinely bad person and that shouldn't be covered up just because of his abilities in the ring. I'll probably go more into detail about my opinions on "separating art from the artist" whenever I eventually review an Apache Pro show (hell, I might even do a larger write-up about it because I think there's a lot to say), but in short anything said positively about him here is in reference to the isolated performance he did in this match, and not any sort of advocation for him to continue to wrestle today.

    This was a very different tag match from the one we just covered, as while that one was based around a clear tone of brutality, this one had a lot of ebbs and flows in pacing that made it much more fleshed out. It somewhat toed the line between being a Strong BJ style beef-off with hard stiff strikes (particularly lariats) and impactful slams, and a more traditional old-school tag match with an almost house show flavor to it.

    Turmeric Storm were in prime form here. Honma was very solid as he usually was at this point, doing everything with a lot of hardness and just generally being a really cohesive wrestler. Miyamoto was definitely on a much higher level than him here though. This was Miyamoto's time in the sun, working as the ace for a solidly bankrolled promotion that was on TV for every one of their shows besides this one, so of course he brought it all. He came off as the next coming of Tenryu in a lot of ways, doing a lot of similar movements and selling and even popping off some Tenryu moves like the face kicks. That's not to say he was only hitting tribute moves, as he definitely was proving that his own wrestling was just as good as the wrestling he was paying homage too, best seen here in this awesome sequence with both opponents:

    Hirotaka Yokoi also put in a pretty awesome performance, busting out hard kicks and punches and doing some great MMA grappling to contrast hard with everyone else in this match having a lariat-off. He was a really great outsider to the beefy bruisers and had some great moments throughout.

    However, of course, Rikiya Fudo put in a star-making performance as always. He had amazing chemistry with both guys but particularly with Miyamoto, having some real scrappy fights filled with stiff forearms and Vader hammers aplenty. He also got to do some genuinely shocking big match style moves towards the end, hitting a particularly fucked up combination on Miyamoto that had me rewind at least 10 times to watch it over and over again. The most notable move in this match however would come in the latter half when Fudo was in the ring with Honma. Honma gets thrown into the corner and...

    In one stiff as fuck lariat by Fudo, Honma's throat is crushed and his voice is forever fucked. That's right, this match is the match where Honma got his now trademark scratchy voice, courtesy of a Fudo corner lariat. Knowing what we know now about Honma, there's a certain level of catharsis to seeing this.

    The match overall was amazing. Everyone involved played their part to perfection and it resulted in a real gem of a match that we cannot thank Miyamoto enough for making public. Our boy Fudo was wrestling at top level here, Miyamoto was working at an equal or even higher level than Fudo, and Yokoi and Honma held their own in a match with those two behemoths. Go out of your way to see this if you can put up with Honma being in it, because it was just fucking awesome.

Rating: A-

Rikiya Fudo vs. Daisuke Kanehira (HEAT-UP! 06/19/2020)

    Once again, we arrive at the 2020s for another of Fudo's more recent matches. This time he's taking on Kanehira in the HEAT-UP! dojo, wrestling in front of approximately zero fans as the pandemic was currently in full-swing when this match happened.

    The lack of fans didn't stop either of these guys from going at 100% though, because they fucking killed each other here in a way that I honestly can't begin to describe properly. Kanehira was just great here, throwing some sickening chops and knees, holding his own against the larger, more dangerous Fudo. He at one point absolutely destroyed Fudo with this sickening combo, shown below:

    Fudo meanwhile was in full Vader mode, doing some disgusting Vader hammers and at one point even doing his own violence party using Vader hammers and chops. He also hit his horrifying shotgun kick, which I honestly believe is the best execution of said move I might have ever seen.

    Overall, this match just ruled sooooooo much. I wish my review of it could be longer and more thought-out but this is the type of match that has to be seen to be truly understood. It's just total violence from two guys that obviously came into this match planning to dish some out. For my money, one of the best matches of 2020 and a testament to just how transcendent of a wrestler Rikiya Fudo is. 

Rating: A

The Comprehensive Super Rider

              (Written by jom)

    In professional wrestling and especially in Japanese professional wrestling, there have been a lot of "tie-in" wrestlers. Guys like Jushin Thunder Liger sit at the helm of this category, with more obscure tie-ins such as WYF's Cosmic Angels and Ultraman Robin acting as the official wrestling representatives for the own respective brands. However, the most famous of all of these tie-ins is most definitely the Tiger Mask persona, which is undeniably most connected to Satoru Sayama. Sayama's legacy forever shaped professional wrestling, both in the pro and shoot styles, and he himself ended up having a direct hand in keeping that legacy alive through his training. Guys like Koki Kitahara, Naomichi Marufuji, Naoyuki Taira, Super Tiger II, and Tiger Mask IV all went through Sayama's arduous training in the Super Tiger Gym. However, the man we're talking about in this article is not only one of Sayama's first proteges, but a fellow tie-in wrestler as well.

    That man is Kamen Shooter Super Rider.

    Kamen Shooter Super Rider (or Super Rider for short) began his combat sports life in high school as an amateur wrestler. He became the team captain and ran the club with his deputy captain Mitsuharu Misawa, leading the clubs other members including Toshiaki Kawada. He won the National High School Overall Wrestling Tournament in 1980 and went to college on a wrestling scholarship, winning another tournament in 1982 and losing in 1984 to a future Olympic medalist. He would enter into the Super Tiger Gym after graduating from college. Rider got his start in Shooto in 1989, amassing a very respectable 6-3 record and even becoming the first ever welterweight champion in 1991. He would make his pro wrestling debut in late 1993, appearing in SPWF as Hopper King and sticking with that name for a few years, working on the lower level indies in places such as PWC, IWA Kakuto Shijuku, and West Japan.

    At the beginning of 1996, Hopper would start using the name "Super Rider" in PWC, but he would change it to "Kamen Shooter Super Rider" in May of that year. Toei, the owners of the Kamen Rider brand, very quickly let Super Rider know that he did not have permission to use the name, and planned to license their own wrestler to keep Rider from continuing to use it. However, Rider (joined by Sayama himself), would go to the Toei headquarters and plead with them to allow him to use the name, exclaiming his love for Kamen Rider and his deep desire to represent the brand in professional wrestling. Toei would have a change of heart after this, and in December of that year, Kamen Shooter Super Rider would become officially recognized as Toei's professional wrestling representative of the Kamen Rider brand.

    Very soon after this, Super Rider would wrestle in the main event of DDT's official debut show, and from that point on he played a vital role in the promotion's early years, constantly appearing in the main event and helping to shape the promotion into the juggernaut it is today. After 2000, Super Rider left DDT and appear much less frequently, working for BattlArts and having a few matches in more low level promotions like KAGEKI and TAMA, but not doing much until 2005, when he was officially brought into Sayama's new promotion, Real Japan Pro Wrestling, working in the offices until making his in-ring debut for the promotion in 2007. He's been in Real Japan (now Strong Style Pro Wrestling) ever since, making very few appearances elsewhere but always representing his home promotion. He's even left one final mark on combat sports, as both of his sons have become MMA fighters, and his eldest son Shooto (yes, he named his kid after Sayama's martial art because of course this legend did) currently has a 23-7 record, racking up win after win in places like ZST, DEEP, and Rizin.

    In terms of Rider's wrestling style, Rider is very much in line with Sayama's vision of the U-System. Tons of tight grappling and pinpoint striking, but with clear professional wrestling influence, using diving moves and more Tiger Mask-esque movements like the hopping and tiger feint kick. Rider even does the Rider Kick commonly seen in the series. Basically, he's a stone-cold killer in the ring but doesn't forget about actual pro wrestling when he's in a match.

    While he's definitely been divisive among certain groups in terms of ability, I personally think that Super Rider fucking rules, and I hope this series is able to possibly change some people's minds on him. The more people that know how great this guy is, the better.

Reviewed Matches (in Chronological Order):

Hopper King & Hiroshi Shimada vs. Black Hole 1 & 2 (IWA Kakuto Shijuku 05/14/1995) - B

Hopper King & Koichiro Kimura vs. Black Hole & Fumio Akiyama (West Japan 06/21/1995) - A-

Super Rider & Super Uchuu Power vs. Sanshiro Takagi & Kazushige Nosawa (DDT 03/25/1997) - B+

Super Rider, Asian Cougar, & Thanomsak Toba vs. Kazunori Yoshida, Koichiro Kimura, & Takao Iwasaki (DDT 11/20/1999) - B

Super Rider, Asian Cougar, & Thanomsak Toba vs. Yusaku, Daisaku, & Yuki Nishino (DDT 11/20/1999) - B+

Super Rider, Asian Cougar, & Yuki Nishino vs. Nihao, Thanomsak Toba, & Takashi Sasaki (DDT 11/25/1999) - A-

Super Rider vs. Takeshi Ono (Battlarts 01/07/2001) - B

Super Rider vs. Junji.com (Battlarts 01/28/2001) - B+

Super Rider vs. Takeshi Ono (Battlarts 06/02/2001) - A-

Super Rider vs. Tomohiro Ishii (RJPW 03/01/2009) - B

Super Rider & Tiger Shark vs. Hideki Hosaka & Kazuhiko Matsuzaki (RJPW 12/07/2012) - B

Super Rider & Yuko Miyamoto vs. TORU & Takafumi Ito (SSPW 07/29/2021) - B

Comprehensive Super Rider #1

              (Written by jom)

Hopper King & Hiroshi Shimada vs. Black Hole 1 & 2 (IWA Kakuto Shijuku 05/14/1995)

    We're starting off where every great article should start off, with a match in the Yong Dong Village food market. Hopper is teaming with big guy Shimada who I'm a fan of, and they're taking on one of my favorite acts on the sleaze scene, the Black Holes. I have no idea who Black Hole 2 is and can't even begin to throw out some guesses, but I'm fairly certain Black Hole 1 is the same Black Hole previously talked on the blog in that amazing shoot style tag match from the West Japan korakuen show (this Black Hole may or may not have gone on to become Eagle Pro's Super Judist but you didn't hear it from me).

    Going into the match, I had a pretty strong idea of how it was going to play out. Hopper would throw his strikes as much as he could while the Black Holes would respond with brute force and absolute mass to crush him. I'm starting to get good at predicting how matches go because within the first minute this exchange happened, proving my idea entirely:

    This is how the match mostly went for its sub-10 minute runtime. Hopper was pretty sweet here, throwing some thudding kicks and did all his pro wrestling type stuff really well, even hitting an awesome Rider Kick towards the end. He also was somehow able to do a little grappling on the big man. Notice I said man, because Black Hole 2 is in the ring for maybe a full minute. I'm sure he was in for longer and those moments were just clipped out, but this was entirely about Hopper and Shimada taking on the original Black Hole. A very good thing in my opinion, because the original Black Hole rules, throwing big man clubs and judo throws like there's no tomorrow.

    Shimada more than held his own end of the match too. He was able to do some solid stuff with the biggest highlight being hitting this genuinely disgusting senton, the way he landed made it look like all of his weight fell on only the right half of Black Hole, probably crushing all the ribs on that side. The match's finishing stretch wasn't anything special but it didn't feel out of place or rushed either. Overall a pretty solid affair, with the three people that mattered getting to do some cool spots, but nothing that'll blow your mind.

Rating: B

Super Rider vs. Takeshi Ono (BattlArts 01/07/2001)

    Ono is one of my favorite BattlArts guys, as pretty much all of them had one defining trait and Ono's was closed fist punching. Just wanna say before the match even starts, Rider is his Hopper King gear of red pants and a red Super Tiger Gym shirt, so he's going full throwback for this one. Ono meanwhile is wearing his awesome trench coat, although he doesn't have the cybergoth mask he work in like 99, so his look doesn't feel entirely complete here.

    Contrary to his attire choice, Ono was in prime form wrestling-wise here, fully committed to punching Rider in the face and kicking him in the balls. He busts out some awesome punch combos throughout the match, as well as doing a couple really creative sequences like hitting a snap suplex before immediately flowing into a gnarly handstand kneedrop straight to Rider's face. One of my favorite moments from him comes early in the match, with Ono just countering Rider's attempt at a waistlock by kicking him directly in the nuts and slapping on a deep manjigatame.

    Super Rider, honestly, wasn't at the same level as Ono here, but he was definitely at a high enough level to warrant appreciation. A lot of his kicks had that same thudding impact he's had his entire career, and he also busted out a little cool grappling like transitioning a crossface chickenwing into a slick backslide. Some of his spots down the line did kinda drag and get sloppy, but he recovered for the most part in that area just by hitting this insane German suplex:

    The finish sadly did feel a little rushed, and the crowd was never really into the match either. This was 2001 BattlArts so that's not an uncommon occurrence for any match that's not the main event, but it definitely didn't help this match in any way. Somewhat disappointing considering the unrealistic standard I probably came in with, but there were enough cool moments between the two that it's totally worth checking out if you're already a fan of either guy.

Rating: B

Super Rider & Yuko Miyamoto vs. Takafumi Ito & TORU (SSPW 07/29/2021)

    We have arrived to 2021, and Rider's final match in SSPW as of this post. All three other guys in this match I'm a fan of. Miyamoto is genuinely one of the best wrestlers of his generation, consistently putting in amazing performances no matter if he's in a normal match or a deathmatch. Takafumi Ito is really damn good and has been enjoying a very fun late-career revival recently. TORU is one of Tenryu's chosen ones in Tenryu Project and he absolutely deserves the credit Tenryu has given him because he's extremely talented in the ring.

    It's crazy that I said all that shit about Rider being old and near retirement because he and Takafumi Ito started this match off with some absolutely awesome grappling. The guys on commentary said "Shooto vs. Pancrase" and just hearing that definitely added some level of authenticity to everything happening, with both guys going back and forth with holds in a really smooth yet competitive way.

    TORU and Yuko Miyamoto more than held up their ends of the match as well. TORU didn't get a ton to do here but was able to hit his beauty of a dropkick. Miyamoto meanwhile had some awesome grappling and working moments on TORU, and even pulled out a pretty sweet handspring backflip kick instead of his usual handspring elbow. Takafumi Ito was probably the best guy in the match though, throwing hard strikes and doing tight grappling as seen above, as well as hitting his great uranage as seen below:

    The finish came soon after this, but I do just want to say that Super Rider's Rider Kick is still solid as hell. It's genuinely shocking to me that he was able to pull it out at 58 and still make it look pretty damn sweet.

    Overall, this match was some fun stuff. Rider and Ito's interactions were genuinely really enjoyable, and TORU and Miyamoto helped to keep the match flowing when the older guys needed to take a breather. A worthwhile early card match and proof that Rider still has some solid work left in him.

Rating: B