I thought this was on par with their second match in terms of quality but obviously, less of a Dick Vrij beat down 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.
Mitsuya Nagai vs. Koichiro Kimura (RINGS, 1/25/92)
Scrappy underdogs are a staple of Japanese pro-wrestling and when you throw them into a shoot-style setting -- like Masahito Kakihara, for example – you often get more heart and hunger than actual skill. Even if they aren’t landing half of their strikes, they’re constantly snapping off kicks and attempting little flourishes. On the tails, you’ve got the persevering, more methodical grappler, who absorbs the blows and waits until his opponent tires himself out to strike on the mat. Nagai is the wild scrapper to Kimura’s cool submission specialist. Kimura waiting to catch that one stray kick, get the takedown, and score the submission. His counterwork and transitions are solid – there’s a point where he goes from a neck crank to an armbar to a nasty front guillotine. But Nagai keeps throwing kicks and knees, slapping Kimura in the face when he catches a foot to prevent the takedown. The match is a slog at times, and had five or so minutes been cut, this would’ve been even better. By the end of it, Kimura’s cooked and helpless against Nagai, who keeps swatting at him with big open hands and landing knees against the ropes. I liked the dueling headbutts toward the end as a desperate means to end the match but ultimately, the scrapper Nagai wins out.
Akira Maeda vs. Ramazi Buzariashvili (RINGS, 3/5/92)
Buzariashvili is such a shitbag here, blowing off Maeda’s kicks, taunting him or waving at the fans like a dope. Of course, he’s not going to trade kicks with Maeda so he opts to suplex>submit him instead, delivering a cool belly-to-belly>armbar and his own version of the capture suplex>front necklock. The struggle on the mat really added to the bigger narrative, as Maeda has to contend with him on the ground because his kicks aren’t effective. He’s able to catch him in that nasty facelock he likes to utilize every now and then but Ramazki makes the ropes. In the end, all that provoking bites Ramazi in the ass…or rather, the face, as Maeda catches him with a snug kick to the chin. a few knees, and second face kick. The finish sucks though. Maeda gets him in the single leg, trips while trying to maintain control, and Ramazi still taps out.
Volk Han vs. Akira Maeda (RINGS, 4/3/92)
The best match in RINGS up this point in the promotion’s history and a big improvement upon their first match. Nobody maneuvers around the canvas like Volk Han, the way he utilizes his gangling legs to counter and maintain control over Maeda, or hooking Maeda’s arm with his free leg to prevent a rope break. He’s aware of his positioning and his opponent’s positioning at all times, and there’s very little wasted movement. I loved the explosiveness of the opening, with Han landing his spinning backhand and going into the neck crank. He seemingly knows he can’t outstrike Maeda so he tries to keep him grounded by targeting the leg and knee. To counter this, Maeda tries to be aggressive on the mat. He’s able to hit a half hatch suplex into the double wristlock attempt, and I thought the crossface chickenwing struggle was really great. In the end, though, the only way he’s going to beat Han is via strikes. He levels Han with an awesome spinning wheel kick, but Han’s quick to force Maeda back to the ropes after a rolling kneebar. In the end, they both fight over the leg submission and Han is able to secure it first, forcing Maeda to submit.
Grom Zaza vs. Volk Han (RINGS, 5/16/92)
Dream Match #1, hot from the start with Grom Zaza going nuts, the crowd losing their shit when he lifts Volk up in the fireman’s carry. For two guys not known for striking, they were quite handsy here, with quick little slaps and shit kicks in between the sweet takedowns and Han making Zaza squeal on the mat as he tries to break away. Despite Han’s fancy groundwork, which included a sweet step-over armbar, the match felt evenly matched. Han would land a spinning backhand, Grom would dump him with a couple of fireman’s carries. Then Han decimates him with the finishing a submission, which can only be described as a grounded choke STF, with Han once again utilizing his legs like a Swiss Army knife. Really good stuff.
Mitsuya Nagai vs. Dick Vrij (RINGS, 5/16/92)
Nagai was straight destroyed by Dick Vrij. But he wore his heart on his sleeve, climbing back to his feet again and again to come at Dick with these flamboyant flying kicks that completely miss the mark. Vrij catches him in the nuts at one point, which stalls the match, but boy oh boy, Nagai is pissed when he stands up…only to missing another big kick in the ropes. When he catches one of Vrij’s monster kicks, Vrij reflex knees him in the face. I love a good squash match when you’ve got a scrappy little fucker like Nagai who just won’t lay down. In the end, he’s pulling himself up by handfuls of the referee’s trousers before Vrij immediately clocks him for the TKO victory.
Volk Han vs. Andrei Kopylov (RINGS, 7/16/92)
Andrei's the rick to Volk's roll. He throws heavier kicks than Han but Han is able to weather the storm, slam him down, and work his way into a leglock, smartly maneuvering toward the middle of the ring to keep Andrei from the ropes. More often than not, however, they end up tangled together in these dueling submission predicaments. Han will trap Andrei’s head and neck with his feet, trying to pry him open in order to cinch in a hold, but then they’ll be fighting over a leglock and end up rolling into the ropes, which the crowd really laps up. While it’s mostly a stalemate on the mat, Han is able to apply an awesome hammerlock front choke, then he starts wringing the arm around and takes him down into a crossface hold. It picks up toward the end with Han landing a couple of spinning backhands but after Kopylov catches him with a boot to the gut, he’s able to snag him by the ankle to pick up the upset submission. I enjoyed this but it isn't next level.
Grom Zaza vs. Shtorm Koba (RINGS, 8/21/92)
A swanky Grom Zaza exhibition, with plenty of headscissor usage, cool takedowns and transitions, and...well, shitty striking but that's okay, because everything else works. Koba doesn't quite have Zaza's finesse but his rawness works well against Zaza. I mean, at one point, he press slams him into the turnbuckle. The action heats up heading into the finishing stretch, with Koba using a neat armwhip takedown before Grom dumps him with a throw and cinches in a terrific full nelson hold for the submission.
Volk Han vs. Dick Vrij (RINGS, 8/21/92)
Loved this match. Such an awesome dynamic between the heavy cyborg striker in Vrij and the submission specialist in Han, with the perfect build and set-up to the finish. It plays on the strengths of both dudes, and is sort of a personal dream match of mine from when I first started watching RINGS. Han knows what Vrij’s all about and immediately tries to submit him with the kneebar and keeps dragging him back to the middle of the ring. But once he’s back on his feet, Vrij goes hard with the strikes, cracking Han with kicks to the hamstring and brutal knees whenever Han tries for the double leg takedowns. On the ground, however, Han rules and he once again utilizies his legs in unique ways to try and pry open an armbar on Vrij. Vrij can't really hang with him on the mat.. He’ll hack out one of Han’s legs with kicks but he's unable to follow up with a submission. Even when he works in a head scissors, Han is able to turn it against him and force him to the ropes. By the end of the match, they’re both exhausted, they’ve used up all their outs and it’s down to the last submission or knockdown. Vrij swings for the fences with a high kick but Han’s able to catch it, spoiling Vrij’s homerun with a calf hold to submit him. Awesome match.
Akira Maeda vs. Andrei Kopylov (RINGS, 8/21/92)
This was similar to Kopylov’s match against Han in that it was more or less a stalemate on the mat. But it was fun seeing Maeda go to the mat early on, and I thought the struggle and defense on the ground was well-executed. Where this match excels over the match with Han is Maeda's character work. He's such a good babyface-in-peril when he needs to be and I loved the drama from him as he's trying to get to the ropes when Kopylov snags him with the kimura. Kopylov’s terrific on the mat, trying to tie Maeda into knots, until eventually Maeda says “fuck the matwork” and starts picking up knockdowns with his strikes -- big open-hand slaps to the face, kicks, and knees. But Kopylov wants to finish this where it started, and after another tussle on the mat, Maeda’s able to pry open the armbar for the submission victory.
A swanky Grom Zaza exhibition, with plenty of headscissor usage, cool takedowns and transitions, and...well, shitty striking but that's okay, because everything else works. Koba doesn't quite have Zaza's finesse but his rawness works well against Zaza. I mean, at one point, he press slams him into the turnbuckle. The action heats up heading into the finishing stretch, with Koba using a neat armwhip takedown before Grom dumps him with a throw and cinches in a terrific full nelson hold for the submission.
Volk Han vs. Dick Vrij (RINGS, 8/21/92)
Loved this match. Such an awesome dynamic between the heavy cyborg striker in Vrij and the submission specialist in Han, with the perfect build and set-up to the finish. It plays on the strengths of both dudes, and is sort of a personal dream match of mine from when I first started watching RINGS. Han knows what Vrij’s all about and immediately tries to submit him with the kneebar and keeps dragging him back to the middle of the ring. But once he’s back on his feet, Vrij goes hard with the strikes, cracking Han with kicks to the hamstring and brutal knees whenever Han tries for the double leg takedowns. On the ground, however, Han rules and he once again utilizies his legs in unique ways to try and pry open an armbar on Vrij. Vrij can't really hang with him on the mat.. He’ll hack out one of Han’s legs with kicks but he's unable to follow up with a submission. Even when he works in a head scissors, Han is able to turn it against him and force him to the ropes. By the end of the match, they’re both exhausted, they’ve used up all their outs and it’s down to the last submission or knockdown. Vrij swings for the fences with a high kick but Han’s able to catch it, spoiling Vrij’s homerun with a calf hold to submit him. Awesome match.
Akira Maeda vs. Andrei Kopylov (RINGS, 8/21/92)
This was similar to Kopylov’s match against Han in that it was more or less a stalemate on the mat. But it was fun seeing Maeda go to the mat early on, and I thought the struggle and defense on the ground was well-executed. Where this match excels over the match with Han is Maeda's character work. He's such a good babyface-in-peril when he needs to be and I loved the drama from him as he's trying to get to the ropes when Kopylov snags him with the kimura. Kopylov’s terrific on the mat, trying to tie Maeda into knots, until eventually Maeda says “fuck the matwork” and starts picking up knockdowns with his strikes -- big open-hand slaps to the face, kicks, and knees. But Kopylov wants to finish this where it started, and after another tussle on the mat, Maeda’s able to pry open the armbar for the submission victory.
Akira Maeda vs. Volk Han (RINGS, 10/29/92)
This match is a lesson in why you don’t piss off Volk Han. Sure, he’s mostly mild-mannered and gracious but Akira Maeda wasn’t his friend in there for this match. Han opens with the spinning backhand and you know he’s about to get to work on the mat. Maeda continues to show off his own improved mat skills. When he’s not defending against the relentless Han with his flying legscissors, he’ll get fancy with an arm drag into a head scissors or grab a single leg crab, in which the crowd collectively lose their shit. When Maeda starts in with the kicks, Han mostly weathers the storm trying to play catch…but Maeda keeps kick kick kicking at Han’s leg. All those kicks to the leg finally piss off Han, who says “cut it out” by smacking the shit out of Maeda. With Han spent and pissy, the match becomes a sluggish war of attrition but the finish was something else. Maeda shakes Volk’s hand just before he high kicks him in the head for the TKO. What a dick. Not quite at the level of their second match but a strong way to cap off their series.
Akira Maeda vs. Dimitri Petkov (RINGS, 11/13/92)
This was a lot of fun. Petkov, the giant toddler, absorbs Maeda’s early kicks to throw him around with suplexes but Maeda keeps coming with the knees and kicks until Petkov takes him down with an ipponzeoi and locks in the Anaconda Vice on the ground. Awesome. At one point during the match, Petkov picks Maeda up, carries him around the ring, and then slams him down before going into a single leg crab hold. He's such a big baby. Then he goads Maeda to kick him, only to catch a kick and fling him down hard. Maeda's always good at overcoming the size disadvantage and makes it compelling enough here. The finishing submission was neat, with Maeda trapping the leg and arm, preventing Petkov from reaching the ropes.
Nobuaki Kakuta vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 12/19/92)
The best worked rounds match in RINGS thus far, with Yoshihisa Yamamoto showing off future Yamamoto on the mat, dominating the first three rounds by grabbing the shit out of limbs with armbars, kneebars, face...bars...locks. Kakuta can't do much to counter it either. He has zero chance on the ground so in the fourth round, he starts whipping out the hard kicks to take Yamamoto out at the knees. Into the fifth, he really starts rocking him with shots to the head while still targeting the knees. After some confusion, they give them a final round and it's mostly Yamamoto on the run from Kakuta's leg kicks.
Mitsuya Nagai vs. Sergei Sousserov (RINGS, 12/19/92)
Oh boy, Sergei Sousserov could fill the void left behind by Willie Peeters in 1992. He's the Soviet version of Guile from Street Fighter. He's all about 80's jumping roundhouse kicks and suplex slams, throwing uranages and cravate suplexes and going right into the submission attempt. There's not a lot of info on Sousserov -- it seems like he was probably trained by Volk Han and his only MMA fight was against Peeters in 1997 Rings Holland. And he lost. Nagai, in true scrappy underdog fashion, comes flying in with these big wheel kicks, completely missing the mark. He mainly hangs on Sergei's leg throughout the match, taking him to the ropes a few times. Loved his shoot STF. This definitely could've been a 10 minute classic but it drags out sluggishly to 17:29. Sergei's takedowns aren't as effective and Nagai continues going after the leg before going to town with the knee strikes, kneeing Sergei in the face for the KO.
Volk Han vs. Sotir Gotchev (RINGS, 12/19/92)
This was little more than a Volk Han exhibition but it was a fun one, and while Gotchev isn't near Han's level on the ground, he does throw in a few surprises here and there, including a few cool suplex slams. But he's mostly trying to avoid getting snagged. When Han takes over on the mat, he gets to show off why he’s Volk Han. He snags him with a beautiful leg-trap armbar, an inverted facelock, and then wrings the arm and blasts him with that rear facelock>elbow combo. At one point, Gotchev is able to catch him in a choke sleeper off a missed attempt but Han works his way out of the hold and transitions into like a stump puller hold. The back end of the match isn't as compelling but Han is still able to pull out the flying legscissors and his final submission was neat -- almost like a cravat with the arm trapped alongside Gotchev's head and neck.
The best worked rounds match in RINGS thus far, with Yoshihisa Yamamoto showing off future Yamamoto on the mat, dominating the first three rounds by grabbing the shit out of limbs with armbars, kneebars, face...bars...locks. Kakuta can't do much to counter it either. He has zero chance on the ground so in the fourth round, he starts whipping out the hard kicks to take Yamamoto out at the knees. Into the fifth, he really starts rocking him with shots to the head while still targeting the knees. After some confusion, they give them a final round and it's mostly Yamamoto on the run from Kakuta's leg kicks.
Mitsuya Nagai vs. Sergei Sousserov (RINGS, 12/19/92)
Oh boy, Sergei Sousserov could fill the void left behind by Willie Peeters in 1992. He's the Soviet version of Guile from Street Fighter. He's all about 80's jumping roundhouse kicks and suplex slams, throwing uranages and cravate suplexes and going right into the submission attempt. There's not a lot of info on Sousserov -- it seems like he was probably trained by Volk Han and his only MMA fight was against Peeters in 1997 Rings Holland. And he lost. Nagai, in true scrappy underdog fashion, comes flying in with these big wheel kicks, completely missing the mark. He mainly hangs on Sergei's leg throughout the match, taking him to the ropes a few times. Loved his shoot STF. This definitely could've been a 10 minute classic but it drags out sluggishly to 17:29. Sergei's takedowns aren't as effective and Nagai continues going after the leg before going to town with the knee strikes, kneeing Sergei in the face for the KO.
Volk Han vs. Sotir Gotchev (RINGS, 12/19/92)
This was little more than a Volk Han exhibition but it was a fun one, and while Gotchev isn't near Han's level on the ground, he does throw in a few surprises here and there, including a few cool suplex slams. But he's mostly trying to avoid getting snagged. When Han takes over on the mat, he gets to show off why he’s Volk Han. He snags him with a beautiful leg-trap armbar, an inverted facelock, and then wrings the arm and blasts him with that rear facelock>elbow combo. At one point, Gotchev is able to catch him in a choke sleeper off a missed attempt but Han works his way out of the hold and transitions into like a stump puller hold. The back end of the match isn't as compelling but Han is still able to pull out the flying legscissors and his final submission was neat -- almost like a cravat with the arm trapped alongside Gotchev's head and neck.
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