Fighting Network RINGS (1995)

Masayuki Naruse vs. Sotir Gotchev (RINGS, 1/25/95)

Sotir Gotchev looks like a wise ass 1980's Brooklyn TV cop but he's pretty dope in the ring and he and Naruse got plenty of time to do their thang (which may be too much time, I don't know). One of Gotchev's best spots is when he's got someone in a bear hug and they're trying to palm strike their way out of it and Gotchev belly-to-belly suplexes them. Good struggle on the mat, with Naruse able to show off a bit more on the ground with his control and transitions. Gotchev keeps suplexing, Naruse keeps on taking him down, and then things get a little more feisty toward the end with the open hands and kicks. Naruse knocks Gotchev down with a big slap but when he tries for the spinning heel kick, Gotchev avoids it and taps him with his version of the STF. 

Akira Maeda vs. Volk Han (RINGS, 1/25/95)

This match rules, are you kidding me? Maeda made his "return" to greatness in 1994 against Yoshihisa Yamamoto and he's still got it. They go at it to open, chasing each other with strikes, and then Han takes Maeda to the ground and gets him in a dope inverted STF...I don't even know with Han and his crazy holds. Maeda's nose gets busted less than a minute into the match and he's just trying to survive Han's submissions and strike him down. Awesome moment where Han has him in a standing leglock and kicks Maeda's arm away in order to get the single leg crab. Good back-and-forth on the mat with tons of reversals. Maeda's able to get a few kicks in on Han but Han knows Maeda's leg is injured and like a shark to blood, Han is all about getting that leg. In the end, he traps it and then Maeda's arm, and Maeda finally taps to give Han the Mega Battle Tournament! 

Mitsuya Nagai vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 3/18/95)

Yamamoto is blessed in white, the pre-Tamura savior of RINGS, and Nagai is still scrappy as hell. He isn't as strong on the mat as Yamamoto but he can outstrike him and that's what he tries to do, connecting with a nice high kick before Yamamoto takes him down. When they both let loose with the strikes, the match really heats up and Nagai has tons of quick hands, kicks, and knees, really swinging for the fences at times, but Yamamoto's still able to knock him down with his own shots. At one point, Nagai falls on his ass but it's okay because he then proceeds to go apeshit on Yamamoto in the corner. They're wailing away on each other but Yamamoto wins out, as Nagai hangs on the ropes and is barely able to make it back to his feet. Yamamoto tries to finish him off with the choke but Nagai is able to grab an arm and cinch in the submission for the big win. Great match. 

Volk Han vs. Nikolai Zouev (RINGS, 3/18/95)

Zouev is maybe my second favorite Russian? Maybe Kopylov - maybe they can share that honor because Volk Han is god-like. Whereas Koyplov is a little more rough and tumble, Zouev is finesse and he will always try to outmaneuver Han, which of course, leads to a great war on the mat...but also on their feet, as they both throw hard open hands.  The back-and-forth between these two is top notch, and Zouev ends up taking Han to the ropes more often than he's used to. Han also sends Zouev scrambling but also is super aggressive with his strikes and lands some really nasty shots. They fight for control on the ground up until the very end, when Han finally grabs the armbar for the submission. Real good stuff. 

Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs. Wataru Sakata (RINGS, 4/28/95)

Baby Kohsaka and baby Sakata, the latter of which, isn't very good at this point in his career, much to the disappointment of Maeda, go at it. This was pretty fun - good heated smack exchanges but TK is the man on the mat, mostly keeping Sakata in CHECK. Grabbing necklocks and kneebars when Sakata fails to do much of anything on the mat. They slap each other silly for a bit and then TK lands a big knee strike, pummels Sakata with open hands and taps him with the armbar. 

Mitsuya Nagai vs. Willie Peeters (RINGS, 4/28/95)

Easily the best Willie Peeters match since 1991. It helps that both guys are feisty little shitheads and as expected, they throw a lot of hard kicks and knees. Peeters hits an awesome rotating belly-to-belly and stays aggressive throughout, but still does shitty things like hanging onto the ropes. And it wouldn't be a Willie Peeters match if he didn't fall on his ass on a big spin kick attempt. Nagai isn't always the strongest on the mat but he's better than Peeters and had some neat counters. In the end, Peeters creams Nagai with a high kick to the head but it's not enough and Nagai traps him int he front necklock for the submission.

Volk Han vs. Masayuki Naruse (RINGS, 4/28/95)

Is this the best Masayuki Naruse match ever? Certainly in RINGS up to this point but it's also against Volk Han, which means the bar is already set high. love that Han is now busting out these rolling armbar suplexes - like he goes for his standing armbar and then suplexes Naruse. He drags him back to the middle and tries for his standing leglock but Naruse counters with a kneebar like "nuh-uh-uh". I like that Naruse establishes that the kneebar is THE counter for Volk Han throughout the match. He also puts Han in a nasty facelock hold. But when he tries for a high kick, Han catches it and takes him down with the leglock. Han is the master at this - at one point, he's got Naruse in a hammerlock, Naruse tries to counter with a leg trip but Han holds on to the arm and takes him to the ropes. Good dynamic, good struggle on the mat, with Naruse looking his best yet. He pops Han with some big slaps and kicks but the veteran perseveres, keeps using the hammerlock>double wristlock combo to control Naruse. Naruse's able to take him down with the Fujiwara armbar but Han traps him with the headscissors and snags the leg for the awesome submission. Great match!

Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs. Sotir Gotchev (RINGS, 5/20/95)

TK's best match since debuting and a real showcase match for Gotchev, who works a very aggressive approach here with his kicks, hands, and knees. Early on, he blasts TK with a high kick to the face. TK tries to answer with knee strikes but when he can't get the knockdown, he takes Gotchev down in a slick rolling leglock. Of course, Gotchev hits his signature bearhug belly-to-belly suplex in all its glory. Loved him playing to the crowd like a putz when he downs TK with a knee. They struggle a bit at the end, both clearly tired, but Gotchev wins after he uses a full nelson with the knees into a judo throw to set up his shoot STF. Cool match. 

Mitsuya Nagai vs. Andrei Kopylov (RINGS, 5/20/95)

Mitsuya Nagai in 1995 is $100 dollar bills (but he was also good in 1994 and in general) and as proven in the past, Andrei Kopylov is no slouch - although, he does look like the dad on your favorite 90's Russian sitcom. Kopylov's dominant throughout the match. He immediately suplexes the hell out of Nagai and he does such a good job of making his holds look painful, whether it's grabbing arms or legs. Other memorable moments include Nagai getting kneed in the nuts, Kopylov teasing throwing him out of the ring TWICE, Nagai catching Kopylov's koppou kick attempt and dropping down with the leglock, and a dope headlock suplex. Kopylov is a tough fucker, taking a head kick but still holding onto Nagai, and I loved his headlock takedown into the front mount. He keeps taking Nagai to the ropes and the fans WANT Nagai to fire back and he does and the fans love it - big kicks and big knees down Kopylov in the corner and he can't make it back up to his feet.

Akira Maeda vs. Nikolai Zouev (RINGS, 5/20/95)

A pretty good Maeda-dominant match with Zouev trying to take him out on the ground and Maeda winning out. Some nice takedowns, strike exchanges, and matwork. The way Maeda kicks out Zouev's leg with the solebutt was gnarly and I love his headscissors hold. Zouev is able to survive the world famous Maeda leglock but ends up tapping to a sleeper hold.

Wataru Sakata vs. Yuri Bekichev (RINGS, 6/17/95)

This is the Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet match of RINGS thus far, in the sense that they're both trying to do big impressive things, synchronized kicks and shit, completely whiffin g a bunch, and it's so silly, it's actually fun. Not a very good match though. It was nice seing Sakata with a little more confidence and aggression, laying in with a bunch of open hands to the head and knee strikes. Yuri loves the big kicks and he hits a pretty sweet shoot enziguri, a spinning heel wkick, a high kick to the head. There's a bunch of tomfoolery with them trying these ridiculo us kicks and throwing themselves at each other without anything really happening, which leads to the Yuri's knees vs. Wataru's slaps and Yuri's knees win out. Dumb fun.

Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs. Sergei Sousserov (RINGS, 6/17/95)

Pretty good Sousserov showcase match with a bunch of cool throws and kicks, and TK trying to survive, grabbing submissions off of suplexes when he can. He's able to down Sergei with a good knee to the midsection but Sergei pops him silly with a big ass kick and submits him with the armbar. 

Volk Han vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 6/17/95)

Yoshihisa Yamamoto has become very good at this point, and he knows how to play to the crowd, milk every submission, and give the top dogs a run for their money. As good as Han is here, and in general, Yamamoto has a lot of answers. The whole opening stretch, with Yamamoto flipping out of the standing armbar, reversing the cross heel hook, slipping out of Han's fingers into a sleeper hold - he ain't no punkass kid with acne anymore. As expected, tons of rolling around, trading holds and counters, but Yamamoto sending Han to the ropes a bunch. He's dominant on top with his strikes. I love that the ref gets onto Yamamoto for tyring to hammer his way out of Han's heel hook. He tries to get fancy with a cool sliding leg sweep but gets caught in Han's kneebar. Also the incorporation of the hammerlock suplex into Han's arsenal -- perfecto. When Yamamoto pops Han with a palm strike, Han falls like a tree. The fans lose it when he's got Han in the front necklock, somehow managing to allude the armbar but once Volk gets out, he traps Yamamoto and snags the arm for the submission finish. Awesome match.

Masayuki Naruse vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS, 7/18/95)

This does not end pretty for TK. Naruse is the aggressor and TK is once again trying to survive and grab a submission. Naruse downs him with a nice flurry of palms and knees, then wrenches him with a FACELOCK. That's how you apply it. TK, on the otherhand, is able to grab a pretty dope kneebar on Naruse and the fans think he may have it in the bag but no, he doesn't. They dance around holds but TK can't get the leglock and that's about his last opportunity because Naruse knees the shit out of him, destroying his eyebrow. TK's up, he wants to fight, but the ref knows better and calls the match. Fun!

Dick Vrij vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 7/18/95)

Yamamoto takes an absolute thrashing from Dick Fly but so he's damn persistent with those double leg takedowns and Vrij, of course, is always within a foot of the ropes so Yamamoto has 7% chance of actually submitting him. But boy oh boy, Vrij destroys Yamamoto with the knees and palm strikes. When Yamamoto's down, Vrij kills him with a knee to the head and the ref admonishes Vrij while Hans Nijman is up on the apron, trying to get the ref to call Yamamoto down. Vrij keeps attacking Yamamoto until Yamamoto stuns him with a shotei and then peppers him in the corner with open hands. But that only pisses Vrij off, who comes at him twice as hard, and again, Yamamoto pummels Vrij in the corner with open hands. Vrij is actually bleeding now and he's used up all his rope escapes - Yamamoto can do it! Once again, Vrij big ass knees Yamamoto when he's down on the ground and the fans aren't happy about it but Yamamoto forces Vrij to the ropes and wins by TKO...so the fans leave happy. Brutal match. 

Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs. Dimitri Petkov (RINGS, 8/27/95)

Big Baby Petkov is back in a red singlet this time (not the neon green) and even though his matches feel the most 'worked', they're plenty fun and this was no exception. For as big as he is, Petkov can make some of these roll up submissions look great. TK gets him early on with the rolling necklock before Petkov belly-to-belly suplexes him in response. Tk gets in a lot of cool submission attempts and tries to take Petkov down with a barrage of strikes but Dimitri is able to grab him and...they kind of just fall down. Perfect opportunity for a Petkov suplex BLOWN. Petkov finally slams him down into the reverse necklock and TK taps. Didn't look very painful but whatever, TK experienced Dimitri Petkov. 

Akira Maeda vs. Andrei Kopylov (RINGS, 8/27/95)

Save for the finish, this was a solid Akira Maeda exhibition match. Kopilov (back in the purple Nike shorts, thanfully) doesn't get a whole lot off on Maeda. They're usually too close to the ropes so there's not a lot of drama behind the holds. And anytime Kopylov tries to retaliate with strikes, Maeda ducks down into turtle defense mode, forcing Kopylov to try something on the mat. But Maeda looked good here. He gets a sick double arm takedown, spiking Kopylov on his head, and lays into him a bunch with kicks and knees and slaps. As witnessed before, these two like to entangle. Kopyylov whiffs on his spinning heel kick (the worst shoot-style move because it has a 6% chance of connecting [see Masahito Kakihara] and can't catch a break on the ground because of the damn ropes. But when Maeda takes him down with the half hatch, Kopylov is able to roll him into a kneebar for the UPSET TAPOUT! 

Volk Han vs. Bitsadze Tariel (RINGS, 8/27/95)

Tariel's best match in RINGS up to this point? Probably but I also think that applies to a lot of guys who wrestled Han. The dynamic between these two, similar to Han's matches against Vrij, is great. Tariel is the big Georgian karateka wall and Han is trying to exploit the crack with tons of dope submission holds. Early on, he gets a beautiful leg trip into the trapped heel hook, and then he drags Tariel back to the middle of the ring. Han establishes that he's the man on the ground, attacking Tariel's leg with hooks and holds, but then Tariel whaps the shit out of Volk's leg with a kick and floors him. Striker established. He then proceeds to pummel Han with blows, knocking him down again and again, and poor Han tries to retaliate with the spinning backhand but Tariel gutshots him. Being that the gutshot is Han's kryptonite, he cannot make it to his feet and Tariel wins. A night of upsets in RINGS. 

Wataru Sakata vs. Sotir Gotchev (RINGS, 9/22/95)

Sotir Gotchev is already near and dear to my heart but he immediately gets flattened with a spinning backhand. But that doesn't stop him from hitting his bearhug suplex and locking in his shoot TF. When Gotchev tries for the very rare RINGS German suplex, Sakata's able to roll him up with a leglock, into a heel hook, into his own shoot STF. Pretty cool SAKATA. Gotchev's kicks are big and bold, and as Sakata comes for him, he shows that his knee is just as big and bold. Sakata's spinning heel kick just graves Gotchev's cheekbone and he tries to take Sotir down with bodyshots and knees but Gotchev takes him down and finally submits him with his wacky STF. Fun opener

Dick Vrij vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 9/22/95)

Although the rematch sees Yamamoto wrangle more with Dick Fly on the mat, it lacked the drama and intensity of their first match. That being said, it was still a lot of fun, and Yamamoto, in savior white, promptly takes it the fuck to Vrij in the corner. Vrij's strikes aren't quite as brutal here, and at one point, after Yamamoto slaps him in the face, Vrij asks for more...and more he receives. He does knock Yamamoto out of the ring with a series of kicks and knees but in the end, taps out to a rear naked choke, giving Yamamoto another victory. Uh oh, Dick. 

Akira Maeda vs. Volk Han (RINGS, 9/22/95)

Not as good as their match earlier in the year but it's Maeda vs. Han so it's lowest threshold is still pretty high. It's a little sloppy in parts, which isn't something you see often in Han's performance. He starts off with the double wristlock and Maeda is struggling...well, kind of...as Han keeps him away from the ropes but Maeda obviously isn't tapping so Han tries to switch it up, whcih gives Maeda an opening to escape. Again, Maeda shows off some sweet suplex takedowns and he manages a few good strikes. At one point, Han knees Maeda in the face twice and Maeda's like "fuck it" and gets right back up to his feet. Of course. When Han tries for a roll up kneebar, Maeda traps the leg in a scissors hold and Han taps out!  

Nikolai Zouev vs. Mikhail Ilioukhine (RINGS, 10/21/95)

Not a great show on a whole but this was a pretty fun match and definitely Mikhail's best singles match thus far in RINGS. As to be expected with Zouev, there is a lot of ground entanglements, blocks, reversals, and fancy maneuvering. There's a cool roll through heel hook by Mikhail but Zouev is able to snag the arm. Zouev also has a neat grounded single leg and Mikhail does a croos heel hold, which looks like a double single leg hold. Much of the focus is on the arm and the struggle for control but in the end, Mikhail performs a roll through into the neck crank for the submission. Cool finish to a pretty neat match-up.

Andrei Kopilov vs. Grom Zaza (RINGS, 10/21/95)

Grom Zaza is feisty in this match and it rules. I loved his fakeout slaps, his body blows, the knees. I mean, he's swinging for the fences with some of those open hands and at one point, Andrei's like "what the heck? come on, ref". There's also a funny moment where Kopilov's spinning heel kick completely misses and Zaza's like "what do I do?". Kopilov connects with a spinning backhand and he tries to get feisty with Zaza and then Zaza gets hassled by the ref for the excessive knee strikes. Kopilov isn't able to do much on the mat because Zaza won't let up. He manages a nice roll through with the arm but Zaza's right in the ropes. Grom gets kicked in the nuts and now he's pissed, smacking Kopilov down and putting him in the rear naked choke. By the end, they're both tired,  mostly Grom though, as he unloads on Kopilov in the corner with more big strikes but is about to collapse. So Kopilov quickly taps him with a fancy cradle hold? I don't know. Cool match though and probably the best on an otherwise weak show.

Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs. Mitsuya Nagai (RINGS, 11/16/95)

These two work well together, with Nagai being the more strike-heavy of the two and Yamamoto trying for the takedown>submission. Yamamoto opens with a lot of fire, stunning Nagai with palm strikes and sending him to the ropes with a kneebar. Nagai, of course, loves the kicks and the knees. He's able to turn Yamamoto's necklock attempt into a dope legtrap straight armbar, and when Yamamoto tries to roll out, Nagai keeps him in check with the wakigatame. Loved Yamamoto's selling when Nagai has got him up against the ropes with strikes. Nagai's able to get Yamamoto in an interesting predicament, snatching the arm, but Yamamoto is able to move to the ropes and in the end, taps Nagai with the leglock to advance. Great little match. 

Volk Han vs. Andrei Kopylov (RINGS, 11/16/95)

Tons of matwork, as one might expect, with tons of counters and maneuvering and Kopylov really trying to catch Han in something inescapable. The opening few minutes are really good, with Han using the armbar takedown right off the bat, Kopylov turning it into an ankle hold/calf hold, Han countering with the leglock and then using an awesome reverse armbar counter with the opposite arm trapped. When Andrei gets Han in the armbar, there's a great little moment where Han is just short of his foot on the ropes and the crowd is buzzing (Kopylov responds with the Russian equivalent of "fuck!" when Han does get it). Once again, Han utilizes his legs better than anyone else and when he's on his feet, he isn't afraid to fire off knees and shoteis and spinning backhands. By the end, they're both just grabbing limbs,  hoping for a submission, and when Kopylov gets the armbar takedown, Han bites with the heel hook and Kopylov taps. Good stuff. 

Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs. Grom Zaza (RINGS, 12/19/95)

The most exciting match on the show, in my opinion, with terrific pacing and both guys giving 100%. Grom has gone from mild-mannered Georgian with a pleasant smile to an uber-aggre ssive slappy Georgian with the same pleasant smile. He opens with a hard slaps, a beautiful wristlock takedown and some big knees to the head to down TK. TK's able to retaliate with a nice armwhip of his own into the neck crank and a few knees to Grom's dome. When Zaza grabs the ankle, TK tries and misses with an enziguri attempt and so Zaza puts him in a seated single leg crab hold. There's a bunch of takedowns>holds toward the end, more stiff strikes from Zaza, and a dope finish, which consists of a beautiful armwhip by Grom into the reverse armbar for the submission victory. The post-match kip up by Grom is the cherry on the cake.

Mitsuya Nagai vs. Nikolai Zouev (RINGS, 12/19/95)

It's Nikolai Zouev, which means a lot of rolling around, trapping arms and legs with arms and legs. That's, of course, not a bad thing and Nagai is fun in that he's trying to counter and do his own thing, and while he's not the strongest on the mat, he looks pretty good here. Zouev usually has answers to Nagai's kick attempts but not always, and he nearly gets knocked out of the ring by a series of kicks and knees in the corner. There's an awesome moment in the match where Nagai tries for a big kick, Zouev slides underneath to sweep the leg and transitions seemlessly into the rear choke. Zouev has some great holds, sometimes pretzeling Nagai in various ways, but Nagai will also find ways to put Zouev in predicaments. He fights for an armbar, which Zouev tries to bridge his way out of before finding an escape and reversal with an armbar of his own. They kind of slap it out at the end and Nagai snags a front necklock, holding on when Zouev takes him down to force the tap out. Good stuff. 

Volk Han vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 12/19/95)

A solid rematch with Yamamoto really trying to get the advantage and Han being patient and slick as usual. Yamamoto almost seems desperate/reckless at times, which gives this match kind of a sloppy sheen, but it's still Volk Han and he gets some of his offense in while still allowing Yamamoto to get the spotlight...kind of. At one point, Yamamoto comes at Han with open hands and Han just tosses him like a sack of flour. Yamamoto is able to get him in a triangle but once again, Han coolly steps on the leg and puts him in the straight leglock. Han knocks him down with a flurry of slaps, they flip-flop single leg crab holds, and then Yamamoto snags the armbar. When Han tries to get out, turning over onto his belly, Yamamoto holds on and taps him with the reverse armbar. Big win for Yamamoto. although nowhere near his best showing, and a good Han performance as always. 

Fighting Network RINGS (1994)

Volk Han vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 1/24/94)

Loved the opening with Yamamoto recklessly going in after Han with the spinning backhand, the takedown, and then Han coolly standing on one leg and yanking the other into his standing single leg crab, He stays in control with his submission work and keeps taking Yamamoto to the ropes until Yamamoto staggers him with a shot to the gut. That gives Yamamoto an opening to try a bunch of cool stuff out on the mat, like the crossface, the guillotine, the inverted STF. Yamamoto's trying to hang on but Han will get him in that split-legged hold or a leg trap heel hook. There are times when Yamamoto seems kind of lost in there but he’ll get some takedowns and try something. But Volk Han is Volk Han. There's a great part where he’s got Yamamoto in a leglock and he uses his opposite foot to push Yamamoto’s arm away to keep him from breaking it. Cool stuff.

Grom Zaza vs. Todor Todorov (RINGS, 4/23/94)

Grom Zaza, looking real grizzled and lean, takes it to Todorov in a super aggressive showing. Grom's fluidity in this match (and in general) is one of his hallmarks. He's able to go straight into a hold off a missed strike attempt, or grab any exposed limb and just bend it into a submission. His striking is also really good here, between the kicks, knees, and slaps. After a nasty slam, Grom works his way into a scissored triangle hold. He tries to break Todor in half with an STF and then he grabs a reverse armbar and tries to grab a choke with the opposite arm. The finish was great as Todorov is able to snag a kneelock and just when it seems like Grom is going to tap out, he sees an opening, grabs the arm, and submits Todorov. One of Zaza's best performances.

Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs. Sotir Gotchev (RINGS, 4/23/94)

Pretty good match that fizzles the longer it went. The first couple of minutes were hot though, with Yamamoto busting out the dragon sleeper>elbow combo and Gotchev bearhug suplexing Yamamoto (despite Yamamoto palm thrusting him in the face). Gotchev looks dopey and his groundwork doesn't have much finesse but it seems effective enough. There is a lot of maneuvering around the mat before Gotchev hits a cool deadlift suplex, and in the end, Yamamoto rolls him up for the leglock submission.

Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs. Sergei Sousserov (RINGS, 5/17/94)

An excellent showcase for Yamamoto with a lot of opportunities to shine on the mat. He gets the initial takedown into a kneebar but Sergei fights out and plants him with a perfect uranage. Yamamoto goes back to the mat with some cool submissions like a backpack sleeper and a side STF. He's also adopted Volk Han's dragon sleeper>elbow strike combo. Whenever Sergei's got him in a submission, Yamamoto does a really good job of milking the rope breaks for a little added drama. In a very cool counter, Yamamoto floats out of Sergei's armbar into a rear-naked choke and then finally counters Sergei's leg submission with one of his own for the win. A very cool match.

Volk Han vs. Mitsuya Nagai (RINGS, 5/17/94)

Not as good as their 1993 match but still pretty good. Nagai will snap off some kicks and try for something fancy on the mat but end up getting caught in a Volk submission. The match itself is much slower-paced, with more struggle on the mat.  At one point, Han catches a foot and just barely blocks a nasty-looking spinning heel kick counter before he puts on his signature standing single leg. I love it when Han gets fed up against strikers and just takes them out with slaps and knees of his own. The finish was great – Nagai goes in with kicks and slaps and Han grabs a choke and drags him down for the quick tap out.

Akira Maeda vs. Volk Han (RINGS, 6/18/94)

Kind of a tale of two matches because the half of this match before the stoppage was really good. You have Han kicking Maeda in the face to start, dominating with submission holds and Maeda's great in-the-moment selling to rally the fans. Maeda's able to down him with a high kick but Han slides in for his signature standing single leg. Maeda pisses off Han with repeat leg kicks and when Han lays into him with strikes, he ends up poking Maeda's eye and they stop the match. When they restart, there is a lot more stalling, Maeda's more hesitant, his takedowns look really weak like he's scared of getting hit again. Some of the groundwork is cool like Maeda's controlling of the choke sleeper and Han's cool arm-and-leg trap submission. They trade some shots toward the end, Maeda grabs the leglock for the submission and wins. But he really shouldn't have.

Masayuki Naruse vs. Yuri Bekichev (RINGS, 7/14/94)

This match was a total blast. Bekichev has a ton of fire and gets the crowd hyped about his big kicks. He lands this wild backspin kick to the back of Naruse’s head to open up. Sure, there are a couple of awkward moments that maybe stem from Bekichev having not worked a “worked match” but for the most part, he gets it. Loved Naruse's counter into the kneebar and of course, the wheel kick catch into another kneebar toward the end of the match. Bekichev's nasty rolling solebutt to the face and Naruse bumping to perfection in the corner. There’s a part where Yuri challenges him and Naruse pops him in the face. In the end, Naruse takes him out with a big flurry of palm strikes and a knee to the face. Loved this.

Andrei Kopylov vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 7/14/94)

Really good match and the best Kopylov looks in the first half of '94. Lots of intense counterwork, with Kopylov being the dominant one on the mat, working leglocks and armbar -- really liked his nasty reverse armbar. They pepper the submission work with some stiff strikes, especially from Yamamoto with his palms, but Kopylov answers right back with big slaps. Kopylov's final submission is cool but I have no idea what is. Good stuff.

Akira Maeda vs. Dick Vrij (RINGS, 07/14/94)

Wild and violent. Vrij keeps kicking out Maeda’s legs, which in turn, starts pissing off Maeda. Then Vrij really starts laying into him which causes Maeda to go after him in the corner and knock him down with a big barrage of strikes. There’s a little submission work here and there but it’s really just Vrij letting Maeda have it with nasty palm strikes to the face and knees to the head, busting his nose in the process. The finish was shit. Maeda grabs a leglock and Vrij taps before Maeda can even lock it in...but then he kicks Vrij afterward and that causes the Dutch mafia to get involved and it’s chaos. Terrific.

Nikolai Zouev vs Mitsuya Nagai (RINGS, 8/28/94)

This was the Nikolai Zouev that I was missing during the first half of 1994 and easily his best match of the year. There is plenty of great struggle on the mat with Nagau playing the scrappy little shit trying to spoil all of Zouev's submission attempts. When Zouev tries to grab a double wristlock, Nagai immediately floats out of it and to the ropes. When Zouev fights for the cross armbar, using his foot to break it open, Nagai's foot is on the rope like a reflex. he blocks a lot of Zouev’s takedowns but Zouev will still manage to grab a hold. Things get heated with the smacks and knees, and in the end, Zouev gets the submission win in his home country.

Grom Zaza vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 10/22/94)

Hot start with the strikes and Grom having to fight a feisty Yamamoto off before he's able to start building some momentum. Yamamoto brought the kicks but Grom also lets loose with the open hand slaps. I thought Yamamoto did a terrific job of selling in this match, which doesn't happen all that often in RINGS -- between milking the ten counts and submission breaks, to dragging the leg there at the end. Cool finish with Grom using a sweet leg-whip takedown but getting snagged in Yamamoto's rear-naked choke. Grom's second-best performance of the year behind the Todorov match, and another feather in Yamamoto's 1994 cap.

Volk Han vs. Andrei Kopylov (RINGS, 10/22/94)

Really good brutal match-up and definitely the best Kopylov has looked in 1994 behind the Yamamoto match. It's nice to see Han returning to aggressive form and he just lays into Kopylov throughout the match. Kopylov's strategy throughout is to get Han off of him as quickly as possible, whether that's a slam or a throw or countering Han's own elaborate attempt. Kopylov's selling of the arm is subtle but nice as they go after each other's arms with holds. Loved Han's standing armbar>armbreaker. At some point, Han gets bloodied with a shot and gets pissed off. Neat finish with Han using a cool wristlock takedown into the armbar and Kopylov's resiliency awarding him the upset victory.

Mitsuya Nagai vs. Dimitri Petkov (RINGS, 11/19/94)

Petkov would have been great in UWFi against guys like Vader and Albright. Just a big fat baby who throws people around and sits on them with single leg crabs and gets his knee sprayed down when Nagai kicks it too hard. This is the same narrative as their first match but they have really good chemistry together and it's unlike most things in RINGS. I love how vocal Petkov's body punches are and how he absorbs Nagai's strikes to get close enough to suplex him. Nagai once again targets the leg throughout and ends up submitting Petkov after a very well-executed rolling kneebar. Good match. 

Mitsuya Nagai vs. Masayuki Naruse (RINGS, 12/16/94)

A really good match-up between two similar dudes. Nagai is the better striker while Naruse has a little more finesse on the mat. Loved the opening with Nagai striking hard and then hanging onto the front neck lock when Naruse tries to roll him off before it settles into an evenly contested match. Nagai will get the knockdown and Naruse will send him to the ropes. Things escalate from the ground with Nagai being particularly stiff with his shots. Naruse's struggling to find anything and finally lands a big spinning heel kick in the corner but when he tries to take him down with a judo toss, Nagai catches him with a sleeper for the win. Awesome finish.

Akira Maeda vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 12/16/94)

Terrific match. The best "big boss" Maeda match since he returned from injury, and Yamamoto at his fieriest. Right out of the gate, he's rocking Maeda with big nasty open hands while Maeda struggles to find a takedown. That's one of his only defenses against Yamamoto (he's kind of like the wise tortoise in this match) but even when he's able to grab a submission, Yamamoto finds ways out or reverses the holds. The crowd is loving Yamamoto taking it to Maeda but when Maeda's able to fire back with some big shots of his own, he lays into Yamamoto, and quite often, chaos ensues -- which rules. Loved Maeda's surprise palm thrust to Yamamoto's face and Yamamoto losing it and taking Maeda down with a stiff combo. Once Maeda has established that he's going to submit him, Yamamoto sticks to striking and doesn't let up, even at his final down. The crowd doesn't like turtle-mode Maeda but in the end, he's able to snag the leglock for the submission. Probably the best RINGS match of '94, although Han/Nagai later in the month might take that honor.

Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs. Daisuke Ikeda (RINGS, 12/24/94)

A solid squash as Kohsaka dominates Ikeda, battering him around with strikes and smothering him on the ground. Ikeda's able to withstand a lot of TK's hard shots and the way they throw palm thrusts like punches are awesome. It seems to be me that Ikeda wasn’t quite used to working this style – granted, he was in PWFG but that wasn’t quite worked the same way so he gets really exhausted here. There’s this great struggle on the mat with TK trying to grab the armbar and Ikeda fighting around it but the finish was pretty lame with Ikeda sort of falling into TK's submission.

Volk Han vs. Mitsuya Nagai (RINGS, 12/14/94)

The best of their series and no doubt one of my all-time favorite RINGS matches thus far. There's so much to love about this match. Both guys play their respective roles so well, with Nagai being the pesky shithead underdog and Han the leggy takedown submission artist. Tons of cool shit from Han on the ground and that hammerlock suplex. I loved him using the triangle as a means to stop Nagai's barrage of knees and kicks. The fans love it when Han's getting rocked with kicks or Nagai's mocking him, and when Nagai briefly gets him in the STF, they collectively lose their shit. But Han keeps throwing him off and taking him to the ropes with submissions. One of my favorite moments in the match comes when Han has him in an armbar and he uses his own legs to block Nagai from being to flip out of it, and then he traps the leg to prevent any escape. Just smart wrestling. At one point, Han drags him into the middle of the ring just to apply a hold. He's always using his feet to break up Nagai's holds. Nagai does get to show off on the mat as well and has some good attempts of his own, like the rolling kneebar. I loved Nagai's struggle to pry open the armbar and when it finally gets it, Han touches the ropes to break it. Tons of excellent struggle on the ground, an incredible pace, and a great finish, with Nagai's frustration at its peak when he's just pummeling Han with body shots before Han finishes him off via submission. Chef's kiss.

Akira Maeda vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 12/24/94)

Not nearly as good as their 12/16 match but still one of Maeda's best performances of 1994. Maeda doesn't let Yamamoto get away with nearly as much offense here, and shows off his more aggressive side, immediately backing him into a corner, striking him down, and then slapping on a nasty side headlock. Yamamoto's still able to force Maeda to dance in submission holds and drops him with slaps and knees. When Maeda comes at him hard with kicks, Yamamoto's able to catch one and drop down into a leglock. Once more, the match builds to Yamamoto's final down and again, he tries downing Maeda with knees, and once again, Maeda uses his turtle defense and snags him with the leglock for the win.

FIghting Network RINGS (1992)

Akira Maeda vs. Dick Vrij (RINGS, 1/25/92)

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.

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.

Andrei Kopylov vs. Nikolai Zouev (RINGS, 10/23/93)

Two Russian submission specialists = lots of struggle and defense. This was a back-and-forth game of chess on the canvas, where Andrei Kopylov would manage a rolling armbar takedown but Nikolai Zouev would block the submission, and vice versa, with Zouev utilizing some cool takedowns but Kopylov playing heavy D on the mat. When Kopylov finally gets him in a double leglock,  Zouev tries to struggle out and Andrei smartly hooks the leg to prevent the escape. I thought Kopylov looked more aggressive here with his strikes, landing knees and open hand slaps, but Zouev fires back, knocking Kopylov down with a big high kick. As the match progresses, they obviously get more sluggish and desperate to get something cinched in. Zoeuv finally grabs a toe hold with Kopylov trapped in a full nelson using his legs -- a very cool submission and another nice win for Zouev.