U-STYLE ON SAMURAI TV

Taped 10/06/03

U-STYLE changes things up on this show and instead of the typical card of standalone matches, it’s a one-night tournament in order to decide the next challenger to Tamura.

Kazuki Okubo . . . finally looks like someone that’s capable of weathering the storm and returning fire, instead of the proverbial deer in the headlights.

Katsuhisa Fujii . . . proves that he’s a lot more than the suplex-machine that he’s looked like during U-STYLE’s first year.

Kyosuke Sasaki . . . goes from being the standout worker on the undercards to looking like a genuine main event player for U-STYLE.

Quarterfinal: KATSUHISA FUJII vs. RYU ECHIGO

There isn’t anything here that hasn’t been seen in Fujii’s other lower card squashes. Echigo tries to be aggressive and fire away with slaps, but Fujii hits one kick that knocks him down. Echigo seems to make Fujii sweat for a minute when he catches a kick and tries for an ankle lock, but Fujii keeps his cool and works his way out of the predicament before Echigo can take advantage. Fujii makes Echigo burn another point by using the ropes to get out of a legbar and then hits a belly to belly and follows that up with a German suplex for the KO win.

Quarterfinal: MANABU HARA vs. KAZUKI OKUBO

While the actual work isn’t so great, this is fun to watch as the story of Okubo’s growth as a fighter plays out. He’s much more aggressive than he’d been in his previous three matches, and there are times that he shows Tamura’s knack for getting a hold on when it’s least expected. Hara tries for a legbar and leaves his arm open, and Okubo grabs it and gets an armbar to force a rope break. The end of the fifteen-minute draw portion shows Okubo surprise Hara with a juji-gatame and pull Hara to the center of the ring, just as Tamura had done to Mishima in their April match, before trying (unsuccessfully) to get the hold applied. After the sudden death portion begins, Hara scores a German suplex and goes for a sleeper, but Okubo smartly wrenches on Hara’s ankle and forces him to release the hold and give Okubo time to get his bearings.

Again, the work itself isn’t great throughout the match. Neither of them is great on the mat, but they make up for it by keeping the match feeling quick and busy. Both men are good about staying active and trying to counter or work their way out of something, rather than using the hold as a time-killing device. The best thing to see here is how Okubo is able to use his strikes, namely knees and kicks, to close the gap and get ahead in the match. Hara is a total pro with the way he puts over Okubo’s strikes, and after the sleeper escape, Hara is too tired out to fend him off, and a flurry of kicks and knees wind up giving Okubo his first U-STYLE win. There’s still plenty of room for improvement, but this is a good example of showing that Okubo is headed in the right direction.

Quarterfinal: KYOSUKE SASAKI vs. NAOKI KIMURA

Aside from Kimura’s opening strike flurry that takes Sasaki off of his feet and costs him a point, this is never much of a contest. The story of Kimura in U-STYLE thus far has been that his mat game is his biggest strength, but he loses out because his opponents can exploit his lack of well roundedness. But Kimura is absolutely no match for Sasaki on the mat, who almost literally works circles around him. Even when Kimura manages to get something that seems like it would give him a chance to control the match, such as the German suplex into the juji-gatame, Sasaki is already blocking Kimura from getting the armbar. Conversely, when Sasaki wants to finish Kimura off with the same hold, he gets a basic takedown and easily gets it applied, and even though he initially loses his grip, he gets it back without any trouble. Even with some better work, this is nowhere near the level of the previous match, but it does its job of finally getting Sasaki a win after all of his good performances.

Quarterfinal: RYUKI UEYAMA vs. HIROYUKI ITO

If only Tamura was able to get Namekawa or Murahama to work against Sasaki (I’d assume that Mishima having already tried his hand at Tamura made him ineligible for the tournament), then the entire quarterfinal round could have been comprised of rematches from previous shows. For a while this doesn’t look like it’ll be anything different than their first encounter from February. Ito is completely outmatched in every way and can’t do much of anything to change it. A shining example of the disparity between them is shown when Ito fights like hell in order to, ultimately unsuccessfully, get a juji-gatame. After Ueyama works his way out of the predicament and maneuvers himself, he easily gets the same hold on Ito and sends him flailing to the ropes. Ito’s frustration eventually boils over and he takes a cheap shot kick while Ueyama is on the mat and gets deducted a point.

Ito’s fortunes change when he realizes that he’s not going to win by being the better fighter. Ito takes advantage of Ueyama’s knee being taped up and tees off on it whenever he gets a chance, and Ueyama starts bleeding his points away. Three sets of kicks knock off three points, and a kneebar takes off his fourth. The way they work it is more commonly found in pro-style matches, but they more than get across the intended message. They both make it clear that, if not for the injury, Ito would have a less-than-zero chance of winning. One thing that I’ve been critical of with U-STYLE (as well as UWF and GLEAT) is not taking better advantage of the point system to come up with interesting finishes. This is as close as U-STYLE has come to doing that, even though Ueyama technically loses by TKO. He’s on his last point and with his knee being so damaged, Ito manages to outwrestle him and slap on another kneebar. His pride won’t let him tap and even though he’s right next to the ropes Ueyama won’t concede, and the ref has to call it. Ito advances purely because of the heelish attitude that he’d been showing, and despite losing, everyone watching knows that this would have been over before it began if Ueyama was at full-strength.

Semifinal: KATSUHISA FUJII vs. KAZUKI OKUBO

Fujii’s quarterfinal match has been the longest match that he’s had thus far in U-STYLE, lasting just over three minutes. Okubo’s sudden death win over Hara has been the longest match in the history of the company. Anyone care to guess how this plays out? If nothing else, Okubo doesn’t go down without a fight. Fujii almost seems like he’s trying to be merciful and end it quick with strikes and submissions, but Okubo swings back or flails away for the ropes, even after Fujii pulls him back from them he keeps on flailing and gets the break. It’s only delaying the inevitable but it’s still a welcome sight, especially compared to Okubo being wholly inactive in his match with Sakata from April. Hell, Fujii dumps him with a German and Okubo gets back up and charges, and Fujii has to do a second one to keep the kid down for good. Yes, in the end Okubo ended up just like everyone else that has been across the ring from Fujii, but this is different because Okubo essentially forces Fujii to do it.

Semifinal: KYOSUKE SASAKI vs. HIROYUKI ITO

The wrestling here is fine, but that’s about it. Ito and Sasaki don’t seem to match up well together. Ito is more active here, as opposed to how sluggish he looked in his match with Ueyama, but he’s got no chance of keeping up with Sasaki. They’ve got some fun moments, like Sasaki’s roll-through counter of the German suplex into an ankle lock and the flying armbar is probably the best spot of the match, but nothing they do seems all that important or has any real impact on the match. The only drama comes from the use of the points, with Ito knocking Sasaki down to his last one before Sasaki wins, but at no point does it seem like Ito has any prayer of winning. If anything, it’s a mark against Sasaki that Ito lasts as long as he does and that he’s able to take away four of his points, especially with how easily it looked for Sasaki to lock in the juji-gatame that puts him away.

KATSUHISA FUJII vs. KYOSUKE SASAKI (Tournament Final)

Despite the fact that this is relatively short, this is all kinds of fun. Both of them do everything possible to get the crowd firmly behind Sasaki. You know what you’re in for in the first minute, Sasaki goes after Fujii with kicks and Fujii tries to stop him with a German suplex, only for Sasaki to suck up the suplex and trap Fujii in an armbar which forces him to use the ropes to escape and burn a point. Fujii had never given up a single point in his first five U-STYLE matches, but not only does Sasaki cause him to do so here, but he also draws first blood so to speak. The way the actual match plays out does a lot to put over both men. Fujii returns the favor after losing his first point by coming back and knocking off one of Sasaki’s points with a strike barrage that knocks him down. Fujii shows that he’s quite adept on the mat, getting rope breaks by muscling Sasaki into a camel clutch variation and a single leg crab. Fujii’s eventual win is somewhat reminiscent of Tamura’s win over Sakata from the debut show; Fujii traps Sasaki in a crucifix armbar and while Sasaki is working his way out of the hold, in the manner that Fujii completely expects him to, Fujii traps Sasaki in a facelock and forces him to submit. Despite the fact that Fujii is the only other undefeated member of the roster, besides Tamura, his quick KO wins with his suplexes made him come off as a one-dimensional fighter, and this shows that it’s absolutely not the case.

The match itself always feels exciting, with the momentum swinging both ways. Fujii will drop Sasaki with a belly to belly, but as soon as he hits the mat, Sasaki surprises Fujii with a takedown and locks in a juji-gatame seemingly out of nowhere. Rather than use his size to throw or knock Sasaki around, aside from the first point that he takes off, Fujii is forced to truly wrestle with someone who’s shown to be one of the better mat workers in the company. The parity between them is reflected in how the points are taken off. Neither of them is able to take away more than two points in a row, and neither is ever able to enjoy more than a one-point advantage at any time. It’s really too bad that they seem to jettison the customary post-match handshake (although it’s possible that it took place while the replay of the finish was being shown). Ever since he stepped through the curtain for the first match of the first U-STYLE show, Fujii has always had a disdainful sneer on his face. Fujii shaking hands and showing respect to Sasaki was the only way that he could have possibly been given any more rub.

The biggest issue with the match comes down to the booking. They clearly went out there with the intention of making Sasaki look strong in defeat, which is a goal that they certainly accomplish. And while Fujii winning by outwrestling Sasaki to submit him, rather than outmuscling him, adds some credibility to his name, the way the match plays out also winds up coming off as something of a negative. They’re running this tournament to decide Tamura’s next opponent, because nobody working on these shows has really shown to be any viable threat to him. But if Fujii only wins after being pushed to the brink by Sasaki, how is he expected to be any more of a threat to Tamura than anyone else? There’s not even much of an argument to be made as far as Fujii winning three matches, considering the fact that his matches with Echigo and Okubo were the two shortest matches of the tournament. Regardless of whatever misgivings that the booking seems to create, this is still an amazingly fun and effective match, despite being on the shorter side.

Conclusion: This is a fun overall show, but the tournament final is easily the best thing to see here.