UWF CORE: THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY

April 14, 1989

Minoru Suzuki . . . shows his inexperience, but, still looks better than either of the wrestlers in the second match.

Shigeo Miyato . . . wins his match, and also provides the answer to the question of “Who is the worst worker on the UWF Roster?”

Akira Maeda . . . once again has a match that involves his opponent getting busted open hardway.

YOJI ANJO vs. MINORU SUZUKI

This would actually be something of a dream match a few years down the road, but definitely not at this time. Suzuki’s inexperience causes quite a few ugly moments, such as a delayed sell and bump from one of Anjo’s kicks, and he doesn’t seem to know how to go along with Anjo’s suplex attempts. But, the green-as-grass rookie is still a more game opponent for Anjo than Miyato had ever been. The leg holds garner some good heat, and the fans go crazy when Suzuki gets something unexpected like him sending Anjo into the corner, and the running dropkick. This is still a watchable opener, even with the ugliness, and, watching Suzuki hone his skills and seeing Anjo find his calling as the resident smarmy bastard of the UWF is just one more thing to look forward to as I make my way though these tapes.

SHIGEO MIYATO vs. TATSUO NAKANO

Speaking of things to look forward with going through these tapes, not having to see these two wrestle each other is another thing to add to that list. Nakano has some nice snap to his throws, but, that’s about the extent of the good work here. They lay in holds and kill time to the point that I was hoping for Larry Zbyszko to show up and threaten to take both of these spudheads to Larryland. You know how much to expect from Miyato when an incidental knee shot from Nakano keeps him down for nine, but, he gets up at three when Nakano gives him a German suplex that nearly dumps him on his head. Nakano seems to actually want to win the match, and, thus the fans get behind him. But, their hopes are dashed when Miyato is the winner. But, the real winners are all of us that have witnessed this match. It’s over, and nothing aside from Goldust/Warrior at the April ‘96 IYH could possibly be much worse.

AKIRA MAEDA vs. KAZUO YAMAZAKI

And a not-so-good match ends a not-so-good event. This didn’t seem to be shaping up to be much better than their previous match in September, but, then again, these two don’t seem to have the chemistry together that they do when working with others. This doesn’t even really get out of the feeling out stage, but, even that winds up being some of the best work of the night. Yamazaki escapes a capture suplex with a headbutt and cracks open his forehead, which, intended or not, has to bring back memories of Maeda’s match with Fujinami. The match gets stopped and awarded to Maeda, but Yamazaki is still ready to fight, which is either a sign of his toughness or just how hard that headbutt really landed.

Conclusion: Despite the notability of being their first anniversary, this was certainly not a banner night for the UWF.