|
12/27/98 ARENA REPORT: Super Hyper Visual Fighting "Super Crush Series" VENUE: Tokyo Komazawa Olympic Park Gym CORRESPONDENT: Hideo Demura (PN Magazine) A sellout, turn away crowd of 4,167 packed Tokyo's Komazawa Olympic Park Gym for this evening's Super Hyper Visual Fighting TV-Tokyo taping. The card, which was the final SHVF show before their big 1/3 Yokohama Bunka gym show, featured the return of Keiji Asamiya, the debut of Tony Starks, and John Taylor, Eiji Miyazaki and Takashi Fukada in action. From a star power standpoint point the show was loaded and as a result sold-out 8 days prior to the event. The star power for the show was obviously there, but the show's line-up looked weak as far as fight quality was concerned. Any concerns over fight quality (specifically the one sided-ness of the match-making) were undoubtedly erased, however, later in the night. The first fight featured the debut of Tony Starks. Management thinks Starks has the potential to be a major player and drawing card for SHVF. When he first signed the unofficial word was that they wanted to let him come along at his own pace. Now with a possible rift (termed as a "drifting apart" by one official) between the promotion and two of its leading stars, there has been a movement by some of the management to go ahead to put Starks in the limelight as soon as possible. Starks is 27 years old, hails from Richmond, Virginia (in the United States), and trains in the Extreme Shoot Pro Dojo. He stands 6'6-1/2" and weighs 256 pounds. He's an experienced shootfight and submission expert. In addition to shootfighting, he has a background in boxing, amateur wrestling, the martial arts, sambo, jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai kickboxing. Starks also has experience in pro wrestling in leagues including the IIWF, WAR!, EMWC, and most recently SJPW. To quote from the SHVF Press Release on Starks: "Starks brings a unique and brutal shooting style to the ring and is one of the top submission/shootfighters the world." Ruas entered first wearing red tights and white boots to no ring music and little fanfare. Starks entered to "Punishment" by Biohazard. He focused on the ring and his opponent as he walked slowly down the isle. He wore black trunks, wrestling shoes, and knee pads. His fists were taped heavily as were his wrists and fingers. After Head Official Tajiri Hayashi had explained the rules and checked each man the fight was ready to begin. FIGHT #1 - (Debut) Tony Starks versus Reyo Ruas Both men came to center ring and circled one another. Ruas threw a high roundhouse kick but Starks stepped back out of the way, avoiding contact. Ruas moved forward, forcing Starks into the corner. Both men stood in fighting position with the there hands up trying to find an opening. Ruas attempted to shoot in for a takedown but Starks got his hands out and forced him to the mat. Ruas scrambled back to his feet and attempted to cover up as he retreated to center ring but Starks was able to palm strikes to his head. The strikes had just enough force to cause Ruas to lose his balance and fall to the mat on his back. Ruas lay on his back with his feet and hands in striking position. Starks attempted to move in but Ruas pushed him off with his feet. Starks circled, looking for an opening, but Ruas spun on the mat following him, always keeping his feet in front of Starks to prevent attack. Starks backed off into his corner and allowed Ruas to come to his feet. Both men came back to center ring and circled again in fighting stances. Starks threw a side kick at the Brazilian's chest but he blocked it. Starks threw a phantom palm strike, prompting Ruas to cover up his face, and shot in hitting a double leg takedown. Starks attempted to move-in for a mount but Ruas got a guard first. Ruas had little opportunity to look for a submission or choke as Starks quickly pinned Ruas' elbows to the mat, rose to his knees, landed a hard knee to the base of Ruas' spine and floated over his legs to a mount position. Ruas reached down with his hands and tried to push Starks off and back into his guard but Starks landed three headbutts forcing Ruas to cover back up. Starks tried to force Ruas to uncovered his head/neck with punches to the sides of his ribs but Ruas wouldn't do it. Starks threw a flurry of palm strikes down from the mount into Ruas face and chest. Even with his hands up Ruas was still catching a lot of the shots in the face. Starks shifted to a side mount and continued striking at Ruas' head. Ruas rolled over to his stomach and towards the ropes but Starks quickly spun around and hooked a front face lock on him. Starks threw a couple of punches to the side of Ruas' head opening him up enough for a choke. Starks got a guillotine choke hold on but by the time he had worked into position and locked it on, Ruas had gotten close enough to the ropes that he snagged the bottom one with his foot to force the break. Both men came back to center and circled one another. Starks caught Ruas by surprise with a spinning back-fist. With Ruas stunned, Starks went behind him and took him to the mat with a waistlock takedown. Starks landed a series of palm strikes to the back of the head prompting Ruas to cover up and allowing Starks to lock on a kataha-jime choke for the tap-out victory. Winner - Tony Starks at 4:29 After the match the fans gave Starks a standing ovation. He looked good in his debut and the fans seemed to take to him. Starks could definitely be a player in SHVF. The next match featured #8 John Taylor taking on Kazuo Iizuka. This was Taylor's first match back since Strong Style Evolution where he debuted. His first match, with Chandrasekhar Yoshida (who is in limbo with the promotion until he sends in some paperwork), was a draw. Iizuka entered first wearing lime green tights and pads to "Neon Bushido" by Blazing Sin. Taylor entered to "Firestarter" by Prodigy accompanied by EMWC legend Curtis Hansen. He wore a black leather jacket with the words "Boston Bomber" on the back to the ring. In the ring he wore red, white and blue American flag type martial arts pants, blue elbow pads, and red ankle-height soft-shoe boots. FIGHT #2 - (8) John Taylor versus Kazuo Iizuka They started on their feet, exchanging kicks, but Taylor scored a takedown. Iizuka locked a guard on and they were at a stalemate for next several minutes. Iizuka finally got an armbar out of the guard but Taylor made the ropes. After the stand-up Taylor charged in Iizuka caught him with a side kick to the head that sent him to the mat. He answered the standing count at 7. After the fight resumed Taylor caught an Iizuka kick and took him to the mat. Taylor then worked into position and locked on a triangle choke for the hard-fought victory. Winner - John Taylor at 8:53 The next match on tap was Keiji Asamiya's return to the ring after suffering a shoulder injury at Strong Style Evolution. Asamiya's opponent, Karloff, while a skilled fighter, had yet to get a win in SHVF which normally would place the odds heavily in the skilled veteran Asamiya's favor. But due to Asamiya's injury and subsequent 30 day lay off from the ring the outcome of the match was a definite question mark. FIGHT #3 - Keiji Asamiya versus Alexander Karloff After an early 5 count knockdown (due to a big leg kick) Asamiya dominated the match-up working over Karloff's left arm with a cross arm breaker and arm bar both of which resulted in rope escapes. The crowd was super hot at the first of the match but died off because the match stalled almost to a halt when it went to the mat with both men struggling for control. Asamiya finished Karloff off with a Fujiwara arm bar driver for the submission victory. Winner - Keiji Asamiya at 11:57 Asamiya got a standing ovation afterwards but nowhere near his normal level. This match came off very flat considering it was tremendously hyped and co-main event of the evening. Perhaps SHVF sensed that it wasn't going to be the best fight and that's why they chose to put it on as the evening's quarter-final as opposed to its original semi-final spot (either that or the rumors of backstage politicking between Steel Wind Dojo and SHVF are true). Next, it was time for the semi-final of the evening as Eiji Miyazaki faced the debuting Jun Yamamoto. This was an important step for Miyazaki towards a rematch with Ed Dean since a win here could sway the booking committee to make the match whether Dean accepts Miyazaki's challenge or not. Yamamoto is a very young fighter under a developmental contract to SHVF. Officials knew he wasn't ready for his professional debut but thought it would be a good learning experience. He's got a lot of charisma and shows star qualities. Yamamoto entered first to "Friends in Low Places" by Garth Brooks. He wore official black, red, and white SHVF tights and pads and was greeted with a rather warm response for a debuting fighter. Miyazaki entered a smoke filled entrance way to "Painkiller" by Angra as the lights dimmed, accompanied by the Old Man. Miyazaki and got a very loud pop as he made his way to the ring. Miyazaki wore a black doublet with a white skull on the front along with black boots, elbow pads and shin guards. FIGHT #4 - (5) Eiji Miyazaki versus Jun Yamamoto Miyazaki opened up hot scoring with a roundhouse kick and front palm strike, staggering Yamamoto backwards. Miyazaki followed him in and landed a thrust kick to his right knee, almost buckling it. Miyazaki went for a spinning back-fist but Yamamoto ducked it and landed two palm blows to Miyazaki's face that prompted him to back out of the corner. Yamamoto followed him out and went for a straight right jab, but Miyazaki caught him arm, locked his hands around his arm and head, and drove him face first to the mat. Miyazaki clamped down on Yamamoto with a front face lock and looked for an opening for a choke but Yamamoto closed up any opportunity well. The youngster looked good on the ground but needs to work on his standing fighting. After about a two minute stalemate Miyazaki wisely released the hold and allow Yamamoto to his feet. It was clear that Miyazaki saw how good Yamamoto was on the ground so he decided to let him come back to his feet where he had had less success. Both men came to center ring and circled. Yamamoto shot in looking for a takedown but Miyazaki blocked him and hit a stiff side kick to the kneeling Yamamoto's head. With Yamamoto dazed Miyazaki went for the kill and took him back off his feet just as he attempted to standup with an iron broom leg sweep. Miyazaki rolled over from the sweep into the Miyazaki stretch (stepover toe hold abdominal stretch combo [Regal Stretch]) for the submission victory. Winner - Eiji Miyazaki at 3:49 Miyazaki's decisive victory must have meant something to the match makers as after the show they announced that Miyazaki would indeed get a rematch with Dean on January 3rd at Crush Night in Yokohama. So before Dean even had a chance to respond to the challenge the booking committee has stepped in and made the match. The final match of the evening was a non-title exhibition match pitting SHVF World Champion, Takashi Fukada against the unknown import John Yun-Lee. This was basically a warm-up match for Fukada in route to his title defense next week against Junji Shirow. MAIN EVENT - (C) Takashi Fukada versus John Yun-Lee [Non-Title Exhibition] Both men came to center ring and circled one another. Fukada threw a series of palm strikes but Yun-Lee stepped back to avoid contact. Fukada pursued him into the corner. Fukada shot in for a takedown but Yun-Lee caught him coming in, locked on a front face lock, and spun around, forcing Fukada into the corner. As Yun-Lee held Fukada in the front face lock in the corner he threw several knees up to his head and chest while Fukada landed fists into Yun-Lee's ribs. Yun-Lee wrenched up on Fukada's neck and pulled him out of the corner. Yun-Lee then took Fukada to the mat still with the front face lock. After the hold had been locked on for around a minute, with both men looking for other holds out of there respective positions, Fukada made the ropes. Back in center ring each man circled one another again after the standup. Fukada went for an axe kick but Yun-Lee blocked it and threw him to the mat to a crowd pop. Fukada came back to his feet and charged with a double leg takedown attempt but Yun-Lee dropped to his back and monkey flipped Fukada over to the mat, hanging on and floating over into a mount position on Fukada. From the mount Yun-Lee quickly locked on a side choke to a huge crowd pop. He wrenched down on the choke but Fukada (who was very close to the ropes from the monkey flip) snagged the bottom rope to force the break. As Fukada came to his feet a trickle of blood was running down his lip from inside his mouth. The ref checked him but Fukada brushed him aside to show he was ready to continue. Fukada looked very groggy as he came back to center ring. The crowd was on its feet cheering. Both men came back to center ring. Fukada stood out of breath with a glazed over look in his eyes. Yun-Lee landed a hard side kick to his leg and a hard spinning roundhouse kick that just caught Fukada on the jaw and sent him staggering backwards. Yun-Lee followed him and landed a rolling elbow to Fukada's jaw followed by a rolling elbow to the back of his skull, sending Fukada to the mat. The crowd went wild as an excited Yun-Lee stood in the ring anxiously anticipating Fukada coming back to his feet. Hayashi checked Fukada but he was out cold prompting Fukada to call for the bell. Winner - John Yun-Lee at 4:36! The crowd gave Yun-Lee a standing ovation as SHVF officials who had made their way to ringside looked on in disbelief. Yun-Lee's victory, the biggest upset in SHVF history by far, could have long lasting ramifications on the promotion. Yun-Lee's deal was rumored to be a one fight deal, meaning that he can return to the US with his victory in hand, or perhaps sign with a promotion in Japan as a big star for knocking on the SHVF World Champion. With Crush Night in Yokohama only one week away Fukada and SHVF are left with many questions. Fukada can't dwell on this loss however as he faces the formidable challenge of Junji Shirow next week at Yokohama Bunka Gym. A loss in that match won't mean a potential box office drop or simply a blemish on Fukada's record, it will mean the loss of the most coveted strong style title in the World. 
|