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11/15/98 ARENA REPORT: Super Hyper Visual Fighting "Free Fight Gala" VENUE: Tokyo Korkuen Hall CORRESPONDENT: Hideo Demura (PN Magazine) Super Hyper Visual Fighting made its debut tonight in front of a capacity crowd of 2,200 in Tokyo's Korkuen Hall. From a business standpoint the show was very profitable, but it would have been a major financial success no matter how many fans attended due to a lucrative TV contract with TV-Tokyo that covered the majority of the show's expenses. The real determining factor in deciding whether or not the show was going to be a success or not was the public's reaction to the show, and on that front the show was also a resounding success. The crowd reacted positively to basically every match on the card and gave Promoter Hadi Moditian a standing ovation after the show when he addressed the crowd. TV-Tokyo's live broadcast of the event drew 14.2 rating, the 2nd highest rated show of the night on network television. The show opened with Hadi Moditian coming to the ring and welcoming the crowd. Following Moditian's speech all 14 fighters were introduced and came to the ring for instructions from head referee, Tajiri Hayashi. The crowd, still relatively uneducated to the styles and personalities of the fighters, gave polite rounds of applause to all the talent, with especially warm responses to the all of the Japanese talent and Ed Dean (due to his experience in Super Japan Pro Wrestling). The main event participants, Keiji Asamiya and Takashi Fukada, were introduced last with both receiving very loud receptions, especially Asamiya. Fukada's reaction was filled with scatted boos which he seemed to relish as much, if not more than the cheers. Hayashi went over the basic fighting rules before explaining that tonight's bouts would be contested under 15 minute time limits, with one five minute over time period, with the exception of the main event which would have a 20 minute time limit with two 5 minute overtime periods. After the instructions it was time for the action to begin. Fight #1 - Eiji Miyazaki (Japan) versus Reyo Ruas (Brazil) The crowd was heavily in favor of Miyazaki who had a 3 inch reach advantage and 30 pound weight advantage over the Brazilian. This match illustrated the one complaint from many insider fight fans that the match pairings were too one sided in some instances, and appeared to be designed to provide a general introduction of the style followed by a spectacular finish as opposed to stand-off competitive matches. Of course its very easy to understand the need for that type of match making since had they booked evenly matches opponents in every match they would have run the risk of having a show that drug on with little action. Moditian confirmed the reasoning behind the booking after the show saying that this show was designed as an introduction to the style so that fans will understand and accept longer matches at latter shows since they'll know what the opponents are trying to do. Miyazaki opened quick out of a center ring lockup, forcing Ruas to the ropes and following up with Wing Chun Chain Punches. Ruas hooked the rope to force the ref to back Eiji off but as soon as Ruas approached Miyazaki landed a spinning backfist that sent Ruas to the mat. Ruas answered the 10 count at 5 and they locked up again center ring. Ruas landed a couple of hard knees to the Miyazaki's side before Miyazaki landed an elbow to the side of the head followed by stiff lariat, taking Ruas off his feet. Miyazaki got a single leg Boston crab on, but Ruas made the ropes to break the hold after only about 90 seconds. Hayashi stood them up after the rope break and Ruas control the tie-up with a go behind. He went for a German suplex but Miyazaki escaped with a back elbow to the head and hit a Russian leg sweep. Miyazaki floated over into a mount position and hit Ruas with a rapid series of punches and forearms to the sides of his head which really got the crowd going with a chant of 'Eiji, Eiji'. Hayashi forced the break and backed Miyazaki off in order to see if Ruas could continue. Ruas made it to his feet at 7, still looking groggy. At this point my feeling is Hayashi could have stopped it and nobody could have complained because Ruas had took a beating and looked out of it, but he opted to let it continue which I suppose one can argue was the right thing to as well. They circled at center ring with Ruas throwing some pretty weak punches which Miyazaki easily blocked. Miyazaki landed several side kicks to Ruas's right leg that backed him towards the corner before he hit a spinning roundhouse kick that caught Ruas right on the chin. He fell into the corner and Miyazaki went for the kill with a Front Palm strike and Y Palm Strike before Hayashi stopped the fight. Ruas was out cold and bleeding from the mouth in the corner afterwards. Miyazaki got a standing ovation and the chant of 'Eiji, Eiji' went up again. They brought Ruas to with smelling salts and helped him to the back to a polite round of applause. Winner - Eiji Miyazaki at 5:47. In a post match interview Miyazaki made it clear the trashing he gave Ruas was a message to Ed Dean. In between matches, Hadi Moditian joined the commentary team on TV to discuss SHVF's next card, Strong Style Evolution, which led to a brief delay in the action. They opened the announce teams microphones up to the arena as to help keep the crowd into the evening, but they wanted action, not talking and a chant of 'fight, fight' went up not long into Moditian's speech which prompted Moditian to apologize for the delay and call for the action to resume. Its normally a bad thing when a crowd cuts you off, but in this case Moditian was smiling from ear to ear at the crowd's eagerness to continue with the action. Fight #2 - Doug Thomas (USA) versus Marco Russ (Poland) This was an interesting match-up for several reasons, the first being that Thomas is actually under contract to Super Japan Pro Wrestling, but is able to work SHVF shows due to an agreement reached between SHVF, SJPW, and Thomas prior to SHVF's signing of Ed Dean, which has sparked a sort of inter-promotional feud. SJPW has reportedly asked Thomas to stop accepting SHVF bookings due to the companies recent problems. The pairing was also particularly interesting to shootfighting fans since Thomas and Russ have had one previous meeting in the UFC which took place before the institution of a judging panel and resulted in a draw, with the majority of those who watched the match believing Russ would have won on points. Shortly after the match Russ left the UFC in favor of a big money offer from a fighting promotion in Brazil and Thomas ventured into pro wrestling. Coming into the card this match was figured to be one of the most closely contested since in their first match was close until Russ landed a kick that caught Thomas hard on the knee and hurt his mobility the rest of the fight. Both men opened tentatively which brought the crowd down a notch and prompted some cat calling due to the drop of pace from the first match to this one. After feeling each other out for several minutes with strikes and kicks, none of which landed without at least being partially blocked, Thomas made the first significant offense move when he caught a high side kick attempt and countered with a dragon screw leg whip, which quickly got the crowd back into it. Thomas held onto the leg and applied a rolling kneebar, which Russ quickly made the ropes to break the hold. After the stand up Russ used a double leg takedown on Thomas into a mount. Russ started throwing punches down from the mount, and landed at least two before Thomas got into guard position and began blocking. Russ, a better striker than wrestler, stood up and allowed Thomas back to his feet. Thomas attempted a lock-up but Russ would have no part of it and caught him with a good inside forearm to right jaw. Thomas took the punishment, kept his head low, and took Russ over with a northern lights suplex to the 'ahs' of the crowd. Thomas floated over off the suplex into a cross arm breaker on the dazed Russ in the center of the ring. Thomas cranked the arm and Russ tapped out. After the match the fans gave both men a standing ovation. Winner - Doug Thomas at 4:10. One disadvantage to SHVF not using a judging/points system on the regular cards is going to be quick rope breaks with no penalties. There was some talk backstage after the show among the fighters that they should either a) add judges to each show or b) penalize rope breaks by giving the aggressor an amateur style, dominate starting position similar to high school wrestling in non-scoring fights. Fight #3 - Ed Dean (USA) versus Minoru Hidaki (Japan) While this fight looked going in to be a very clear mis-match in the favor Ed Dean it did have a very interesting dimension in it due to the recent developments between SJPW and SHVF, and there dispute over the contractual status of Dean. There were rumors that circulated before and during the show that SJPW was seeking a restraining order barring Dean from competing on the card until an appropriate hearing could be scheduled. These rumors proved untrue however as Dean appeared in his fight as scheduled. At the bell Hidaki went after Dean with an axe kick but Dean caught his foot and hit a hard knee to the inside on his other leg that sent Hidaki to the mat. Hidaki came up limping slightly but Hayashi ruled him able to compete. Dean went for the kill with forearm strikes to the head but Hidaki was able to get his hands up and block the shots which opened him up to a knee to the stomach from Dean, followed by a belly to belly suplex. At this point the crowd realized that there favorite, their countryman Hidaki was in way over his head. Some begin to jeer Dean while others jumped ship and begin to cheer for the American. Hidaki sat up and attempted to come to his feet but Dean landed four stiff kicks to his back, followed by an elbow to the side of the head. Dean then latched on a full nelson, pulled Hidaki to his feet and hit a releases dragon suplex dropping Hidaki directly on top of his head, and gaining the first pinfall victory of the night. Winner - Ed Dean at 2:03. It should be very interesting to see how SJPW reacts in the future to Dean's activities in SHVF. It should also be noted that Eiji Miyazaki (rumored to be sent by SJPW Executives to SHVF) came out and stood in the entranceway for the duration of this match. Some speculated backstage after the show that Dean may have noticed Miyazaki's presence and finished Hidaki off quickly to make a statement to him and SJPW. Fight #4 - Sunjinski (Japan) versus Takao Yoshie (Japan) This match marked Sunjinski's first appearance in a Japanese ring since the closure of PJW's heavyweight division and his subsequent stint in SJPW. His brief run in PJW (where he was the first and only heavyweight champion) was so successful at the box office that many pegged 'Jinski the next major headliner and star of the wrestling industry. His stint in SJPW was less productive mainly due to clashes between 'Jinski and management and since then he's withdrawn himself from the pro wrestling world to concentrate on his first love of no holds barred fighting. Sunjinski came to the ring through the crowd to a good response from the fans who were firmly behind him the entire match. Yoshie is an accomplished former judo champion, but had been inactive prior to this match due to what was though to be a career ending knee injury. This match was his opportunity to prove to SHVF management that he still had it. Both men opened cautious, each throwing some simple kicks and fist strikes with little if any effect. The first serious contact came around the two minute mark when Yoshie landed a series a side kicks to 'Jinski's left side that stagger Sunjinski to the corner. Yoshie stayed aggressive throwing a high side kick towards the head that 'Jinski grabbed, scooped up the other leg and hit a hard scoop powerbomb for a near fall that the crowd popped for believing it was the finish. Sunjinski brought Yoshie back to his feet and landed a series of forearm blows before scooping Yoshie up for what looked like his Nine-Eleven special (Michinoku Driver II) but Yoshie escaped over the top and used a judo throw to take Sunjinski down. 'Jinski got to his feet quickly and flattened a running Yoshie with an inside forearm, which busted Yoshie's nose and prompted the crowd to begin a 'Jinski, Jinski' chant. Yoshie got to his feet and Hayashi cleared him to continue. They circled each other and 'Jinski landed a straight right hand that caught Yoshie on the chin. Yoshie looked out on his feet as Sunjinski executed his Firesquad jackhammer suplex and gained a pinfall victory. Winner - Sunjinski at 4:53 Given his past as a headliner in wrestling and a flashy move set not common to shoot fighting, Sunjinski has an opportunity to become one of the premier fighters in SHVF. Fight #5 - Alexandar Karloff (Russia) versus Shiro Mayashi (Japan) This was one of the more intriguing fights on the card since not only was it one of the most evenly matched fights (other than Fukada/Asamiya), but it featured Karloff, one of the premier fighters in the world today, who at age 35 has amassed one of the best won-loss recorders on the planet in NHB fighting, and Mayashi, the man many consider to be the best young fighter in the world today. The crowd interest was very high due to the Russia v. Japan theme of the match which has always been popular and the fighting community watched with eyes wide open to see if the relatively untested Mayashi was the rising fighting legend many were proclaiming him. Mayashi and Karloff are both listed at 6 feet, 2 inches, but Karloff appeared to have a slight height advantage of between 1-2 inches. Karloff carried the weight advantage by 30 pounds (271 to 241), with Mayashi holding the reach advantage by 2 inches. Karloff is 11 years Mayashi's senior, with both sharing similar fighting styles, using strikes to setup wrestling/submission holds. Both received tremendous crowd responses on there way to the ring, Mayashi due to his reputation and nationality, Karloff due to his previous fights in Japan including a legendary 60 minute draw with Kiato Kangawa in a kickboxer v. wrestler match. They opened tentatively with Karloff looking for a lockup and Mayashi throwing side kicks at the legs. Mayashi landed several leg kicks before Karloff slipped behind him and locked on a waist-lock. Mayashi attempted several back elbows with Karloff successfully positioning himself out of harms way by ducking his head behind Mayashi's back. Karloff got a takedown out of the waistlock but Mayashi ducked out and reversed behind him before he had a chance to capitalize. Mayashi landed several knees to the back of the head which drew 'ahs' from the crowd, before bringing Karloff to his feet and hitting a German suplex with a float over into reverse knee bar on Karloff's left leg. Karloff looked dazed from the suplex but had the presence of mind to reach out and grab the ropes to break the knee bar. The German suplex/reverse knee bar combination was an excellent looking move that got the crowd on its feet, but Mayashi's inexperienced showed in executing the move so close to the ropes. After the stand up, Mayashi and Karloff traded leg kicks with Karloff favoring his left leg by leading with the right leg. Mayashi shot in on Karloff with a double leg takedown attempt saw it coming and locked a front face lock on Mayashi while managing to stay on his feet while backpedalling into the corner. Karloff landed punches into Mayashi's face from the front face lock before spinning around and hitting a front face lock DDT that drew a round of applause from the crowd. Karloff then held onto the front face lock waiting for an opening to get a chokehold with Mayashi trying the make it to his knees. Mayashi made it to his knees at the 4:29 mark only to have his progress thwarted by a forearm to the back of the head. Karloff then released the front face lock since there was no hope of getting a choke since Mayashi had his chin tucked to his neck. Karloff went from the face lock to a double arm chicken wing. After struggling to break the hold for around a minute and a half, Mayashi surprised Karloff by quickly rolling to his back, in turn taking Karloff to his back as well, and floating over to a mount position. Mayashi landed several forearm shots to the forehead stunning Karloff before locking on a Guillotine choke hold. At this point the crowd popped expecting Karloff to tap out, but instead the Russian landed a hard blow with the point of the elbow to Mayashi's head which Mayashi had no chance of blocking due to the choke application. The blow stunned Mayashi and sent him to the mat looking on the verge of being out. Karloff came to his knees and crawled towards Mayashi but Hayashi stopped him and back him into the corner in order to administer a standing 10 count to Mayashi who was stirring somewhat. A chant of 'Ma-ya-shi, Ma-ya-shi' went up from the crowd. Mayashi made it to his knees at 6 and to his feet with the help of the ropes at 9. Hayashi checked him and ruled him able to continue. Karloff wasted no time in charging Mayashi after Hayashi called for the action to continue, but Mayashi managed to throw a side kick that landed hard on the charging Karloff sending him to the mat holding his chest. Mayashi stabilized himself with the ropes for a few seconds before dragging Karloff to the center of the ring, and pulling Karloff to his feet, landing three knees to his head on the way up. Mayashi then mounted Karloff's shoulder and executed a rolling arm bar. Karloff reached for the ropes with his legs unsuccessfully. Karloff held on for around 45 seconds before tapping out to the match. Winner - Shiro Mayashi at 9:37 After the match the crowd gave Mayashi and Karloff a standing ovation with some scattered chants of 'Mayashi, Mayashi'. In a post match press conference Mayashi made it clear that he felt the SHVF front office was over looking his talent and said he hopes this win will open there eyes to his abilities. Mayashi also openly questioned why his match was put in a position below that of Junji Shirow, since his match as Mayashi put it "clearly had more potential to be a co-main event quality fight since it was a much more even match-up." Mayashi called the booking of the card (giving Shirow a less established opponent and putting him on second to last) an example of favoritism towards Shirow due to his involvement with Asamiya who Mayashi called a corporate suckup. It appears that the students of Fukada and Asamiya are destined to pick-up their rivalry where they leave off. Fight #6 - Junji Shirow (Japan) versus Kazuo Iizuka (Japan) The crowd was heavily behind Shirow who had been pushed hard in television commercials and appearances as the a future star of the group. Perhaps there is some truth to Mayashi's belief that Shirow is being pushed as the future star of the group as opposed to him, but Shirow is a more proven fighter than Mayashi and is reportedly much easier to deal with behind the scenes than his aggressive counter part. The match opened fast with Shirow hitting a knee to the stomach and single arm Greco Roman throw. Shirow allowed Iizuka back to his feet only to take him down again with a forearm to the head followed by an exploder suplex that brought the crowd to its feet. Shirow moved in on Iizuka, perhaps looking for a submission hold of some kind, but Iizuka scrambled frantically to the ropes. At this point it was clear to everyone in the building including the blind man in the last row that Iizuka was way out of his league. They circled each other center ring after the stand up with Shirow hitting a go behind take down followed by standing hammerlock into single leg takedown and finally into a double hammerlock submission. Iizuka appeared to anticipate what was coming next in the sequence but looked to simple by to slow to prevent it. Iizuka made the ropes to force another rope break at the 3:44 mark. after the stand up Iizuka shot in on Shirow looking for a takedown but got caught in a Fujiwara Arm Driver, with Shirow driving Iizuka to the mat with his elbow wedged between the shoulder and arm, and clamping on a Fujiwara armbar to gain a submission victory. Winner - Junji Shirow at 5:27 After seeing the SHVF debuts of Shirow and Mayashi there are a lot of people interested in seeing that fight take place. Main Event - Keiji Asamiya versus Takashi Fukada The rivalry between this two has been well documented in the media outlets thanks to the marketing juggernaut that we call Super Hyper Visual Fighting. Basically ever since they first met while training under the same mentor they've been rivals. This match was billed as the rubber match in there series since in five previous fights each had two wins, with there latest meeting on July 14, 1997 in Tijuana, Mexico resulting in a draw when both men spilled out of the ring and brawled in the crowd inciting a riot. Fukada came to the ring to the beats of battle drums as the crowd gave him a very mixed response with some cheering and others booing. He wore long blue tights with black boots, shin guards, knee pads, and elbow pads along with black striking gloves. Asamiya came to the ring to no entrance music, just the electric cheers of the crowd and chants of his name. He wore simple black tights, boots and pads. The crowd came to its feet when the bell rung in anticipation of the tremendous action they were about to witness and they weren't to be disappointed. They opened exchanging forearm strikes before locking up. Asamiya controlled the lock-up with a firearm's carry into headlock. Fukada made it to his feet and shot Asamiya to the ropes to break the headlock. Asamiya grabbed the ropes to break his momentum and circled Fukada before they lock up again. Fukada controlled the lock-up with a go behind into hammer lock. Asamiya fought his way to the ropes and grabbed the top rope with his free hand but before the ref could break the hold Fukada pushed off the second rope with his right foot to break Asamiya's grip on the top rope, and took him down to the mat still with the hammer lock as the crowd booed his bending of the rules. Hayashi ordered the hold broke but Fukada ignored his order for several seconds at which point Hayashi issued him a red card, signaling his first rules infraction of the match, which prompted Fukada to break the hold, as crowd booed his unsportmanslike conduct. As Asamiya laid on the mat nursing his arm, Fukada stood on the second rope in the corner, playing to the crowd, with his hands outstretched, motioning with his hands for them to continue there jeers which they did. Asamiya made it to his feet and they locked up again. This time Asamiya controlled the lock-up and backed Fukada into the corner where he landed several knees to the stomach followed by three hard inside forearms to the face. Fukada attempted to cover up but Asamiya continued with a flurry of knees, kicks and fist strikes which brought the crowd to there feet cheering. In desperation Fukada dove through the ropes and to the floor. The crowd was confused as some booed recognizing that Fukada dived through the ropes to save himself from being knocked out and others cheered believing Asamiya had knocked Fukada through the ropes with his powerful strikes. Fukada leaned over the ring apron trying to catch his breath as Hayashi went through the ropes to check him. At first it appeared as though Hayashi was going to issue Fukada his second red card of the match (leaving him just one shy of being Disqualified) but instead he rules that Fukada was knocked to the floor. From my vantage point it looked like Fukada was being pounded and with no other way out, dove through the ropes to stop the beating he was taking. At any rate Fukada was busted open above his left eye at some point during the exchange. Hayashi allowed the ringside trainer to tape up Fukada's cut which stopped almost all of the blood flow before ruling Fukada able to continue. As Fukada climbed back in the ring he appeared to be out on his feet, that coupled with the fact that his left eye was swelling shut prompted a lot of speculation in the press box that the match should have been stopped, but wasn't due to what SHVF had riding on the match. They faced off again center ring with Asamiya throwing hard kicks to Fukada's legs and Fukada keeping his hands up to protect against any shot towards the head. In essence Fukada was willing to take the leg kicks in hopes of protecting himself from any strikes to the head long enough for him to gain his senses back from the head jarring shots he took in the corner. Asamiya threw a high hook kick that caught Fukada right behind the left ear solid and sent him to the mat. Even with his hands up he couldn't stop the kick because he couldn't see it due to the swelling in his left eye. Fukada landed in a sitting position in the corner and managed to answer the standing 10 count at 8 but still looked groggy. Hayashi tried to check his eyes but Fukada lowered his head and begin to step towards Asamiya so Hayashi ruled him able to continue. They circled again in center ring and Fukada threw an axe kick but Asamiya ducked out of the way, went behind and clamped a on a reverse choke hold that somewhat resembled a sleeper. Fukada was fighting for the ropes but Asamiya held his ground. Out of desperation Fukada landed a low blow with a mule kick which prompted Hayashi to call for the bell. The crowd booed as Asamiya leaned against the ropes in pain and Fukada lay on the mat collapsed, barely stirring at all. As ringside attendants hit the ring to attend to Fukada, and to a lesser extend Asamiya, the announcement was made over the PA that Asamiya was the winner via DQ which turned the crowd reaction from jeers to cheers with the exceptions of some scattered boos. It was obvious to anyone who was watching that knows anything about fighting that Fukada made a mistake and got himself cut off in the corner and knew he couldn't recover so out of desperation, to prevent a clean loss got himself DQed. While its certainly a very unprofessional and unsportsmanlike move from Fukada's stand point it must also be considered a smart move to prevent a clean loss. While Asamiya came away with the win, its clear that this rivalry is far from over and if anything the match tonight didn't came near bringing closure but instead just added fuel to the fire. While the positive reaction to the show and style in general is a terrific sign for the young promotion, its first true test will come November 28 in the Tokyo Dome when it presents the first annual Strong Style Evolution card. It is at that time that the we will see whether or not the promotion can sellout or at least post a respectable showing at such a large venue. The only match that some fans complained about (Fukada v. Asamiya due to the unclean finish) may end up being the key to selling out the Dome. Moditian had previously planned to announce a partial line-up for the card after this show, but word from sources with-in the promotion is that due to the results of certain matches and reactions to them (especially the main event) Moditian has decided to wait a couple of days to go over possible line-ups. While the show had its flaws, overall SHVF has to be very satisfied with the response to its first effort. Not only did the card provide a good introduction to the SHVF fighting style, which fans largely accepted and enjoyed, but the card, especially the main event, also served to build further interest in the product, specifically Strong Style Evolution. Super Hyper Visual Fighting has cleared the first hurdle. When they announce the line-up for their 11/28 Tokyo Dome show later this week and tickets go on sale, we'll have a better idea of the future of the promotion. 
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