BattlARTS History #1: January - April 1996

 1/13/1996

(actually, this was NOT the offical BattlARTS debut. It was a produce show run by a booking agency, they just decided to let the BattlARTS guys center stage, technically speaking. But for all intents and purposes it's the BattlARTS debut show. 

Minoru Tanaka vs. Satoshi Yoneyama (BattlARTS 1/13/1996)

BattlARTS begins. And the world would never be the same! Unfortunately, the Champ Forum broadcast does not show us the amazing sounding Pequeno Guerrero vs Takashi Okamura opening match. Yone has a shaven head and is wearing some funky looking martial arts pants Basically Yoneyama is useless on the mat so Tanaka uses him as a punching bag and dumps him with impressive suplexes. Normally I dread watching Tanaka but he he looked like a prick here and really roughed up Yoneyama with brutal knees and shotais, so that was refreshing. Even spiking him on his head with a nasty half-hooked Package Piledriver. Yoneyama gets pretty fired up flurry hitting his abisegiri which is always cool but is soon put to pasture. Short, violent, kind of out of nowhere, a fitting beginning to the promotion.


 Takeshi Ono vs. Alexander Otsuka, BattlARTS 1/13

I already watched this for my Takeshi Ono project and let me tell you, it holds up all the way as a fucking awesome 8 minute undercard shootstyle war. Ono is relentless trying to tap out Otsuka and occasionally trying to kick his brains in, and the both absolutely nuke each other with some suplexes. Just go watch this if you haven't, and even if you have seen it watch it again. Should point out that Onos heel hook reversal after almost getting killed by a suplex was ridiculously sick and like something out of an epic MMA fight.


Hisakatsu Oya & Ricky Fuji vs Koji Nakagawa & Tetsuhiro Kuroda, 1/13

This sleazebag FMW tag is a bit of an odd addition to a BattlARTS card, but that's part of the BattlARTS charm, you always get some odd extras. This actually looks like it would've been worth seeing in full because there was some violence, Nakagawa was bleeding, Kuroda ate a tiger driver on the floor and Oya is always killing people with his insane backdrop suplex. You know it was a wild era when Shawn Michaels worshipper Ricky Fuji was uncorking really hard offense, like crowning Nakagawa with a massive brainbuster. Nakagawas Bret Hart worshipping babyface act seemed on point. Alas they only showed 3 minutes of this but it's 3 minutes worth seeing. There was also a Michinoku Pro tag on this card and that's just annoying that we don't have that.

Yuki Ishikawa & Shoichi Funaki vs Daisuke Ikeda & Katsumi Usuda, BattlARTS 1/13/1996

The first BattlARTS event concludes with a big tag. BattlARTS tags are one of the greatest inventions of wrestling as you basically always get just 4 guys in a fight to the death, and they already had all the ingredients down here. Ishikawa and Ikeda went out of their way here to establish their rivalry, just absolutely cracking each other with every shot. Kicks to the ribs, stomps drawing hardway blood, bare knuckle punches, there's no comparing these two. Usuda wasn't far behind as he was trying to kick peoples heads off. Besides the violence there was a ton of great matwork and suplexes here. Really great competitive shootstyle with lots of ankle spraining leg locks. Dug Funaki as a guy with limited options just trying to twist peoples legs off. Usuda looked like a killer, and he is also really great at putting submissions over as dangerous. Ikeda and Ishikawa also did some great wrestling against each other, though by the end you had a pissed off Ishikawa trying to stump a mudhole in Ikeda and drawing hardway blood, and Ikeda trying to pulverize people with spin kicks. The insertion of Funakis pro-style moves worked and made for a unique touch that would become the defining characteristic of BattlARTS that set it apart from other wrestling. Not much more needs to be said, just really raw pro wrestling that rules and made you want to see more.

4/6/1996

Takeshi Ono vs. Yuki Ishikawa, BattlARTS 4/6/1996 - FUN

This is from that weird psychedelic background studio TV show they ran. This was these guys going at each other for 5 minutes, and these two are going to give you something good when given 5 minutes. Mostly Ono being pesky, trying to outgrapple Ishikawa and absorbing his size advantage. Though Ono does connect with a brutal face kick at one point because he is Ono. Sick finish where Ishikawa reverses an Ono leg lock and just tries to rip his foot off. Good stuff but gee, 2 or 3 minutes more of this couldn‘t have hurt. 

Carl Malenko vs Satoshi Yoneyama, 4/6

Yoneyama continues to have a hard time. He's tall but he doesn't have much grappling, so Carl is very much like an anaconda playing with its food here, twirling him around and locking in carny full nelson holds and what not. Yoneyama does get a sleeper that forces Carl to the ropes and immediately goes for his koppu kick rushing, but Carl is not impressed and after some more scrambling Yoneyama is toast. I always enjoy watching Carl tear people apart and the finish was great with Carl locking in a full nelson STF and then just choking him out.

Katsumi Usuda vs Alexander Otsuka, 4/6

Good solid shootstyle grappling here as you expect. Otsuka is always great to watch as he will grapple the fuck out of someone and bust out crazy suplexes. That was the case here too as Otsuka hit Usuda with a super iconic deadlift German with a great camera angle. Usuda fired back with some sick kicks and choking out Otsuka in nasty fashion. These two would have bigger matches later in their career but this was a good appetizer and you can tell everyone in this company was showcasing their own unique style.

Daisuke Ikeda vs Shoichi Funaki, 4/6

Funaki is outgunned here, but he does one hell of a job trying to get a submission. This may have been among Funakis best performances as he looked great doing slick shootstyle matwork, busting out nifty counters and trying to twist Ikedas legs off. Ikeda found himself frustrated and then already going to his vicious prick ways trying to scrub Funakis face off the bone with vicious grinding forearms etc. Great finish as Funaki goes for the leg attack to often and Ikedas came down on him like the hammer of destiny and then Fight for Your Right to Party blares. 

4/13+4/14/1996

Yuki Ishikawa vs Carl Greco, 4/13

This was apparently from the first 'official' BattlARTS show as everything before was considered 'pre-debut'. A bit regretful that this is the only match we get from that card because everything else also looked good. Regardless of that this is good stuff. These two have been consistent rivals beginning in PWFG and now continueing that through BattlARTS up until their 2008 masterpiece. They pretty much never disappoint and this is another banger match that delivers. Carl always works in pushing people through the limit and producing some killer matwork. He was also quite aggressive really rattling Yuki with face kicks. Maybe Yuki could've gone a bit more all out in this one but in the end he was overwhelmed. Intense shootstyle main event with a sick finish.

TAKA Michinoku vs Minoru Tanaka, 4/14

These two also fought each other many maaany times. It's always a good match up but from my memory it has never produced something blowaway great, maybe that'll change with this grand rewatch. This is quite good stuff, there is lots of slick competitive feeling matwork with both guys fighting hard for armbars and leglocks. Maybe it lacks variety a bit but their fighting was definitely convincing. No junior stuff here, Tanaka just unloads on TAKA with nasty kicks, suplexes and a big piledriver. TAKA annoys me a bit by trying to do some hockey no selling though it's quickly shut down. He gets on my good side catching a kick from Tanaka and turning it into a nifty shootstyle Michinoku Driver II. He goes for another but Tanaka reverses it into a leglock for a nifty finish. Pretty good, Tanaka was putting more violence in his kicks than I remember from other matches, and it  does not overstay it's welcome at 10 minutes length.

Yuki Ishikawa & Katsumi Usuda vs Carl Malenko & Daisuke Ikeda, 4/14

Big fan of this tag which is full of banger matchups. Ikeda and Ishikawa avoided each other early on, so we get more focussed shootstyle action which was quite great, especially when Carl was involved as he's such a relentless grappler. Also a big fan of Usuda who's really good as someone constantly trying to finish opponents either with his kicks or straightforward submissions. Ikeda started to turn up the violence later by being a vicious prick and we get a pretty intense explosion between him and Ishikawa. Highlight was probably Ishikawa stomping the crap out of Ikeda, Steve Austin style, or his northern lights suplex into some pretty brutal ground and pound. Ishikawa eyeing Ikeda only to get blasted by same brutal kicks from Carl to his face may be quintessential BattlARTS. Finish was pretty intense as guys were going for the kill, and while it was not as fireworks-ladden as other BattlARTS ending runs Usudas relentless barrage that KO'd Ikeda was as memorable as any finish. This was just straight forward good shit, hardly ever a let down when you put 4 of these guys in a tag.

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2025 Matchguide - Addendum #2: AWG Edition

 MARU vs Chii Aoba, AWG 12/15

After doing some matches in GLEAT, Aoba is now going for a shooter vibe, which I am all here for, and this match was a cool coming out party. I loved the opening here, with MARU going 'okay, you wanna be a shooter, let's grapple' and hitting the mat. As soon as Aoba got the advantage, MARU went straight to beating on her with a chain and roughing her up with some nasty face scrapes again. Aoba knocking Maru off the top only to be dragged to the outside was also a good moment. MARU was pretty great here as she usually is. The big stomp off the bleachers looked really sick. Aoba tackling MARU into the chairs as a desperation comeback was also great as it came completely out of nowhere and MARU had this reaction like she didn't know what just hit her. The match was basically about Aoba trying to find her inner badass and it was cool storytelling. There was this odd moment where MARU went to attack her with a bottle and Aoba grabbed the bottle and drank from it, but just keeled over. Aside from that, I loved the new holds Aoba busted out. Her dropkicks still need a bit more force, but I like how MARU mostly seemed annoyed by them. Finishing run was really good and heated with MARU adding cool touches and Aoba having a sole focus on hitting a backdrop suplex for the win. It was for the most part really good, hard fought pro wrestling that told a cool story and easily won me over.

Rico Fukunaga vs MARU, AWG 12/29

Rico Fukunaga has done it, she climbed to the top and won the AWG singles title. Her reward is to get the holy hell beaten out of her by MARU in her first defence. Surprisingly underdog showing from Fukunaga here as MARU tore into her like a mad dog. The set up works as you get some really effective cheating heel vs kicker stuff. I was ready to complain when Fukunaga took a nasty double stomp off the bleachers and kind of no-sold it but then an angry MARU proceeded to beat her down further. Lots of nifty moments here especially from MARU, things like catching a kick, her biting the leg and then trying to snap it over the rope just plain work. At one point she also straight threw the chain at Fukunagas face. 2nd half was pretty much flawless I thought with MARU providing her usual cool touches, such as some great stretch muffler counters and nasty stomps, and Fukunaga going for the kill by clocking her in the head with those big kicks that all looked great and were timed really well. Mostly importantly they didn't drag this match out. Top stuff and I thought one of the better AWG singles of 2025.

Mari & Ayano Irie vs Sakura Mizushima & Naru, AWG 12/20

Quite good undercard action I thought. Opening section had Mari working some fun and creative joshi-meets-lucharesu sections with Mizushima et al. The Irie vs Mizushima section is solid but won't blow you away if you've seen their stuff before. Mari vs Naru finishing stretch was quite good 'underdog trying to topple the bigger badass' stuff. There were some sweet exchanges with Naru busting out some slick spots to target Maris leg and Mari selling it in just the right way, while retaliating with her signature cool leg lariats etc, and a few unpredictable twists and turns being worked in. Mari keeps impressing me putting in good little peformances like this even in midcard matches and everyone else was also putting in the effort.

Mari & Ayano Irie vs Anri & Erisa Nagai, AWG 8/2

Really good slice of pro wrestling. They told a pretty impeccable underdog vs established heels story with Mari & Irie dominating initially and Anri and Nagai having to make gradual comebacks. They worked their butts off and there were a number of cool individual moments especially when Mari was involved. The ending may have gone a tad too long but I can't fault them for going out of their way to make Anri look like a tough little nut. This would've been a really decent main event in any promotion let alone for a midcard match.

Anri & Natsuki vs Rio & Yukina Uehara, AWG 6/22

A lot of hard hitting kicks here. This was the most inspired I've seen Natsuki in a while. Often she just runs through her offense, but her she did a few nifty things: working Rio over with stiff leg kicks, hitting a really precise dropkick to the leg when her opponent went for a kick, and helping out Anri at the right time. I also enjoyed Rio who's a feisty powerhouse type and brings a slightly different vibe, plus she makes things interesting because she's a rookie with some power. Most of the action here was Anri vs Uehara, clearly a match up that they had some stake in for the future. Uehara was still a bit awkward here and there but mostly brings it, her spinning back kick looked like it nearly took Anris head off. And Anri brought plenty of fire as usual. I love her thrust kicks. This was good stuff as a result and very well put together.

Haruka Ishikawa & Ayano Irie vs Erisa Nagai & Rico Fukunaga, AWG 3/9

Another midcard match that ends up being really interesting. Nagai is a rookie with 6 months experience, so accordingly she takes a beating early. This gets us to the more experienced Fukunaga evening things up with some pretty hard kicks to the heel team but taking damage herself. Thought the match was really good when Fukunaga was in the ring as she was dishing out really hard kicks while the heels chipped away at her and there were a number of interesting moments. Fukunaga vs Ishikawa sections especially hinted at a quite good singles match between them. It ends up coming down to Nagai vs Ishikawa, which while it was simple was about ten thousand times more interesting than the usual nearfall fest because they both displayed an absolute will to win the match and there were a few creative ideas, e.g. with Nagai immediately going for shootstyle submission and even a basic lift becoming a struggle for Ishikawa. Even Nagais cutesy leg drop seemed desperate and because she's so low on the totem pole I was biting even on the nearfalls for Ishikawas basic sentons. Pretty rad stuff with an unorthodox layout that delivered lots of good, believable wrestling.

2025 Matchguide 

Some early 90s AJW

   

Kyoko Inoue vs Takako Inoue, AJW 1/24/1993

Excellent match, which I’m afraid may be a bit of an overlooked minor classic. After some scrappy, quick exchanges, Kyoko was quite great taking over the match with varied submissions. Whenever Takako would try to come back, Kyoko would put her back down quite aggressively, and often still establish herself as the superior, graceful wrestler. Stuff like both of them fighting over a headlock leading to Kyoko kicking Takako in the face is so good and the kind of thing you basically never see anymore even though it’s so simple. Also, Inoues flying headscissor rolls and springboard moves rule. Takako ended up having to scout Kyokos spots, which she does well, there is a legbar spot where she catches Kyoko that ends up being really great. Eventually Takako capitalizes by taking chairs to Kyoko and suplexing her on the floor, which Kyoko sold like death. Really exciting ending run mostly due to Kyokos great selling of the floor sequence, which had a few big moves and some awesome drama. KO punch finish was quite unexpected but great.

Aja Kong & Sakie Hasegawa vs Kyoko Inoue & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW 10/10/1993

It’s 1993, so much of this was brutally violent, exciting and heated pro wrestling. My god does Aja Kong consistently look like just the greatest monster ever. Pretty much anytime she tagged in she would punt the shit out of people all over the ring and just try to crush people. Yamada is also pretty consistent at bringing the violence with her insane kicks. Hasegawa is fun as a plucky sidekick that needs Ajas help, though I thought the match dipped a bit in quality when she and Kyoko were in the ring as there were some meandering portions. Still eventually Yamada tags in and tries to rearrange Hasegawas face with a serious of super violent kicks and from then on it turns into really edge of your seat stuff with people getting their heads caved in and breakneck suplexes being hit. Hasegawa redeems herself by hitting a deadly solebutt and not being an obvious lost cause in the battle, and Inoue was hitting some jaw cracking lariats. Really exciting stuff as they created a sense of a swinging pendulum with various tags and partner help spots to maintain a sense of unpredictability, and the bombs they were dropping were pretty damn big bombs. Another minor gem in the pile.

Sakie Hasegawa & Debbie Malenko vs Shark Tsuchiya & Crusher Maedomari, AJW 11/26/1992

This was from the Dream Rush show so obviously not the main attraction, and old joshi fans would tell you that Shark Tsuchiya sucked… but fuck all that, because this some awesome heated and highly uncooperative pro wrestling. Basically Tsuchiya and Maedomari are heat magnets, harkening back to the old Gokuaki Domei vibe that was mostly gone from AJW in 1992 with Bull and Aja turning quasi face. Tsuchiya goes at Malenko before the bell, and it’s just a heated fight from the go. There seem to be FMW fans in the building so the match had that kind of ridiculous heat. Hasegawa was like a rabid ferret in this, slapping the shit out of people, kicking her way out of holds, and absolutely looking like she was not willing to give an inch to these FMW punks. Even going over to kick people in the face when Debbie had them in a hold, or putting some extra meanness into some basic legwork. It was awe inspiringly uncooperative and evil and quite frankly, amazing. Her little exchange with Tsuchiya were Tsuchiya hit her with a tomoe nage on her face was great. Tsuchiya also has a bandaged arm/shoulder here (apparently from a legit injury) so anytime Debbie puts an armbar on her the crowd goes wild. Just a massive crowd of people going wild for Debbie snapping someones limb. A surprisingly amount of vulnerability from the brawling heels here as Team AJW keep taking them down and refusing to give them an inch, Tsuchiya even being unable to do much as she hurts herself applying a choke, until Maedomari was able to spike Hasegawa with a sick chokeslam. It continues to look like a blowout for the FMW team though until some chaos goes down and they are able to brawl on the floor for a bit. Back in the ring Hasegawa immediately double legs Maedomari and rains punches from mount on here because Sakie Hasegawa was a mean demon in this. The finish is is just Hasegawa finish Maedomari off with a series of kicks to the face and force pinning her with Maedomari struggling like she really 100% wanted to get out of the pin. Was this perfect? No, it probably was a little long, it may have been better with some blood and Team FMW getting a bit of more conventional heat, but fuck me, this was dripping intensity and heat and pretty unique, let alone for a midcard match. They absolutely do not make them like this anymore for that alone you should watch this.

2025 Matchguide: Addendum

 Elimination Gauntlet: Ai Houzan, Maria, Riko Kawahata, Sora Ayame & Takumi Iroha vs. Chika Goto, Kizuna Tanaka, Miku Aono, Natsumi Showzuki & Rea Seto, Marigold 4/25

First half of this was pretty great and absolutely some of the best wrestling I've seen all year. There was interpromotional heat and a real sense of competitiveness. Pretty much perfectly laid out, establishing that a shoot submission or shoot pin could always eliminate someone. Loved all the frantic armbars etc and there was a real sense of fighting for survival, which is how it should be. Should say Maria looked quite great - really sharp offense, and her selling of the bad arm and desperately trying to even the score was right on the money. 2nd half was not quite as good I thought, but still plenty fun thanks to Miku Aonos harsh kicks, although going for the time limit finish 2 times in a row was a bit lame I thought. Chika Goto seemed way out of her depth against Iroha, though it was pretty fun to watch Iroha kick her like a mule and just coming out as a dominant badass. Overall I would still classify this as one of the more worthwhile matches of the year simply due to delivering quality action in spades and not being cookie cutter.

Elimination Gauntlet: Ai Houzan, Maria, Mio Momono, Riko Kawahata & Sora Ayame vs. Komomo Minami, Miku Aono, Seri Yamaoka, Utami Hayashishita & Victoria Yuzuki, Marvelous 8/8

Not quite as good as the 4/25 gauntlet match, but still pretty fun due to similiar factors: a sense of fighting for survival, any move can finish, and unconventional layout. There was some awkwardness and mishaps but nothing too egregious. Yamaoka vs Ayame at the beginning wasn't perfect but had the right spirit + Seris cool amateur wrestling moves. Match significantly improved again once Maria came in thanks to her sharp offense, cool submissions and Yasha Kurenai like scuzzy heel vibe. I also quite enjoy Ai Houzans quest to stop being such a loser. Aono and Kawahata were just solid here and I thought the match lost quite a bit of steam when they were at it, but thankfully things pick up again with Momono speed pinning Yuzuki and then a fun tricked out finishing run between her and Hayashishita. Definitely needed more of those frantic armbars that the 4/25 match had, though.

Timothy Thatcher vs Charlie Dempsey, WWE EVOLVE 11/14

Ahh.. EVOLVE is back? But now they're under the WWE banner outright? And it's like another WWE developmental? I have no idea what's going on, but one thing is for certain. Thatcher and Dempsey are gonna step in the ring and give you the grapplingest match you can possibly have on a WWE show. This was just a bunch of really tight hold for hold stuff with a good deal of aggression and accordingly, quite good. Won't make you forget Regal/Benoit but it's a fun shot at that kind of match. Thatcher does act a bit more punishing, busting out those cool knees on the ground and outright smacking Dempsey at the face. Some good nitty gritty groundfighting here and quality selling from Thatcher when Dempsey started beating up his leg. Really liked how they segued into the finish and Dempseys suplexes are awesome. 

 

2025 Matchguide 

JWA Tokai Origins of Pro Wrestling 4/20/2025

 Shigeru Takagi vs Yuki Toyoura

This show was described as 'pro wrestling without show elements' and 'going back to the origins of pro wrestling'. And also, all matches were held under greco roman rules. Yeah, so only grappling, and no grappling below the belt! There are still submissions, and there are no rounds and seemingly no points or passivity warnings. Now this is an interesting set up. And this was - well, it was very much greco roman wrestling. Takagi is bald with no eyebrows, in a singlet, and barrel chested. Toyoura I've seen before and he also looks quite strong. This was two powerful men trying to hook an arm or neck and mostly averting and kind of attempts at offense through sheer struggle. There were no moves, no big throws, no fancy holds. Toyoura tries to go for a reverse gutwrench lift but doesn't make it despite struggling his hardest. After around 8 minutes Takagi is able to grab a side headlock - the first 'move' of the match  and turns Toyoura on his back, but instead of pinning him he cranks way back forcing the tap out. Quite antithetical to the pro wrestling landscape in 2025 but I enjoyed the sheer struggle these two displayed.

Yuina vs Mana Yokoi

Yuina is something of a veteran of the Nagoya scene, while Yokoi had only made her debut in 2025. That is almost more information than I can write about this match, as it's mostly Yokoi being in turtle position and Yuina unable to do much of anything. Yokoi reverses out of the position once, but the second time she tries it Yuina reverses her and pins her for the 3. Talk about hammering the point home.

Yasushi Sato vs Super Taira

The two previous matches were more like a set up for this main match. This was amazing to watch. Mind you, it was 15 minutes of greco roman pro wrestling, so it's a very aquired taste, but I thought for that they went above and beyond. Both guys here displayed an intricate knowledge of greco roman techniques, but also great struggle, anticipation and timing. Yasushi Sato just keeps cementing himself as a grappling master in my eyes and Taira is a great match for him. The pin attempts they did here were amazing, but so were the escapes from the pin attempts. Also, since they previous two matches established that a match can end with any move, there was a great deal of tension, end even something like a side headlock could spell the end. Loved the struggle over the attempted suplexes as well as Sato wheezing when Taira went for the sleeper. Finish was amazing not just because the actual move that ended it was great (it was a great move) but because of the struggle and build that had preceded it. A super unique piece of pro wrestling that most wrestlers could not even attempt yet these two pretty much nailed it when they stepped on that mat. I definitely do not regret checking it out, one of my favourite bouts of the year.

 

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2025 Matchguide 

2025 Matchguide Week 52

 Leon & AKARI vs Moeka Haruhi & Rydeen Hagane, Pure-J 7/13

Dojo matches can be a mixed bag. Either you get something comedic or generic, or something that completely blows the expectations away. This was on the blowaway side. It's fun to watch these wrestlers have exchanges without relying too much on taking bumps. Lots of fast moving standing exchanges early on that were nifty. AKARI continues to impress although she was more hard hitting. Rydeen Hagane is also still a really fun power house, who mixes up the formula of the match a bit. Loved her going beast mode on AKARI after AKARI did the somewhat cutesy foot choke in the ropes, and she makes things more interesting simply by being hard to pick up for something like a suplex, and her hard lariats and big power moves were on point. Finishing stretch was super elaborate as they mix up all the possible pairings which each one making for a cool match up. Leon is ever classy and makes everyone else look good, and Haruhi continues to make any finishing stretch she's in fun with her violent offense and surprising knack for cool reversals. The ending of this was just two wrestlers frantically going for a pin fall and it was probably the most credible and breathless of that kind of exchange I've seen in quite some time. 20 minutes that flew by in a breeze with a lot of good stuff in it.

Kenichiro Arai vs Ayumu Honda, Tenryu Project 9/23

Excellent chess match. Arai is truely one of the most interesting guys going when he gets going, and Honda has seemingly been thoroughly Yanoified and is fully embracing the weird technical wrestling. Lots of takedowns from odd angles, neat tie-ups, cool bits of struggle and making something out of basic moves. Thought Arai could've sold Hondas arm work a bit more, but aside from that this really rocked. I can't say much more than that, they grappled a lot and did their thing and it was never boring and just a really good match. Either you love it or you won't care for it.

Takumi Iroha vs Senka Akatsuki, Marvelous 10/19

Well crafted match that avoided the typical overdog vs underdog tropes you'd expect. Typically, you'd have the veteran no-selling the rookie a bunch. Not the case here, because Iroha knows Senka is an animal and will maul her if given the chance. After Akatsukis early takedown and elbows, Iroha made sure to stay all over her. I really liked Akatsukis comeback, which just consisted of yanking Iroha off the apron and smashing her into the steel pole. It was a hell of a lot closer to something Roddy Piper would do in 1983 in the Mid South Coloseum than your typical 2025 transition. Finishing run had a few great moments: teasing Senkas signature deadlift suplex, a big slap that almost KO'd Akatsuki and Senka then going for the shoot pin, and Iroha just having enough and trying to snap an arm. Iroha also dialed back the thighslapping a bit and wrestled more like a female version of Hashimoto - loved her big spin kick that landed square in Akatsukis face. Really good, borderline great match, and one hell of a stepping stone for Senka who is being made to look like a killer.

Paul Ishida vs ASUKA The World, XGF 2025/11/23

More delightfully demented carnage from XGF. This starts somewhat lighthearted as ASUKA takes it to Paul with a Super Nintendo, but quickly turns as seedy and deranged as you want your nihilistic backyard wrestling deathmatches to be. They go to brawl in this big dark hall with ASUKA dripping blood on the floor and the shoots looking like something out of the Descent as they brawl in the darkness. Tons of inventive and nasty spots, I was particular to Ishida mimicking spurting sparks onto Asuka, although the ladder dropkick neckbreaking spot was also incredibly nasty. The long shot where ASUKA, covered in blood and with oil all over him falling around on the floor while Ishida was getting ready to run him over with a truck was straight out of a horror movie. Thought ASUKA was pretty great here as a bloody mess, he had some great offense too, great jumping kick and a great backdrop suplex that twisted Ishida around. Ishida was reliably trollish and gloriously seedy here too. I think this didn't need to be 25 minutes but that's really my only critique. Ghouls should have a field day with this.

Marino Saihara vs Rico Fukunaga, AWG 12/20

AWG puts up the big match for their main title for free, just like that! Really good match too! It's a short match too so you basically get all killer no filler. Lots of hard kicks, cool bits of struggle,  a few neat counters, and both of them going for the kill. Saihara had been the dominant champion for a while now so Fukunaga who had been in her shadow was pulling all the stops. There was a sense of desperation, even when Saihara was just able to lock 2 fingers together when trying for a crossface chickenwing. Loved the use of the savate kicks by Fukunaga, and her big reversal of Saiharas stalling german suplex was completely spectacular. I'm not sure what was up with Fukunagas weird catapult but other than that everything looked really good, not UWF level but good. I can't say much more than that, it's just well worked match between two wrestlers with believable hard hitting offense who put in some thought into their matches and an earnest effort, everything was sold and there was nothing that felt trite or by the numbers, it's just really good stuff all around and another great little chapter in AWGs current outstanding run.

2025 Matchguide 

Tarzan Goto Documentation #16

 Tarzan Goto vs Atsushi Onita, FMW 1/6/1993 - EPIC

BattlARTS level violence contained in a barbedwire ring, with both guys taking dangerous spills into the wire and getting sliced repeatedly. Right at the go they are mauling each other with shoot headbutts. Onita stops Goto with a punch to the face and goes for a sleeper, but gets pushed back into the wire. One lariat later and Onitas arms are cut. That about sums this match up, just two guys wreaking destruction on each other almost without pause. There is some filler figure 4 work which is a minor point deduction, but other than that this is just gritty insanity. Goto is a force of nature here pounding Onita to a bloody pulp, and also not afraid to fly into the wire, and Onitas aura is so insane that he can make almost any kind of beatdown work, let alone the kinda beatdown that Goto puts on him here. The barbedwire actually feels dangerous and people react with horro at the spills which is another plus of these early deathmatches. Another thing is that it’s 93 so they were excuting moves like a bulldog or DDT with maximum snap. Gotos facebuster moves also looked like an execution. At one point Goto goes for a German Suplex and I’m not sure I’ve seen him hit a german suplex in another match but holy fuck his German Suplex was beautiful here. Lots of epic exchanges here and the finish feels about as big as it gets without relying on some ridiculously big bump or anything, just visceral carnage done in a skillful way. You don’t quite get spectacles like this anymore.

Tarzan Goto & Mr. Pogo & Yuta Nakata vs Kintaro Kanemura & Masayoshi Motegi & Yusaku Obata, Super FMW 7/30/2010 - FUN

Raw injection of pro wrestling at it’s seediest. This is in Shin Kiba, it looks like there’s about 30 people intendance. They still go all out, but the emptiness of the building and the lack of crowd enthusiasm adds to the ghoulish atmosphere. We get Goto punching Kanemura in the face and them both hitting each other with shoot headbutts, some brawling that actually feels spirited. Mr. Pogo, around 37 years into his career and 10 years from having a broken neck feels like an ancient ghoul in this match. Oddly enough he takes more offense than I’ve often seen him take, eating one of Motegis nasty shotais. Motegi takes his boot off to beat on Motegi, but ends up still taking a sickle to the face. Nothing like Pogo taking the sickle to hapless fools in a dark nearly empty building. Nakata is a complete sleazeball and I like how Motegi completely no-sold his dive. Obata, being chiseled and young, looks like the one guy here who has a future still, and so Goto carves him up with a broken beer bottle and does some gritty Abby/Sheikh vs Funk Bros arm stabbing. A weird thing happens where it seems Goto and Pogo are gonna fight but they make up and do a double team move that involves Pogo doing a drop down which feels like some wild athleticism from him. Eventually it devolves to Goto vs Obata with Goto making Obata earn some offense. Obata hitting a basic suplex is made to feel like a big deal and he has a cool sliding leg lariat, though he ends up running into Gotos face and getting mauled by more punches and headbutts to the face. Everybody was working oddly hard here, but what you will mainly remember is the creepy vibe.

Tarzan Goto vs Shoji Nakamaki, IWA Japan 8/9/1995 - GREAT

Insane level of aura here. Normally these IWA Japan main event brawls have 6 or so guys in them. Here it’s just the two of them, but boy do they make up for it with action. Right at the go they are at each other with Nakamaki landing some hatefilled chairshots to Goto and Goto kicking him right back in the face. Nakamaki takes an insane bump where he falls through the barbedwire ropes to the floor and the crowd is just melting down at this. Goto proceeds to kick Nakamakis bleeding ass all over the place. You know Goto is great at dishing out punishment, and taking punishment is the one thing Nakamaki is famous for, so you can imagine the kind of asskicking that goes down. Nakamaki is quite great just firing up, hitting a headbutt, and then getting baredwire shoved in his face. Nakamakis only chance here is that the referee, Gypsy Joe is on his side. It doesn’t make a huge difference but it’s fun because clearly Nakamaki needs to hit Goto with just 1 good move and Joe will count the 3. Gotos response to this problem is to just kill Nakamaki dead. The finish in this is just absolutely heinous. It doesn’t even feel like a deathmatch freakshow exhibition spot it’s just a killing. After the match Goto beats the shit out of Joe too, knocking him over with a lariat (can you imagine how hard you have to hit Gypsy Joe that he will actually sell for you?). Joe eats some chair shots and gets shoved into the wire. A big GOTO chant breaks out and he just looks like the coldest dude on earth. This won’t win any workrate awards but it’s just an awesome heat filled spectacle in it’s glorious blood drenched and barbed wire wrapped way.

 

Tarzan Goto Documentation