KEITA in the VKF

 

Keita Yano vs. GOA, VKF 9/29/2019

GOA has also gone by HUB and a bunch of other names. I've only seen him in Fire Pro Returns so it was cool that the gimmick is still around. But he was a straight forward wrestler here and game to have a really good little match with KEITA. This starts with a bunch of indy WoS matwork which is something that can be trite in 2019, but Keita is pretty much a master at this point. Just the way he gracefully slips beneath to lock in a surfboard hold is a class above. GOA was a bit bland initially but he came into his own as the match went along busting out neat offense. I really liked his strangle holds and the following llave exchange, as well as the crazy pin combo he busted out. And Yano feeds really well into GOAs offense, such as eating a shining wizard to the back of his head while getting his leg stuck in the ropes, and timing his comebacks such as an inside cradle really well. I also really like his backbreaker with the arm behind the back, and the Yano Lock variations. Another neat finish.

Keita Yano vs. GOA, VKF 2/1/2020

This also opens with about 10 minutes of sublime matwork. I think GOA may have taken one of those Wallabee seminars as he matches up extremely well against Keita and adds a lot of nifty touches this time, such as turning a basic headscissor into a strangle hold. Keita of course is king of the mat now and was just the right mix of vicious and esoteric. At one point he did this great pin hold that looked to nearly pop GOAs shoulders. Really slick transitions between the holds while both guys busted out some great llaves, it was basically high end IWRG matwork. The standup portion was similiar to the previous match as they did a few callback spots and even teased the finish from the last match, so that was really neat. GOA did these cool moves where he did the Low Ki shining boomerang kick or whatever its called and he would spin into armbars. Keitas out of nowhere pin combos always get great reaction. Good shit and it says a lot that KEITA has been able to work himself up to an indy main eventer (well, this show as attended by 200 people, but its still something).