HARD HIT Ryo Kawamuras Retirement ~ Complete Disposal 11/29/2025

 Kenta Hattori vs Ryutaro Watanabe
 

Pretty much what could be considered a light sparring session. Both these guys certainly looked like they could grapple, but there weren't a ton of highlights to what they were doing or anything. Hattori had this really cool sleeper hold into a Russian Leg Sweep. I thought that was cool. Solidly executed but forgettable stuff otherwise.

Yukito vs Takuma Uchiyama

Serious shootstyle, where they didn't hold back when it came to kicking and slapping each other hard. The grappling is decent and I liked the increase of aggression whenever either guy dropped a point. Nothing super great or anything but it's decent shootstyle wrestling. Uchiyama, I think is an MMA guy and based and this he would make good if he just continued to do shootstyle. I continue to enjoy Yukito, he does well for a 50 year old guy and I hope to see him more outside HEAT-UP.

Takahiro Tababa vs Koki Fujimoto

Kobe Merikens shooter boy Fujimoto shows up in his karate gi. This was a bit conservative when they were grappling as basically Tababa used Fujimotos gi to his advantage and Fujimoto couldn't do much, but it was really fun whenever they started beating the shit out of each other. We all know Tababa is a pitbull, but Fujimoto was standing up to him. Even knocking him down twice in succession, and on the 3rd the bell actually rang but referee Nikkan Lee had the decision reversed. Maybe Tababa was KOd legit as he seemed to struggle to get his senses, but then he threw Fujimoto with an incredible hard German Suplex and finished him with a nasty gi choke. I'm really gonna need a rematch between them in Kobe Merikena after Koki was robbed like this, regardless I am really happy to see guys like Fujimoto emerging in the Japan indy scene and branching out.

Hideki Sekine vs KURO-OBI

Pretty much a grappling match, and it was some nice slick grappling. KURO-OBI clearly has some BJJ skill as he transitions really nice and smooth from all kinds of esoteric leglocks and positions. Hideki Sekine is a real monster of a man. In the times of Giant Baba and Strong Kobayashi he probably would have been considered exceptionally handsome and he'd rock an afro or something and have epic battles with those guys and the tabloids would write about his affairs but the times have changed and now they call him Shrek. His grappling felt a bit like he was being overly nice, like if he really tried he could rip any mortal man in half but he was playing nice. But the one time he went for that old school wrestling leg split that harkened back to Giant Baba and it's the one thing in the match that really made the crowd wake up. Really good grappling otherwise and there was a cool finish, but I kinda wanted to see Sekine fight Gilbet Leduc and work a match around a bearhug or a canadian backbreaker or something like that. Talk about being out of time.

Takuya Wada vs Tyson Maeguchi

Two not very exciting wrestlers in a mediocre match. They tried to do the routine with Maeguchi being the dangerous striker, but he really doesn't hit any impressive strikes. Wada just kind of keeps him at bay with some forgettable grappling for the most part. And worst of all they just kind of went to a 10 minute draw without either guy really pressing for a win at point. Yeah, you don't need to know more about this than the first sentence I wrote.

Minoru Suzuki & Takafumi Ito vs Yoshiki Takahashi & Mitsuhisa Sunabe

Takahashi comes out rocking the Yasushi Sato tough old man with greying hair, wrestling shoes and baggy trunks look, AND a badass Pirata Morgan eyepatch on top of all that. So that alone makes this worth checking out. Takahashi had some slick takedowns here, I would've liked to see him more in the match. Ito and Sunabe did some really slick grappling that was great to watch and easily the best shootstyle grappling I've seen in a while. I'm puzzled by the career trajectory of Mitsuhisa Sunabe, who has been around a long time and popping up once or twice on OZ Academy cards. What's up with this connection to Oz Academy of all places? Regardless, Suzuki just has to shoehorn in a bunch of comedy stuff. The finishing sequence between him and Sunabe was cool, but otherwise, Suzuki was really bleh here. It's an old man grappling match, wtf are you doing shoehorning your old comedy spots in? You really need to settle down sometimes, Minoru Suzuki.

Ryo Kawamura vs Hikaru Sato

The final match of Ryo Kawamuras career, and a somewhat bittersweet reminder that this man could've been a lot more as a wrestler. After a somewhat tentative beginning where Kawamura easily lost a point, this turns into a pretty great shootstyle encounter. Both guys really palm striked the hell out of each other, and there were some choice submission counters. More importantly the story of the match was Kawamuras absolute determination to edge out one last triumph and really popping Sato with his shots. Great, super intense stuff, really some of the best work of the year here even when it feels like a short match, both guys displayed a ton of passion here and it was just really enthralling. 

The Library 

2025 Wrestling Roundup Week 30

 Ali Najima vs Yuta Oya, Sportiva 7/30

It's been 1 year since they both have made their debut, and what a ride it has been. Incredible growth for both of them. Najima is on absolute killer run putting in quality performances week after week now, and to say Oya is a phenom would be an understatement. This is just a really impressive match, quality matwork, a lot of hard hitting and nifty counters, and a tremendous amount of passion displayed. The best thing is probably the sense of nothing being held back. Najima hit Oya with a running headbutt, kicked him really hard, at one point just smacked him square in the face which feels like a really mean thing to do to  a blind guy. Oya was relentless chopping away and constantly going for his deadly hip throw and Najimas counters were fantastic. It's also awesome to see Oya doing things like easily locking in a kneebar or hitting a jumping enzuigiri. A great piece of pro wrestling which feels like a career highlight for both of them.

Tyson Maeguchi vs Yumehito Imanari, Ganbare Pro 6/22

Fun wrestler vs kickboxer match with Maeguchi hitting some hard punches and Imanari hitting some snug straight forward pro wrestling offense to combat the shooter. There were moments were both guys kinda looked like crap (namely Maeguchi feebly punching at Imanaris shoulder and then butchering an attempted rollup, and Imanari hitting a flimsy bulldog) but overall the vibe was right. Enough hard punches to keep you entertained, and the finish is cool. Seems they are trying to make Maeguchi into the next Toba, and while he has a loooong way to go before he is anywhere near at the level of prime Toba this is hinting in the right direction.

Sareee vs Syuri, STARDOM 6/21

Maybe it's because I was in a good mood, but I thought this was better than their match earlier in the year. The same problems mostly still apply - bit too long, not much selling, submissions felt like blatant filler - but in a way it came across much better to me this time. Great pace, they both still have plenty of great offense, and there was enough psychotic hard hitting to keep things entertaining. Legwork was filler and never slowed Syuri down, but it was gritty enough and didn't really hurt the pace of the match. Thought it was really impressive how the 30 minutes flew by. There were lots of good moments throughout that came across as nice and hate filled (Sareee had shit-talked STARDOM before), like the scuffle that ended them on the ramp. Sareees headbutts throughout were certifiably insane and actually made for a few great comebacks. I also really appreciated that Sareee, once she was able to hit the uranage, just hit a bunch of uranages in a row and then got the nearfall. For some reason I thought that was better than hitting a bunch of uranages throughout the match over and over again. And they actually ended it with the biggest move, making this a pretty satisfying match overall. I really wish these matches would have a bit more selling and spice to make things meaningful but for what they are going for this was probably the best of its kind in 2025.

Senka Akatsuki & Sora Ayame vs Seri Yamaoka & Victoria Yuzuki, Marigold 7/16

A fun quick tag. Akatsuki and Yamaoka have a bit of a rivalry going and their exchange were a ton of fun. Yuzukis stuff looked solid and Ayame is also a lot of fun here. She looks so wee and non-threatening especially compared to Senka, but the fact she can get people to pop for a bodyslam nearfall is awesome and her flash pins were basic stuff done really well. Needed a bit more of that Senka/Seri stuff because when they forearmed each other and grappled it was really good, but that's the point of matches like these I guess. Also really enjoyed Senka putting Victoria in trouble with the SHOOT PIN~ again. Good stuff with a satisfying conclusion that leaves you wanting to see more.

Yujiro Yamamoto vs Koki Fujimoto, KOBE Meriken 8/1

Oh look it's nice to see Yujiro Yamamoto again in my sportsbar livestream feed. And here he is slapping the shit out of a guy! Koki Fujimoto doesn't even have a cagematch profile. He has kickpads and is not afraid to take a beating from a BattlARTS vet and he fires back with some big kicks of his own and a pretty big corner dropkick. My guess is he may be another Seichi Ikemoto guy, or somehow adjacent to the general sportsbar sleaze shooter scene that seems to be brewing right now. Either way this is pretty fun. Feels more like a WAR match, almost no submissions or matwork just two guys trying to shatter each other. Yamamoto is starting to work like a grumpy amalgamation of his old BattlARTS seniors. Short, and violent and fun.

2025 Wrestling Roundup