Georgi Kandelaki vs. Hans Nijman Kakutogi Road: The Chronological History of MMA |
It is said that before Septimius Severus (Roman Emperor) died, he uttered one of the most poignant observations about the futility of man’s ambition when he stated, “I have been everything, and everything is nothing. A little urn will contain all that remains of one for whom the whole world was too little.” The world was not enough for Severus, and will surely not be enough for the practitioners we will witness this evening, as we are about to embark on the first open weight tournament in Shoot-Style/MMA history. Severus should have counted himself lucky as he only had to fight off four other claimants to the throne of Rome, whereas 16 men assembled on the date of 10-29-92 for an opportunity to be the victor of FIGHTING NETWORK RINGS very first MEGA-BATTLE TOURNAMENT. While the majority of these “fights” will surely be worked, we will likely see some true shoots along the way, so it is not unreasonable to examine this in the light of the greater history of MMA.
Dimitar Petkov vs. Vladimir Kravchuck
This match will welcome two new fighters to the RINGS universe. Firstly, we have Dimitar Petkov, an entry from RINGS BULGARIA who was 1st place in 1977 in the Greco-Roman wrestling Bulgarian championships. We can only assume that he has replaced the truly abysmal Cvetlan Paolov, who was responsible for shaming all of Bulgaria with his ineptitude when he faced Mitsuya Nagai back in August. Secondly, there is Vladimir Kravchuck of RINGS RUSSIA, who is a wealth of all things judo/sambo, and proved it when he won the 1989 judo Russian championships in the heavyweight division. One thing is for certain, and that is Petkov is blinding everyone in the Nagoya Rainbow Hall by exposing his awful physique via his wrestling singlet. His speed wasn’t any better than his looks, as he lumbered around like a golem before tossing around Kravchuck with ease. Kravchuck moves well, and his submission game was solid, but he seemed unsure of how hard he should be kicking/punching. This uncertainty led to several awkward exchanges in the standing portions, as Petkov just looked awful, and Kravchuck doesn’t have the necessary experience in this setting to overcome his opponent’s limitations. Sadly, like Paolov, Petkov was awarded the win, but Maeda surely could see the writing on the wall with this portly sambist, and limited him to only one more appearance. Outside of Kravchuck’s grappling, this was mostly atrocious and is proof that Bulgaria really needs to step up their game. * ½
ML: Certainly there are occasions where putting two debuting fighters in a work has turned out well, most notably the Kanehara vs. Maeda series, but in general it just makes more sense to me to have them shoot, especially since it doesn't really matter who wins. These two were legitimate heavyweights, so the match was really really slow. They were actually trying to be entertaining, combining throws with submission holds, but they were both blown up well before the 5 minute mark of a 9 minute match, and watching exhausted heavyweight is just painful. Kravchuck was the more interesting of the two because he was the least bad athlete, but while this wasn't terrible, I would be happy to never see either of these guys again.
Georgi Kandelaki vs. Hans Nijman
The new faces keep on coming as Soviet kickboxer Georgi Kandelaki must face the ever-stoic Hans Nijman. The iron-curtain barricaded the flow of information for many decades, but it seems that Kandelaki is credited for having won the 1991 Soviet Union Boxing Championships, an event that is impossible for me to determine the prestige of. This bout will be contested under 3-min rounds with normal RINGS rules. This fight was also a work, which is unfortunate as it would have been an interesting match-up for a shoot. Kandelaki is obviously comfortable with his boxing, though his kicks needed refinement. The story here was one of foot vs. fist, as Kandelaki kept using punching combinations to Nijman’s body, whereas Nijman effectively used front and low kicks to keep some distance between them. This contest was more entertaining than I was expecting, as it was fast-paced and had a moderate gym-sparring level of stiffness. I would still have preferred a shoot, but they both did a good job here. *** ¼
ML: A subpar kickboxing exhibition with a few highlights that almost seemed interesting compared to the previous snoozefest, as at least Kandelaki was in shape and able to keep a high pace. The problem with this sort of match is the intensity is so low on average because they are barely touching each other with the majority of their strikes, so even when they do something interesting and seem to be getting into it for a moment, it just dissipates as they go back to their default pitty pat mode. A perfect example was how they were able to turn things up when Nijman hit a belly to belly suplex into what would have been an arm triangle if he understood the submission, but instead wound up being a scarf hold, only to essentially just reset once Kandelaki got the ropes. I kind of liked Kandelaki, he seem to be trying hard and doing his best to keep things moving, while Nijman was half asleep most of the time, as usual. The finish made me chuckle, as Kandelaki did a hilarious pro wrestling style leap to put over Nijman's high kick KO.
Willie Peeters vs. Herman Renting
Everyone’s favorite cartoon character, Willie Peeters, is back! Which is excellent news since he is being paired with the rather droll Herman Renting, and his zany antics will surely bring some much-needed levity to the proceedings. We haven’t seen Peeters since July, where he was giving us an epically stiff and entertaining performance against Mitsuya Nagai. The bad news is that Peeters seems to be on his best behavior, which means we might not see any of his cheatyface shenanigans, but the good news is that the first few mins set a great tone with an intense and excellent blend of shoot-style grappling and striking. The action continued to be excellent throughout, as Peeters would continually try and box Renting into a corner with his kickboxing, forcing his opponent to eat a lot of damage before he could take the fight to the ground. The rest of this 12-min match was just as action-packed, with Renting eventually causing Peeters to tap out faster than Nunes did to Pena via hadaka-jime (rear-naked choke). Recommended! **** ¼
ML: Peeters worked a high pace, starting his combos with two body punches then finishing with either a low or spinning kick. Renting spent most of the match with his back against the ropes, trying to find a way to get a suplex or takedown. This match was really one-sided, but interesting in a repetitive sort of way. I mean, the action was pretty good, but the match never really developed beyond Peeters just a landing the same old combination. Peeters made the mistake of changing things up with a koshi guruma, and Renting aptly slipped right out the back and applied the rear naked choke for the win. ***
Andrei Kopylov vs. Sotir Gotchev
Kopylov (who got a surprisingly entertaining match out of Akira Maeda a couple of months ago) is back to face another rookie in Sotir Gotchev. Gotchev is another Bulgarian who is excellent at wrestling, as his winning the Bulgarian wrestling championships from 1986-1988 will attest to. Here Kopylov continues to prove he’s another fine sambist with great grappling sensibilities, even if he isn’t quite the creative auteur that Volk Han is. Gotchev didn’t seem to be particularly noteworthy, or terrible, at any one thing, which made for a serviceable uke to the experienced sambist. While not memorable due to the lack of any discernable personality from Gotchev, this was a fine showing from Kopylov that again illustrates just how nicely sambo fits in within professional wrestling. ** ½
ML: Another strong performance from Kopylov, who may be the second best worker in the league right now. He kept the pressure on Gotchev with some excellent grappling sequences, doing a nice job of working the leg locks. Gotchev may not be experienced in works, but he did a nice job of fending off and countering Kopylov's submissions, allowing for some really nice back and forth on the canvas. I liked his intensity, and he did a really good job of standing up to Kopylov. He never seemed along for the ride or consigned to defeat. Though more toward the showy end, this struck a good balance, as they were very active developing the matwork without getting too outlandish. ***1/4
Dick Vrij vs. Nobuaki Kakuda
When we last saw Vrij, he was in the most purely entertaining match we’ve yet witnessed, thanks to the awesome powers of the Volkster. Kakuda, on the other hand, is coming off a devastating loss to Andy Hug from the 3rd annual Sediokaikan Kakutogi Olympic event. Kakuda needs a win here, but will he be able to fly past Fly? Whatever the outcome, massive props have to be given to Kakuda, who has the heart of a warrior. Here, he opts to be in the first shoot of the evening against the far more massive Dutchman. His immense bravery notwithstanding, he didn’t show a lot of fight IQ here. Instead of trying to figure out a way to take his chances on the ground with Vrij, he instead goes full blast on his feet where he can’t hope to trade shots with him. Kakuda showed good explosiveness on those few occasions he was actually able to fire off a kick, but Vrij was just too big and too nasty. While this was almost all a one-sided victory for Vrij, the atmosphere was completely electric, with the crowd going nuts for Kakuda. I’ll admit that I almost found myself joining along with the raucous chants of “Ka-ku-da! Ka-ku-da!” but our collective energies were only enough to prop Nobuaki up to the 6min mark where Vrij won via TKO. Very entertaining shoot, albeit one-sided.
ML: Our first shoot of the night was somewhat of a disappointment, not because there wasn't enough action, but because there wasn't much strategy. Standing toe to toe with the opponent may work in karate, but undersized fighters need a bit more guile than that if they hope to defeat giant roidmonsters in a kickboxing match. Vrij was able to unleash a hellacious beating without even having to take Kakuda seriously. This was better than a Vrij work, and I can't say it wasn't entertaining, the problem was more that it wasn't compelling because it was such a slaughter.
Chris Dolman vs. Grom Zaza
Although no fault of Zaza’s, this was another dreadful Dolman match. Dolman seriously looks like Wilfred Brimley decided to take up judo. It was quick, so the pain came and went, but it’s a shame knowing that we’ll have to endure another few years of this before Dolman retires for good. *
ML: Zaza did his best to redeem himself after the Koba letdown, doing a great job here despite a terrible opponent. He applyied a ton of pressure, and really made this into a match despite Dolman barely moving, as always. It was pretty similar to the Peeters vs. Renting match in that Zaza kept coming forward, working body punches, which kept Dolman on the ropes. Dolman eventually won with an armlock out of nowhere, but this was probably as entertaining a match as Dolman is capable of having against anyone other than Volk Han.
Masaaki Satake vs. Mitsuya Nagai
It’s shootboxing vs. seidokaikan in the 2nd shoot of the evening. This was almost as quick as it gets, and sadly not at all satisfying as a result. Nagai went toe-to-toe with Satake, fighting this as if it were a kickboxing bout, which cost him dearly. He was looking good while he lasted, trading shots with Satake and dishing out as much as he was taking, but a hard palm-strike that connected flush to his face was all it took to KO Nagai. Glad to see another shoot, but disappointed that this ended as quickly as it did.
ML: Well, Satake finally found a bad enough opponent that shenanigans weren't required for him to get the victory. This is why weight classes were invented, as they both threw the same palms strikes more or less, but the smaller man quickly couldn't withstand them.
Akira Maeda vs. Volk Han
The rubber match has finally arrived! Maeda vs. Han III is here, and for this, we (and by we, the entire Kakutogi Road and all the Volksters in the Nagoya Rainbow Hall) are ecstatic! Very few are now capable of getting a good, let alone passable, match out of Maeda, and Volk Han is one of the few. This match starts very bizarrely as Han seems to attack Maeda before the bell, which prompts a quick knockdown. The ref is allowing it, which causes the crowd to boo uncontrollably. Maeda quickly makes up for this, however, by promptly returning the favor with a takedown followed by a keylock. The inevitable footsie battle soon followed, where we saw the demented Russian submission ace try some kind of variation of a figure-four leglock, only to see its counter from Maeda, the toehold. This was a worthy addition to their trilogy, as it had plenty of entertainment value but less of the over-the-top elements from past outings, which was a welcome move. Even when the flying armbar did make an appearance, it felt like a natural move of desperation as opposed to just an opportunity to show off. Maeda gave the best performance he possibly could, given that he is still awaiting knee surgery, and it’s great to see him push himself presumably so that he isn’t upstaged by the mighty Han. Neither man has a great gas tank, and both were looking quite rundown by the 20min mark, but this epic-length served to add to the narrative that these two were willing to engage in an all-out war to move forward in this tournament. This match was critical to the success of this event, as its strength would determine if this event was to be included in the worthy cannon or the scrap heap, and thankfully, it was fantastic. I’ll go as far as to say this is the best match of their three thus far, for two reasons. Firstly, they successfully blended a lot more striking into the mix here, which gave it a very smooth flow, and secondly, the stakes never felt higher. With Maeda’s bad knee and this being the first Mega-Battle Tournament, there was a palpable energy that added so much to the match. Maeda gets the shocking win, and advances in the tournament. This miracle may very well be the last great match that Maeda has left in him, but only time will tell. **** ½
ML: The two top stars surprisingly battling it out in the first round of the inaugural Mega-Battle tournament almost guaranteed the expected trilogy victory for Maeda, as most of the wind would have been taken out of the sails of his new invention had he lost on the first show. This was the longest, and the most realistic of the Maeda vs. Han matches, but unfortunately those are two qualities you don't really value from these particular performers. Neither have great stamina, it's Han's one weakness, and the main thing you want from him is to be explosive, which he largely wasn't here. In this match, he did very little off his cool stuff by his standards, there wasn't a lot of surprise or creativeness beyond the spinning chop before the bell, jumping bodyscissors takedown into a kneebar, and reverse STF. Maeda was fine to good, but it often felt like Han was actively trying not to show him up. Even the standup had a lot less movement from Han, rather than entering and exiting as usual, he was just standing there with his hands on his knees like Mark Coleman to tell the story of his fatigue, and thus Maeda's kicking that he'd normally mostly just be out of range for because Akira is too slow and immobile suddenly owning the day the way it would in bad pro wrestling where defense is ignored. The work was certainly good, but lacked both urgency and Han's usual pizazz. There were moments when it felt like the match was finally about to take off, for instance Han's furious flurry of slaps after Maeda drops him with a knee, but that's the match we would have got at 15 minutes. Any match with this much Han can't be anything less then enthralling, but this was one of his least interesting matches in my book, and the worst of their 3 so far. The finish saw Maeda seem to accept Han's offer to lock up, only to then disengage and end it with a surprise high kick. Han got back up "expecting the match to continue", but the match was stopped because it was his final down. ***1/2
Conclusion: Despite one of the shoots misfiring and the atrocity of Petkov, there was a lot to like here. Admittedly, RINGS has been trending more into shoot-style pro wrestling promotion, but they’ve been continuing to have at least one shoot on every card, which has made for a more compelling experience than just straight works. Also, from a purely historical standpoint, the inclusion of a yearly tournament wound up becoming a huge part of RINGS brand identity, which would eventually lead is to their iconic King of Kings tournaments, which influenced MMA for many years to come. Two great wrestling matches and two shoots are not a bad way to have a wrestling card in 1992, and while they still have a lot of room to grow and refine themselves, they are on the right trajectory.
ML: I am way less high on this show than you are, for me there is nothing on here that's even remotely in the ballpark of Tamura vs. Yamazaki, but this was a better overall show than the past 5 UWF-I shows despite some of them having a much better best match, and that makes 4 good shows in a row from RINGS, all of similar quality. It was interesting that they actually mixed a couple shoots into the tournament, I believe the general belief is that the early tournaments were all works, while the later tournaments were all shoots.
Now, thanks to the tireless efforts of our translator, John Krummel, we don’t have to spend our lives wondering what possible shoot-truths lurked beneath our collective language barriers. Here are English translations of what was said during this event:
Pre-tournament interview with Maeda: “Yeah, I think these tournament participants would currently fall within the current best 16 in RINGS. With this matchup, it wouldn’t be strange for anyone to win. There were talks of letting some fighters advance to the 2nd round automatically, but we decided that would make the tournament less interesting, and since all the fighters are top level fighters, everyone will be fighting in the 1st round. Due to figuring out the various matchups, I end up going against Han in the first round, but in any case, those who win 2 rounds would be part of the best 4. I think these are still good matchups for the tournament, and I thought these matchups would bring out the characteristics of the fighters…” [He also mumbled about strikers and Nagai and Peters, but I couldn’t really understand him].
Opening ceremony. Maeda’s opening speech: “Thanks you for coming today. It’s been a year and a half since we started, so we decided to hold a tournament. These 16 fighters are the best 16 fighters of RINGS. We will show you exciting fights. We sincerely thank your coming today.”
Petkov vs Kravchuk
Petkov: from RINGS Bulgaria, won 2nd place in 1976 and 1st place in 1977 in Greco-Roman wrestling Bulgarian championships; also won 3rd place three times from 1978~91 in Freestyle wrestling.
Petkov’s prefight comment [based on Japanese subtitles]: “I have come here to beat all the fighters fighting in Japan, and I am prepared.”
Kravchuk: from RINGS Russia, 10 year experience in judo and sambo; won 2nd place in 1983 judo Soviet Union junior championships and won the 1989 judo Russian championships in heavyweight division.
Kravchuk’s prefight comment [based on subtitles]: “I’ll try my best to fight a good match.”
Kandelaki vs Nijman
Kandelaki: from RINGS Georgia, won the 1991 Soviet Union boxing championship and also practices kickboxing.
Kandelaki’s prefight comments: “In amateur boxing, I’ve won the world championship. I want to showcase my capabilities in the professional ring as well.”
Nijman: from RINGS Holland, an experienced fighter with an impressive career in the karate world of Netherlands; won the European karate championships twice; 3rd place in the 1990 WUKO [World Union of Karate Organizations] championships and also experienced in free style wrestling. Nijman’s RINGS record: Drew against Satake in December 1991, dew against Adam Watt in March 1992, lost to Maeda in June 1992; and lost to Vrij in July 1992.
Peeters vs Renting
Renting: from RINGS Holland; won the 1990 Holland [Netherlands] Kickboxing 82kilogram championship; his favorite techniques are the left low kick and the left straight punch. He lost several matches in a row against top fighters like Frij, Satake, Han, Dollman, etc, but due to his experience in fighting in RINGS, he was invited to enter the tournament.
Renting’s RINGS record: lost to Peter Schmidt in May 1991; lost to Nagai in August 1991; beat Nagai in September 1991; tied Kakuda in December 1991; beat Koba in January 1992; lost to Frij in March 1992; lost to Satake in April 1992; lost to Han in June 1992; and lost to Dollman in August 1992.
Renting’s prefight comments: [in English]
Peeters: from RINGS Holland; won the amateur wrestling Holland [Netherlands] championships Greco-Roman 82 kilos division in 1987; also began training in kickboxing 4 years ago and in kickboxing has the record of 12 matches, 11 wins (8Kos) and 1 loss. Peeters’ RINGS record: beat Harlmans in May 1991; beat Kopps, Jr. in September 1991; lost to Frij in December 1991; lost to Kopps, Jr. in January 1992; tied to Nishi in April 1992; tied to Satake in June 1992; and beat Nagai in July 1992.
Kopylov vs Gotchev
Gotchev: from RINGS Bulgaria; won 3 times in a row the Bulgarian wrestling championships from 1986~88 and took 3rd place in the European wrestling championships under 100 kilos division in 1988.
Gotchev’s prefight comments: “In Bulgaria I’m nr. 1 in freestyle wrestling. I’ll also prove that I’m nr. 1 in RINGS.”
Kopylov: from RINGS Russia; 1990 Russian sambo heavy wt. champion, 1991 Soviet Union folk championships sambo heavy wt champion, and one of those who was expected to win the 1991 All Soviet Union sambo 2nd class tournament. Kopylov’s RINGS record: beat Han in July 1992; lost to Maeda in August 1992.
Kopylov’s prefight comments: “I’m a martial artist who fights by thinking. This time as well I will beat Gotchev who is nr. 1 in Bulgaria with a new technique.”
Kopylov’s postfight comments: “Fighting in any combat sport is always difficult but this time it was really hard. Gotchev is a very intelligent fighter.”
Kakuda vs Vrij
Vrij: from RINGS Holland [Netherlands]; Begins body building at age 16 and begins training in kickboxing at age 19; currently trains in kickboxing and sambo wrestling at Copps Gym. He is looked upon as the top fighter of Netherlands and people are interested in how he will fight in this tournament. Vrij’s RINGS record: lost to Maeda in May 1991; beat Maeda in August 1991; eat Maureek in September 1991; beat Peeters in December 1991; lost to Maeda in January 1992; beat Renting in March 1992; beat Harmans in April 1992; beat Nagai in May 1992; beat Nijman in July 1992; lost to Han in August 1992.
Vrij’s prefight comments: [In English]
Kakuda: 2nd dan in Seidokaikan karate with a karate career of 13 years; won 2nd place in 1988 and 1991 Points and KO All Japan Karate championships. His emotion-expressive fighting style has attracted a lot of fans and he is called the “karateka of love and emotion.” Kakuda’s RINGS record: tied to Renting in December 1991; lost to Kahman in Januaray 1992; beat Iwoldt in March 1992; lost to Maurik in April 1992; lost to Nagai in June 1992; beat Munan in July 1992; lost to Nishi in August 1992.
Kakuda’s prefight comments: “I’ll just keep attacking aggressively.”
[good fight… looked like a shoot; it seems like in RINGS, the closer to a real shoot, the more palm strikes to the head… otherwise they keep their hand strikes to the body it seems, unlike Pancrase where you see full flown palm strikes.]
Dolman vs Zaza
Zaza: from RINGS Georgia; in freestyle wrestling, won the 1986 European Championship, won the 1987~90 Soviet Union championships, and the World Cup. He beat Koba in the previous RINGS show and won his entry into this tournament. Zaza’s RINGS record: beat Kimura in December 1991, lost to Han in May 1992, and beat Koba in August 1992.
Zaza’s prefight comments: “I know that Dolman is a very strong fighter. I have been training to win.”
Dolman: from RINGS Holland [Netherlands]; won the European judo championship in 1966, Netherlands judo championship in 1971, world sambo championship in 1984 and 85. He holds a stunning record as a judoka and sambist representing the Netherlands [Holland]. Dolman’s RINGS record: beat Kazmeyer in May 1991, beat Mafrick in August 1991, beat Lebani in December 1991, beat Ramaji in July 1992, beat Renting in August 1992.
Dolman’s prefight comments: [in English]
Satake vs Nagai
Nagai: from RINGS Japan; began training in shooting (shooto) at age of 17, then started shoot boxing in 1986 had attained a professional record (in shoot boxing) of 5 wins and 2 losses (2 Kos). He is expected to rise to the top in the tournament. Nagai’s RINGS record: beat Renting in August 1991, lost to Renting in September 1991, lost to Gordeau in December 1991; beat Kimura in Januaray 1992; lost to Williams in April 1992, lost to Frij in May 1992, beat Kakuda in June 1992, lost to Peeters in July 1992, and lost to Pavlov in August 1992.
Nagai’s prefight comments: “I’ve been training steadily and as I’ve become accepted by the people around me, I thought that’s good, but this time being allowed to enter the tournament, I’m happy but also somewhat nervous.”
Satake: from Seidokaikan karate. Won the Seidokaikan All Japan karate championships in 1987, 88, and 89, and won the Real karate tournament in 1989. Since then he has beaten notable fighters like Don Nielssen, Pieter Smit, and Willie Williams. Satake’s RINGS record: tied to Nijman in December 1991, beat Gorton in January 1992, beat Oosterom in March 1992, beat Renting in April 1992, beat Copps, Jr. in May 1992, tied to Peeters in June 1992, beat Ura in July 1992, and tied to Kaman in August 1992.
Satake’s prefight comments: “My condition is not that good today. But when I enter the ring, I’m going to fight to win.”
Nagai’s post-fight crying as he kneels in front of Maeda, Maeda tells him, “you did well, don’t cry, just work harder next time…”
Han vs Maeda:
Maeda: from RINGS Japan; Started RINGS with the aim to set up a worldwide professional combat sports network. He stated that “as a fighter I aim to win the tournament.” He postponed his knee surgery to enter the tournament. Maeda’s RINGS record: beat Vrij in May 1991, lost to Vrij in August 1991, beat Wilhelm in September 1991, beat Han in December 1991, beat Ramaj in March 1992, lost to Han in April 1992, beat Neuman in May 1992, beat Nijman in June 1992, beat Williams in July 1992, and beat Kopylov in August 1992.
Maeda’s pre-fight comments: “Ever since a year ago, my leg hasn’t been working well and so the question is how to deal with it during the match… but I’m going to try hard to win the tournament.”
Han: from RINGS Russia; while training police and military commandos as an expert of combat sambo, he took 2nd place in the 1984 Soviet Union sambo championship and won the open weight division in the 1985 Soviet Union sambo championships. He’s also fought in wrestling, judo, karate, and boxing matches and possess variable techniques. Han’s RINGS record: lost to Maeda in December 1991, beat Gigant in March 1992, beat Maeda in April 1992, beat Zaza in May 1992, beat Renting in June 1992, lost to Kopylov in July 1992, beat Vrij in August 1992.
Han’s prefight comments: “I’ve been thinking about my strategy and moves. I will win, so please watch my fight.”
After Maeda’s fight in the dressing room, Nagai is still crying and Maeda hugs him, telling him, “don’t worry, don’t worry… you did your best… OK? You can try better next time, it will be alright... “
Maeda’s postfight interview: “I started to understand what his next move would be… Han’s Achilles hold was good, but I also feel very lucky” [it’s hard to understand Maeda’s Osaka dialect Japanese so I couldn’t catch everything he was saying…]
*In Other News*
The UWF-I has been scouting locations within the United States in hopes of being able to start to promote cards there. There has been some speculation that Billings, MT, might be a possible location as it is the hometown of Gary Albright, but nothing has been made definite yet.
More reports are coming out of Japan that Hachiro Tanaka is withdrawing all of his support towards the wrestling business. This decision was largely due to the massive about of money that was lost in the attempt to start up the SWS (Straight and Strong) promotion, which recently folded. Tanaka and his company (Megane Super Opticals) also bankrolled a lot of cash into Fujiwara’s PWFG, WAR (which recently rose from the ashes of SWS), and NOW (Network of Wrestling). It remains to be seen what the fallout will be, but this may be the beginning of the end for these various promotions.
The PWFG’s recent Tokyo Dome show was on track to be a bust, until a massive upswing in same-day walk-up business bolstered their gate to an impressive estimated $1.5 to 2 million dollars. Their estimated attendance has been reported to be around 25,000, which while impressive, is still the lowest figure to be in a Dome show since they started running pro wrestling events in 1989.
With SWS having closed in June, Naoki Sano is now a free-agent, and is rumored to be in talks with the UWF-I.