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Post by elliott on Dec 8, 2017 20:38:22 GMT -5
Volk Han vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS - 8/24/1996)
Classic match. Kohsaka is the closest thing to Tamura so this is awesome. Wonderful, ground breaking, pushing the style to the limit mat work. Underrated striking. Awesome finish. Peak RINGS is as good as anything that has ever happened.
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Post by microstatistics on Jan 15, 2018 2:04:51 GMT -5
I'll second this even though I thought it was clearly the weakest of their three matches from 96 (preferred the July and November bouts). Still it's Volk Han and Kohsaka is game too and the result is a really good match. Also, this deserves to be nominated just for that finish.
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Post by KB8 on Jan 15, 2018 8:44:13 GMT -5
Of course this ruled. Han is so great at somehow managing to grab a submission from seemingly nowhere. He also makes things that would be standard spots in regular pro-wrestling matches look deadly in a shoot style setting. He just grabs hold of Kohsaka's arm here and yanks it over with an arm wringer, and it was the nastiest arm wringer you'll see. He's also great at finding a last ditch killer hold when it looks like he's all but ready to tap out. Kohsaka has him in a kneebar and Han is squirming and trying to drag himself to the ropes. Kohsaka kinda rolls over onto his own front and curls up a bit to keep hold of the leg, but then Han just grabs one of his arms, so Kohsaka himself has to tap before his arm is snapped off. Han is utterly ruthless, and even a millimeter of an opening is enough to let him in.
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Post by superstarsleeze on Jul 29, 2018 18:25:55 GMT -5
Fun fact I randomly selected this as the first Volk Han & RINGS match I ever watched. I didn't know it had a rep at all. Pretty damn good introduction.
Volk Han vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - RINGS 8/24/96
So this is RINGS, human pretzel making. A sick part of me wishes Uncle Eric brought in these dudes to WCW so I could hear Tony, Dusty & Bobby call the action. Dusty would say "uncle" and "uncler" so much. Han gets the coolest, most organic figure-4 you will ever see from a standing half guard. Yep, believe the hype brutha, Volk Han is legit. Thought the escapes from Kojsaka on the figure-4 and cross arm breaker were too easy. Then they started using rope breaks which I liked better. Han lets Kohsaka take him down and grabs a double wrist lock. The double wrist lock seems to be the base for everything. In kayfabe, it seems like Han is being presented as the better wrestler. I hate the bundle of legs dueling submission as a spot no matter what. Han drops down with a rear naked choke and Kohsaka comes up with a sick counter of basically an inverted deadlock on the legs. I marked out and Kohsaka has a renewed sense of confidence. That felt like a big moment where the momentum could have shifted to Kohsaka. He grabbed a rolling leg takedown but in the pretzel he created he left his arm exposed and Han grabbed hyperextended it and since Kohsaka was in pretzel of his own creation he had no escape and was forced to tap.
Even though I haven't watched much shoot style I gobble it up with a spoon when I do. It was exciting to see my first Volk Han match thought he lived up to the hype. Definitely some mark out moments like the figure-4 and just some of those wrist lock grabs and chains. The counter to the choke by Kohsaka was my favorite spot felt electric and like everything was going to go his way, but then he taps in his own trap! Thought some escapes were little too easy in the beginning and in shoot style I like narratives of contrasting styles didn't feel that here. It was an incredible display of grappling wizardry. ****1/2
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Post by Cap on May 30, 2019 14:18:15 GMT -5
Excellent match on the whole. I don't have a lot to add to this. I thought the pacing of this and the sort of subtle way they got the dynamic between the two over was my favorite thing. The finish gets this close to the 4.75 mark on my list, but I think it is probably still a high end ****1/2 match for me. This is a shoot match I would like to sort of compare to other styles because the pace here is very shooty, but the action is very digestible and translatable in my opinion. Plus, this finish is an all timer.
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