|
|
Post by Cap on Jul 18, 2019 15:22:55 GMT -5
Maybe the face of shoot wrestling in some ways. I think he certainly is features in a lot the most high profile matches in a way that centers him. Also, his evolution and story corresponds with maybe shoots peak in a way that makes him unique I think. So fluid and athletic.
|
|
|
|
Post by elliott on Jul 20, 2019 16:38:22 GMT -5
I've watched every match in his career and like 25% of them were MOTYC-All Time Great Level matches and literally less than 7 of them were less than good.
The best wrestler in the world from 1994-1999 and again in 2003-04 when he came back to works from shoot fighting.
He's hard to rank because he has less than 120 matches and stopped doing works at such a young age. He should be the clear GOAT. Like if Tarantino stopped after Pulp Fiction or PTA after Boogie Nights. We probably never got to see Tamura's best work (the best wrestlers tend to peak in their mid-late 30s) and I couldn't imagine ranking him worse than 5th all time.
|
|
|
|
Post by microstatistics on Aug 6, 2019 16:09:10 GMT -5
Contender for best wrestler for the 1990s (the best wrestling decade). One of the handful of guys I'd consider for #1 overall.
|
|
|
|
Post by KB8 on Aug 7, 2019 5:06:25 GMT -5
He's top 5 for me at this point as well. An absolute phenom. A while back I watched every UWFi show from the first three year of its run and early Tamura was such a fucking blast because he'd often be treated with disdain by his elders and he'd respond by going all "who the fuck are YOU talking to?" and cracking them in the mouth six times. An absurd athlete as well. The way he'd sometimes buck from the ground and be on his feet a second later, quite literally throwing aside an opponent who had his entire body weight on top of him, was wild. He'll also have at least three matches in my top 15 for this.
|
|
|
|
Post by elliott on Aug 18, 2019 3:14:14 GMT -5
He's top 5 for me at this point as well. An absolute phenom. A while back I watched every UWFi show from the first three year of its run and early Tamura was such a fucking blast because he'd often be treated with disdain by his elders and he'd respond by going all "who the fuck are YOU talking to?" and cracking them in the mouth six times. An absurd athlete as well. The way he'd sometimes buck from the ground and be on his feet a second later, quite literally throwing aside an opponent who had his entire body weight on top of him, was wild. He'll also have at least three matches in my top 15 for this. When I watched all of Tamura's matches, I was surprised by how long he went without really kicking. He didn't wear shinpads and wouldn't do any kicks outside of an occasional front kick to keep the distance. He was just so focused on grappling for like 18 months or so. I feel like it was around the time of the Vader match (maybe a few shows earlier) he put the kick pads back on and really ramped up the striking. I think this went a long way towards making him such a polished grappler. |
|
|
|
Post by KB8 on Aug 18, 2019 16:55:36 GMT -5
I never really thought about it at the time, but now you mention it he definitely threw more palm strikes in those first couple years. Like, in the Nakano match from '91 he got real chippy and just smashed Nakano in the nose with slaps, whereas if that match happened in 1997 he'd almost certainly have kicked the living dogshit out of him.
|
|
|
|
Post by elliott on Sept 8, 2019 4:22:52 GMT -5
Contender for best wrestler for the 1990s (the best wrestling decade). One of the handful of guys I'd consider for #1 overall. I think he was the best in the world from at least 94-99 and then again from 03-04 when he ran U-Style & did works again. There's no doubt in my mind he would have been the clear best in the world at the time he was doing shoots. |
|
|
|
Post by mjp7798 on Feb 9, 2021 15:52:27 GMT -5
In a perfect world, he'd be number one but I don't have the guts to put him there ahead of Funk or Hansen. Volume is probably the one hurdle I cannot get over. But if you look up "total package" in the wrestling dictionary, Tamura's picture is right there. Undisputed best in the world from late 97-99 when RINGS went full shoot. Athleticism, timing, grappling, striking, explosiveness, character work. He had it all and also an underappreciated draw. Could very well have 4 matches in my top 25 and had a case of being the best in the world when he started U-Style despite that little bit of explosiveness he was known for being gone
|
|
|
|
Post by elliott on Feb 9, 2021 17:24:16 GMT -5
Agree with all of that and would push it even further. Best in the world from 94-99 and went right back to being the best in the world when he formed U-Style. Hes only 51 right now. He should still be an awesome worker.
|
|
|
|
Post by tetsujin on Feb 9, 2021 18:58:26 GMT -5
I think he'd rank higher than Han in my list, but it's pretty god damn close. Both of them have elite level when it comes to matwork, strikes and personality display, and I always saw them as the Misawa and Kobashi of shoot style, because Volk was very stoic and always managed to made imself look like the final boss, while Tamura was the fired up one that you want to see win everytime. Maybe that's why I prefer Tamura over Han, the same way I prefer Kobashi over Misawa.
|
|
|
|
Post by mjp7798 on Feb 9, 2021 20:18:16 GMT -5
I think Tamura would have to rank over Han largely down to sheer variety. I don't think Han could have the types of matches Tamura did with guys like Vader or Albright and sell the suplexes/powerbombs like death. Also, I'd argue Han's 3 strongest matches are all with Tamura while only 1 of Tamura's 3 best matches involves Volk Han.
|
|
