Akira Maeda vs Andrei Kopylov (RINGS - 8/21/1992)

Maeda faces off against another SAMBO specialist he brought over to RINGS. Volk Han gets all the praise these days, but I would argue Andrei Kopylov and Nikolai Zouev were nearly just as good. We're in 1992 so the crowd is still pretty for Maeda against another Russian opponent. There's a lot of great counterwork in this match, and they go to the ground immediately for a battle on the canvas. Kopylov shows off some of his expertise when it comes to defensive wrestling and gives Maeda fits in the opening few minutes. Maeda is sort of on the back foot here as Kopylov appears to have scouted Maeda quite well. Volk Han was very expressive in his approach to shoot-style and perhaps had the flash and showmanship down better, but Kopylov was great when it came to rough-and-tumble shoot-style and his approach matched the "grizzled veteran" look he always carried compared to Han's "merry, happy, nice, good looking, but a killer" personality. After they get near the ropes, the referee forces a stand-up and the two are back at it. Kopylov gets Maeda back to the ground with a belly-to-belly suplex variation and immediately looks for the armbar. Maeda fights out and gets on top of Kopylov before the Russian struggles back out and the two resume their war on the mat. Kopylov has some cool moves to show, including a unique variation of the kneebar as he sort of carries Maeda on his shoulders while looking for his leg vertically. Maeda escapes and hits a suplex on Kopylov, but this doesn't deter the Russian and he grabs Maeda's arm, forcing a rope escape. There's a lot more grappling and counterwork on the mat here compared to the Volk Han matches, and it feels like a 80s UWF main event mixed in with the modern techniques we get in RINGS. I think this match gets a very unique flavor as a result. More nice counterwork as Kopylov and Maeda exchange favorable positions and they both fight to lock in the submissions needed to end the match on a moment's notice. Very engaging so far. The referee forces another stand-up and we get a Maeda wanting to go back to his striking game. Kopylov gets knocked down with some knees to the face and Maeda immediately goes back to work as Kopylov gets back up. High kicks! Low kicks! Vintage Maeda as he assails his Russian foe for another down. Understandably, Kopylov wants to get this match back on the canvas. Kopylov looks for an armbar with Maeda on his stomach and the crowd rallies behind Maeda as he finds a rope escape. This is very much a classic grappler vs striker main event, and in shoot-style, you can't go wrong with that. This continues to be a story of Kopylov's superior grappling and SAMBO inspired defensive wrestling against Maeda's offensive focus, and I am totally buying into that. More furious striking from Maeda but Kopylov finds a way to bring Maeda back down to the mat. After Kopylov hooks in three of Maeda's four limbs, Maeda struggles to the ropes for another rope escape. 18 minutes in, the finish comes as Kopylov looks for an armbar but Maeda finds a way to sneak in his own and gets Kopylov to tap! Great match.

A classic Maeda main event with all the new intricacies we get in RINGS. This felt like a big time match to me upon first viewing, and that hasn't changed. One of Maeda's best matches in RINGS, and perhaps in his entire career. I think the Russian specialists Maeda scouted out really paved the way for the more modern shoot-style we got as RINGS matured. This match was another example of that evolution. This is a serious contender for my top 100. ****1/2