HAHA...wow! I loved the show introduction. Brought back some great memories, but now it's time for the 2nd installment!
We see an opening package featuring: "KID", Akiyama, Fedor, Sakuraba, Choi, Mirko, JZ, Dida, Kawajiri, Ishida, Hellboy & Aoki. Awesome.
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Hellboy vs. Boku
A FUN opening fight! Hellboy looked STRONG from the outset, landing some HARD BOMBS..staggering Boku, and knocking him on his ass too. Boku was game the whole fight, and kept working. When they stood, Boku did a nice job feinting and mixing his strikes up. Hellboy though, MAN...the single shots he was throwing were BOMBS! The repeated body lock- slams were nice from Hansen. Like I said, Boku was really game...it just looked like he had no answer for Hellboy's overall strength. Hellboy controlled the fight on the mat, as well as the exchanges. Good effort from Boku, but Hellboy walked him down the whole time...looking great out there, coming in guns blazing. Nice UD for Hellboy.
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We see Minowa's entrance, as he disappoints me wearing those black trunks. Red trunks FTW. At least his mullet looks SUPER OFFICIAL. He runs down the aisle, to a warm reception. Minowa HL package...which is super cool. Minowa's physique looks better than I've ever seen it, and his opponent is a fat sack of fat. Wonderful.
Minowa vs. Lee Kwan BUM
Minowa comes out with the customary somersault axe kick....which garners a nice ovation. Bum is a bum, and is afraid to close the distance. Minowa changes all that, by doubling his ass down to the mat - another nice ovation! Wonderful. Minowa easily dominates this fight, ending it with a slick kneebar. Minowa didn't even break a sweat....HAHA...he loves the freakshow fights. Anyway, nice win for Minowaman - I guess! They show Minowaman's awesome post-fight ritual...which was nice to see.
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Nice MACH highlight package! Then we get to see a Monma submission highlight reel. Gotta make him look credible!
MACH vs. Monma
This one started slowly, unil MACH opened up throwing BOMBS. Monma's closed guard on the mat was nice. MACH landed a SICK LK, that buckled Monma to the canvas, followed by some nice punches. MACH stands him up. Monma stays in the pocket while he's throwing, but you can just see there's more power behind Hayato's strikes. Monma gets wobbled. MACH follows him down again, and just POUNDS AWAY on the side of his head. Damn. MACH missed quite a few of his punches, but the ones he landed? HEAVY. Ref finally saves Monma and gets in the danger zone. MACH dominated pretty much the entire contest, and won in big fashion...which is what we all like to see!
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Crusher HL package. Another one that is nicely put together. Of course, we see a package for his opponent: Black Mamba. The snake shots were cool.
Kawajiri vs. Black Mamba
I'm not going to lie...this bout was a tad boring. Of course, Crusher controlled most, but Black Mamba was a very game opponent for him. More so than people thought he would be. I for one, thought Crusher would WALK through this fight, and win early. Not the case. Mamba landed some nice kicks, but Crusher just absorbed them. Crusher locked in a nice RNC with Mamba standing, but couldn't finish it out. Black Mamba also got caught in an arm triangle, but he survived nicely. Kawajiri just outworks Black Mamba all the way through, on the way to a well-deserved, but unimpressive UD.
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ALRIGHT! Superb hype package showcasing Eddie Alvarez, oh yeah, and a bunch of screaming American idiots. "Walk This Way" was a nice touch. Then, we get a Andre Amade package, which basically showcases his love for soccer & Adidas sneakers. Black out the first "A" and the last "s" - what do you get? That's right....DIDA.
Dida vs. Alvarez
Dida comes out guns BLAZING...until Eddie takes the single, into a trip takedown / slam. Uh oh. Dida squirms on the mat, until Eddie stands, and eventually the ref stands Andre up. Dida continues to throw wildly, until he backs Eddie into the corner...then he lands some HARD shots. These guys' exchanges are HARD and FAST. Series of PUNISHING rights from Dida, that slow Eddie down. Eddie lands a hard uppercut, which Dida answers with a STINGING right hook that plants Alvarez. Dida follows him down....and Eddie controls it on the mat. Dida gets hammered while on the bottom. Eventually gets his chance to stand, and takes it. They trade more, but Eddie comes forward with nice combos, plus he's landing, which is backing Dida down. Alvarez just shoots, not setting it up, and Andre goes down easily. Eddie controls on the ground, accompanied with some pretty good G-n-P. Dida never really even retains guard, as Eddie is too active on top. Alvarez with side control the entire time on the mat, until he easily takes full mount. Commentators go ape shit! Eddie just POUNDS Dida toward the end of the round. Eddie takes mount AGAIN and finishes Dida with some bombs. Then, he celebrates by back-flipping off the ropes, so a nice Jap. reaction. Dida looked damn good on the feet to open, but Eddie survived, took it to the mat over and over, neutralizing Dida's hands, and exposing his ground skills until the finish. Great win for Eddie.
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We then skip quickly into...
Ishida vs. Jung
We see Jung's missed flying knee, then his attempted arm bar...with stomps included! Some nice Ishida G-n-P, then it skips right to the fight outcome. Ummmmmmm....good win for Ishida, I guess. Would've liked to have seen more of the fight though.
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Once again, we go quickly to...
Buscape vs. Miyata
Buscape with nice punches, until he's reversed in th clinch, and thrown by Miyata. G-n-P Miyata. We skip to Buscape with the back, both hooks in....RNC is SUNK, and there's a tap. BS that we didn't get to see this one either, but at least it was a slick finish for Buscape.
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AGAIN, we taken RIGHT to...
Nagata vs. Artur
Nice shot and TD for Nagata, which Artur rolls with...regains some posture. We cut to some heavy G-n-P from Nagata. Artur moves nicely on bottom, but still eats a good amount of blue leather. We cut to them standing and trading: front kick from Artur. TD for Artur. Nagata with a strong sweep. More HEAVY G-n-P from Nagata. That's all we get to see of this fight, as we're taken to the decision. UD for Nagata. Deserved? I guess so...I didn't get to see much of the fight, but nevertheless, Nagata wins it.
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In a nice change of pace, we get to see up close & personal backstage clips of both JZ Calvan & Shinya Aoki. JZ gets his knee wrapped, as Aoki sits in the darkness...sipping his Propel. We then move into a REAL SWEET hype package for JZ, which I am really enjoying! And YES, we even are treated to vintage Calvan footage, of him sporting the infamous Liddell-esque mohawk. STRONG. We move on into a SHINYA hype package, with some dance rave track. Groovy.
Time for the fight, as we see Aoki's entrance. The Japs are PUMPED up, and clapping for "Tobikan Judan." Then we see JZ's entrance, with his personalized Pregador LUO track bumping..."JZ CALVAN JZ CALVAN!!"
JZ Calvan vs. Aoki
The MOST anticipated fight on the whole card....for me, and EVERYONE. Come out circling, as JZ feints and Aoki stands there flat-footed. JZ lands a couple hard shots, and Shinya circles out from the ropes. JZ feints, until Aoki throws a left body kick...which JZ counters MID-KICK with a right low kick of his own, putting Aoki on his ass. Upkick from Aoki. Ref stands Shinya back up. Applause. JZ continues to walk Aoki down, until Aoki throws another body kick. JZ shoves him back into the ropes. Body kick from Aoki again...JZ continues with feints. Body kick from Aoki, which JZ catches! Swings while he has the leg, but Aoki falls down. Calvan watches for the upkicks...but Aoki lands one that momentarily stuns JZ. JZ stands over Aoki, low kick, circles, switches stance, and reigns down a THUNDEROUS left that knocks Aoki's cranium off the mat. Ref stands Aoki up again. Circle...more feints. JZ lands a hard right to the body. JZ then switches from southpaw stance to conventional, and throws a superman punch. Aoki jumps, trying to pull guard. Not happening. Aoki stood up again. Gets his glove fixed, and here we go again. They trade a bit, with JZ getting the better. All Aoki's throwing are body kicks, which JZ is absorbing. JZ throws a HARD right high kick, which Aoki ducks and grabs a single. JZ with elbows, and one he throws appears to make Aoki go limp. Weird. Where did that hit? Aoki looks in serious pain, as JZ looks at the crowd. Boos from the Japs. JZ stretches as we gets an announcement & a replay. The point of the elbow appears to have caught Aoki right in the point of the neck...where the traps meets the neck. Damn. VERY disappointing end to that one man! Seriously. At least we get to see this fight AGAIN in the quarter finals. We all need closure to this mini-rivalry! C'mon!
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Mirko hype package. Leg kicks a-plenty, plus we hear Mirko say: "some kind of a crisis in the last 2 fights...actually right after Grand Prix. I was even thinking to quit fighting you know, because I fulfill my dream...I took PRIDE belt, but now I'm hungry to fight again. Just like the old days." Mizuno clips as well. Nothing super special about them though. We even get a glimpse of Fedor.
"WILD BOYS! WILD BOYS! WILD BOYS!" As the crowd claps along....here comes Croooooooooooo Cooooooooooooooop! We see KID in the booth once again. SUBARU plug!
Cro Cop vs. Mizuno
New board short style Croatian trunks for CC. Mizuno comes out throwing, but Cro Cop is composed. Body kick from CC. Hard LK from Cro Cop. Mizuno attempts a clinch....Mirko with underhooks. HARD KNEE from Cro Cop! I love it! Left low kick...while retaining underhooks! Ridiculous. Another hard knee from CC! HARD LEFT. BIG LEFT UPPERCUT. HUGE RIGHT! Mizuno turtles in the ropes. Falls to the mat covering...as Mirko unloads a HEAVY ASSAULT of lefts on his head! Ref steps in to save Mizuno...it's over quickly. Hand shake from Mizuno. Nice to see Cro Cop back on the winning track, even if it was against a certified bum. Few new tricks from CC that we haven't seen before...which was nice to see.
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Well, that's that. Hope you guys enjoying reading! HAHA...and if you didn't? Oh well. Overall, I thought this show was pretty good. Not GREAT, but it is what it is. Cro Cop dominates, so that's good. Mach wins impressively. Also good. Crusher earns a UD. Hellboy looks AWESOME. Buscape is a winner. Alvarez with an upset (somewhat) over Dida. Minowa subs BUM. JZ/Aoki ends very disappointingly, but it's fine I guess...seeing as it's being reported that they'll face off again in the Quarter Finals. I'm good with that. Watch them 'bows Calvan!
HEIWA DREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAM.1
Pros:
- Hellboy's fight
- Mirko winning
- Seeing JZ control the fight, until the misplaced elbow
- Minowa's kneebar
- Dida throwing bombs, but Alvarez ultimately being victorious
- MACH pounding on Monma
- Seeing KID there
Cons:
- Not getting to see every fight in its entirety
- Not getting to see all the entrances
- Too many randomly-placed event plugs
- Crusher's boring UD
- Calvan/Aoki ending as it did
- BUM's man boobs flopping when he threw
Alright! Lemme know whatchu thought! I was going to add .gifs...but this would've taken FOREVER had I done that!
Thanks guys.
T.B.'s DREAM.1 Recap
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