8/18/94 UWFI World Title: Nobuhiko Takada (c) vs Vader

Not much action early on as they were tentative. Vader scored with some of his clubbing blows first and knocked Takada down for an early 3 count. Vader landed a punch and a kneelift, then slammed Takada. Vader punched Takada and slammed him again. Vader landed more punches on Takada but Takada rolled out of the ring and under the ropes. Takada caught vader with some really sharp roundhouse kicks to his leg, body and head and went for a cross armbreaker but Vader blocked it and reached the ropes. Takada gave Vader more roundhouse kicks to his leg and his head, as well as a great spinning superkick. Vader fought back with a body punch. Takada kicked Vader and back suplexed him. He went for a cross armbreaker but Vader blocked it again. Vader countered by getting on top of Takada and went after his legs. Vader bent Takada's leg back between his own legs but Takada went for an armbar. Vader punched Takada and applied a reverse crossface of sorts. Takada scored with more roundhouse kicks and gave Vader a judo throw onto his back. Takada went after Vader's legs on the mat but Vader punched him. Takada landed some hard slaps is response and went for a cross armbreaker but Vader blocked it at the last second. Takada landed more great kicks, knees and strikes but Vader scored with body blows of his own and nearly scored a KO win. Vader backed Takada into the ropes and overpowered him as he applied a front facelock. Vader turned Takada over into a Fujiwara armbar but Takada countered and kneed Vader in the head. Takada mounted Vader and went after his arm again. He gave Vader more kicks including a couple sharp kicks in the corner and some knees to the head but Vader responded with a sharp punch to the head for a near-KO. Takada landed more kicks and evaded strikes from Vader. Takada landed more knee strikes and kicks on Vader. Takada kicked Vader's leg again but Vader stood his ground and applied a headscissors near the ropes. Takada countered and applied a chinlock, then went for the cross armbreaker again. Vader countered with a great punch to Takada for a near KO. Takada gave Vader more kicks, knees and strikes out of the corner but could not take Vader down. Vader grabbed a waistlock and took Takada down. Vader applied an armlock but Takada reached the ropes. Vader landed some punches but Takada responded with strikes of his own and more sharp kicks. Takada landed some knee strikes but Vader gave him a spectacular released back/German suplex. Vader landed more clubbing blows and gained a near KO win over Takada. Vader scored with a lariat for another near-KO and gave Takada a second lariat. Takada kneelifted Vader and took him down. Takada caught Vader in a leglock but Vader countered. Takada stunned Vader with one of the better KO-caliber roundhouse kicks I've seen for a dramatic near-KO as fans counted. Takada landed a kick to the leg but lost an exchange of strikes. Takada recovered and caught Vader with a roundhouse kick to the head and leg. Vader punched Takada and took him down with a front facelock but Takada reached the ropes. Vader scored with more clubbing blows but Takada kneed him. Vader knocked Takada down with a forearm smash and gave him a kneelift. Vader went for a powerbomb but Takada blocked it. Vader powered Takada up and powerbombed him for a dramatic near-KO. Vader landed more clubbing strikes amidst great heat and gained a KO win at 19:24 to win the title. A sensational, dramatic fight that is a must-see for fans of any kind of stiff work. A simple match in terms of movesets, but very effective because the moves they used were so hard-hitting. Lots of drama centered around Vader's clubbing strikes and Takada's kicks, which were some of the sharpest I've ever seen because of his great extention on them. The knockout-based finish style might be awkward and hard for some newbies to get into, but it made for some great drama throughout. One would think that the UWFI style would kinda restrict Vader from using some of his best moves and thus hurt his working potential, but it actually played perfectly to his strengths. The style enabled him to focus on a narrow set of strengths in his arsenal, which were highlighted and milked for all they're worth to create a dramatic result. Combine Vader's effectiveness with having a perfect opponent with sharp offense, and you get perhaps the best singles match of Vader's career. If you think Vader's greatness ended in 1993 (forgetting some of his 1999 work too), you must see this match. Stylistically if you've seen it you might notice that the Aja Kong-Dynamite Kansai match from 8/30/95 was a very similar match in terms of structure, stiffness, simplicity and drama. As a result, the rating and quality are nearly identical. Arguably the best match in UWFI history. ****1/2

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