Opposing Forces - Kawajiri vs. Aoki: 2008

For those unfamiliar with the method to this madness, this "series" chronicles the most important moments in Aoki and Kawajiri's careers from 2006-2010 and look at the incoincidence of their rivalry. If you haven't read the 1st 2 parts, I would obviously suggest doing it right here for 2006 and here for 2007.

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Prologue

All the stars shining bright above, night breezes and birds singing in the Sycamore trees couldn't distract from the fact that Japan's premier MMA organization had crumbled and that most of the talent was left scratching their heads unable to do anything. 2007 was a lousy year for most ex-PRIDE fighters as the possibility of long term unemployment was looming and things didn't really look as if they were going in the right direction. Most fighters like Kawajiri had gone approximately 11 months without seeing action. A catalyst was needed. Something to try and jump start the scene gain.

Yarennoka!!, as it was dubbed, would give PRIDE the proper send off it deserved by featuring it's former stars in a traditional year-end fight card. That's really great but it's only a 1 time thing. Most would have to go back to teaching in their gyms, fight on smaller shows or other promotions, or make a move to the blossoming American MMA scene when all was said and done. Things would never return to the "glory days" but why not give it a shot?

Ex-DSE staffers and FEG members decided to give it a go and the adequately named DREAM was born. 2008 was already looking great.

One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong

Obviously you're thinking that my time line might be off a bit since I included the Yarennoka!! show in the 2008 edition rather than 2007 but I felt like Yarennoka!! laid the groundwork for DREAM and in my opinion has as much to do with the Death of PRIDE as it does with the birth of DREAM. 

December 31, 2007

What goes through the mind of a man whose fighting future was in jeopardy over semantics, technicalities and a little bit of lying? Does he give up something he's so visibly passionate about and dedicated to? If you're Kawajiri, you go out and perform. And he did. Who knows if his performance was fueled by frustration or just the same old stuff but Kawajiri's one sided beat down of Luis Azeredo was just visually polarizing. Hard to see because his trademark ground and pound was so punishing and brutal, likewise it was really enjoyable to see he hadn't lost a step with 1 year of inactivity.

What a difference a year makes though. Kawajiri, who was the heir apparent to Gomi's Lightweight thrown was still popular but the Aoki fan base had grown by leaps and bounds since the last time they were paired together at Shockwave 2006. Kawajiri had been dwindling but now it was apparent that he was number 2 when compared to Shinya Aoki. Kawajiri had been relegated to sort-of a mid-card status while Aoki was now a full-fledged headliner.

And Aoki's performance? Well, he underachieved. Big Time, Big Time (Reggae Voice). The "Year of the Upset" almost claimed Aoki as it's last victim when the debuting Jung Bu-Kyung was inches away from Armbarring the "Lock Star" on 2 different occasions. It didn't matter though Aoki still won the fight. Even though he hadn't delivered like Kawajiri, the people didn't care. They stayed to countdown the new year and watch some of the fighters receive Inoki-style "Fighting Spirit" slaps courtesy of Nobuhiko Takada.

Even though the show was successful with a claimed attendance was 27,000+, it was only a 1 time event. Nothing more. Things would go back to normal after that night and the near future would remain questionable. Or so we thought.

February 18, 2008

Ex-DSE staffers and the FEG form the promotion DREAM. DREAM would replace HERO's, which was lacking in roster depth and credibility anyways. Not a huge loss in the large scheme of things. Kawajiri and Aoki are both brought in to participate in the inaugural event, which was the Lightweight GP that PRIDE had originally planned. Essentially starting where PRIDE left off.

Comparing GP Performances

DREAM's Lightweight GP was a 3 round event with the purpose of crowning A GP and Lightweight Champion. The scheduled dates for the 3 rounds were DREAM 1, 3 and 5. DREAM 5 would have both Semi-Finals and Finals as it's become custom.

Kawajiri's GP - March 15, 2008 , May 11, 2008 and July 21, 2008

When Kawajiri made his triumphant return to MMA at Yarennoka!! it appeared that nothing had changed in his 1 year hiatus. Nothing except his ability to finish. It seemed like him and Ishida had spontaneously switched abilities. Kawajiri would now become a grinder rather than being able to use his mastery of ground and pound to eventually score a KO or TKO victory.

Kawajiri's DREAM debut was another one of "those" fights in which Kawajiri just puts on a take down clinic and gives lessons on how to be productive from a top position while absorbing little to no damage. It was domination. Pure and Simple. Nothing more to really say.

His rematch with Luis "Buscape" Firmino at DREAM 3 was a hard fought duel which really tested Kawajiri but didn't push him too far like in their 1st bout. The 1st bout was incredibly frustrating for Kawajiri since Buscape was content with trying to control his back but not really risking much. The turning point came with 10 seconds left in the fight when Kawajiri managed to stomp on Buscape almost to a TKO but the final bell eventually hindered him. Kawajiri won a razor thin decision. The 2nd time wasn't as close. Kawajiri controlled most of the bout and wasn't really in too much danger with his submission defense. Kawajiri's GP wasn't really much to write home about until the Semi-Finals.

There are fights and there are wars of attrition. This was a war. Eddie Alvarez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri at DREAM 5 will go down in history as one of the most unpredictable and incredible bouts in the sports short existence. If anyone thought his shootout with Gomi was a fluke, they were dead wrong after this. What do you do if both of your wrestling abilities become mutually nullified? Well, you slug it out. And so they did. In one of the most back and forth brawls, Kawajiri found himself being knocked down by a brutal uppercut 7 minutes in to it, only to have the fight stopped a few seconds later. Kawajiri was out just like in his PRIDE GP run. He had fought balls out and gave it 110% but again it was not enough. The Eddie Alvarez bout was his last of 2008.

Aoki's GP - March 15, 2008 , April 29, 2008 , June 15, 2008 , and July 21 , 2008.

Aoki's title run could not have been more different than Kawajiri's. While Kawajiri took care of business relatively unbothered, Aoki was the focus of the tournament for one reason or another. Initially it started with his bizarre DREAM debut against JZ Calvancante. Personally, I feel like this was the start of Aoki's Magical Animosity Tour began. Unlike before when I can't remember anyone actually disliking him, he started to have people doubt him and villainize him. A role that Aoki would kindly accept. The tour obviously came to a climax after the Hirota incident, but I digress.

A couple huge elbows to the back of the head, blurred vision and Shimada's cancellation speech saw an end to the 1st fight. Thankfully a decisive rematch was quickly booked at DREAM 2. It wasn't the incredible stylistic clash that everyone expected and turned out to be a rather dull fight with very few fleeting moments of excitement.

After the whole JZ incident you would think the spotlight would've shifted over to someone else? Wrong. While Hellboy and Alvarez were demolishing each other only 1 show sooner, Aoki managed to pull of one of the slickest submissions to date on Katsuhiko Nagata. A mounted gogoplata at DREAM 4. The gogoplata was difficult but Aoki had outdone himself. He was like a magician just doing these incredible things no one thought possible.

Aoki finally managed to catch up with everyone at DREAM 5. Going into the Final Four, he and Kawajiri were tapped as the favorites to take home the titles. All he had to do was win 2 bouts in 1 night and he would finally get that major title that he needed.

He had drawn Uno as his semi-final pair. Strangely, Uno decided to wear shoes for the fight, which could spell instant disaster for him. While Aoki was the persistent aggressor and had been able to use leg locks to his advantage, he was unable to finish Uno but did ultimately win the decision. 1 more bout. Halfway there. All he was waiting for was the winner of the Kawajiri-Alvarez bout. Alvarez prevailed, so Alvarez it was. So he thought. Alvarez was unable to continue after his battle. Hellboy had won his reserve bout and he was up to bat.

He stunned everyone by beating Aoki. Aoki's dreamed was snuffed out in front of him. A visibly emotional Aoki was handed the runner up prize of 3,000,000 Yen and the dream was over. To this point, both men had the honor, or discomfort, of being in the same locker room together on more than 7 occasions but this was the closest they had come to actually fighting one another. It would just have to wait.

December 31, 2008

It's no mystery that Aoki is an incredibly emotional fighter both in and outside the ring so it was important for him to get a huge win quickly to allow him to keep on pace. Aoki's year ended with a huge exclamation mark. He faced off against Eddie Alvarez to technically crown the "real" DREAM Lightweight GP winner and Champion. It was short, sweet and right to the point. It took Aoki 92 seconds to make Alvarez tap and the people were back in the palm of his hands.The transition was complete. Aoki was now the face of post-PRIDE Japanese MMA. Aoki was untouchable.

They couldn't touch him because he was Washington Irving, Caesar, The Walrus (Paul and/or John). He was Jack Merridew, Il Matto, Joan of Arc. He was the reason they cheered, the reason they booed. Hell, he was the reason they were there. He was a bona fide Supraman.

And Kawajiri? He was in the background.

The roles were now reversed. Aoki enjoyed the fanfare and attention that Kawajiri once had and he loved every second of it. Could Aokimania explode to dizzying heights in 2009? Or would Aoki's actions begin to win him many detractors?