Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi
After UWF Newborn closed doors, Takada formed the Union of Wrestling Forces International (UWFi), using former UWF wrestlers, while Maeda formed Fighting Network RINGS, and Fujiwara formed Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi. Nobuhiko opened his run as the top star of the company beating Tatsuo Nakano, Kazuo Yamazaki and American wrestler Bob Backlund, whom he fought in a pair of publicized matches. The first of them was controversial, as Takada ended the bout in just 1:15 when Backlund fell to a body kick, and it almost caused a riot in the stadium; it's believed that it was an accidental KO instead of the pre-planned match. They rematched after two months, with Takada coming over by submission after fifteen minutes.