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Post by mrjmml on Jul 16, 2023 6:25:58 GMT -5
Tatsumi Fujinami vs Mando Guerrero 08-11-1978
Los Angeles
We continue Fujinami’s 1978 with his match against Mando Guerrero in Los Angeles, his style is awesome, the match is for Fujinami’s WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship, his opponent is a part of the famous Guerrero family, he is the son of Gori Guerrero, one half of La Pareja Atómica, the other half being El Santo and the brother of Eddie Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero Sr all of them were great wrestlers who had successful careers of their own, Mando (short for Armando in Mexico) is the challenger for Fujinami’s crown, they had a mat classic, I just hope this is the average quality for a great Fujinami match, this is at least at same level as his previous match against Ryuma Go that I analized yesterday, I can’t believe how good 70’s Fujinami is, his 1978 has been awesome so far, I think Fujinami is the best NJPW I’ve ever seen, even better than Jushin Thunder Liger in the 90’s, he is far ahead of his competition in every match, there’s an aura around him, he looked like the wrestler in the world in 1978, let’s see if he can mantain that momentum throughout the coming years.
The limbwork in this match is outstanding but I still feel like it didn’t pay off at the end, Fujinami does it pretty well but there isn’t any moment when Tatsumi takes advantage of that damage inflicted in Mando’s leg and that’s a missed opportunity. It’s smooth though, the match never feels dragged or slow because of that leg work, it’s an excellent example of what I want out of a junior style match, fast but effective limbwork and at least in that aspect it delivered big time, the match ended with another German Suplex pin combination, I assume that was his finisher.
I strongly recommend everyone to watch this match, maybe it’s slightly worse than the last one but it’s still worth your time.
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Post by mrjmml on Jul 16, 2023 6:26:52 GMT -5
Ray Mendoza vs Tatsumi Fujinami 08-13-1978 NJPW This match is 2/3 falls for Fujinami’s WWF Junior Heavyweight Title, Ray Mendoza, the lucha legend is the challenger for Tatsumi’s crown, he is the father of the Villanos, this match is the only complete match we have from him, there weren’t any cameras in Arena Mexico until 1983, considering he was in his twilight years in 1978 (when this match took place), this match is even more impressive because of that, if this is what he was capable of doing in 1978 imagine how good he was in 1965, Ray debuted in 1943 so this match came 35 years into his career, that’s wild if you think about it, that’s Black Terry levels of longevity, we have clips of Ray Mendoza’s best matches since 1964, we have a clip from a mexican movie from 1966 of a match he had against Mil Máscaras when he was 24 years old, his legacy is being carried on by his children and grandchildren, in AAA Triplemania XXX Villano IV lost his mask to Pentagon Jr in one of the greatest matches Mexico produced last year and Villano III Jr had a classic against Aéreo in 2019, the Villanos are here to stay for a long time. Fujinami was as good as he was in the previous two matches, what made this match better than those matches was the opponent’s quality, Ray Mendoza is way better than Ryuma Go or Mando Guerrero, Fujinami still had a tremendous performance selling, on the mat and adapting his style to fit his opponent’s, Tatsumi Fujinami is a brilliant wrestler. The first fall lasted around nine minutes and ended when Fujinami applied a pin combination for the three count in a very fast paced affair with a lot of big offense being thrown. The second fall lasted three minutes and ended when Ray Mendoza submitted Fujinami with his trademark submission to tie the contest 1-1. The third and last fall lasted six minutes and ended with a bridge pin combination by Fujinami to win the match and retain his title. I recommend this match to every lucha fan out there, if you haven’t watched it yet do it, here’s the link: vk.com/video375541216_456239026 . |
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Post by mrjmml on Jul 16, 2023 6:27:41 GMT -5
Ryuma Go vs Tatsumi Fujinami 11-30-1978
NJPW
This is the second match between these two, I reviewed the first one a few days ago and you can see that review here, it was the first Fujinami match I analyzed, Fujinami’s last opponent was a veteran that lived up to his reputation, he surpassed my expectations, Ryuma Go is very different, he’s Tatsumi’s contemporary, he’s another talented junior with a lot of potential and in this match he’s trying to have his hand raised against the wrestler of the year, it’s a tall task but he will try to pull it off. It’s even better than the last one, it felt like Ryuma had a chance, it felt like Fujinami was in trouble many times throughout the contest, at the end, logic prevailed and Fujinami was able to win the match after 20 minutes of great catch-as-catch-can wrestling, they wrestled a pretty fast-paced bout as you expect from Fujinami around this time. There’s no limbwork in this match but there’s a lot of tense moments related to the submission game, in fact, they did what I want them to do in their last match, they created great moments of struggle with a figure four leglock, it really felt like Fujinami was about to submit but he didn’t, he prevailed, he had a great comeback and found a way to get the win at the end.
I loved every bit of this match, Fujinami’s 1978 is one of the best years by any wrestler ever, his style is so unique, so ahead of its time that it’s almost difficult to believe that this took place in the year of our lord 1978, it isn’t as innovative as French Catch but it has an aura very difficult to describe with words, this is wrestling done to perfection.
Watch the whole year, Tatsumi Fujinami is awesome and I can’t wait to see what else he has to offer.
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Post by mrjmml on Jul 17, 2023 10:18:20 GMT -5
Tatsumi Fujinami vs Ryuma Go 10/2/1979
NJPW
It’s the last match of the Fujinami vs Ryuma Go trilogy and it’s by far the best, the level of intensity shown in this one is incredible, Fujinami’s fighting spirit is amazing, he always looks strong, he makes wrestling look easy, Ryuma Go had the performance of his career, his offense was as intense as it gets, he wanted to win at all costs and winning he did, Fujinami’s aura makes this match special, Ryuma’s win wouldn’t mean as much if Fujinami was another soulless jobber this match wouldn’t be remember as much as it’s remembered, Tatsumi seemed unbeatable during this run and this match is proof of that, the crowd didn’t even react to Ryuma’s win, they were in shock because they didn’t believe that Fujinami actually lost a match and that’s special. That was the logical ending to the trilogy, if Fujinami won that match the trilogy wouldn’t have been as great, Ryuma’s victory is the perfect way to end it all, Ryuma’s reaction to winning the match is pure gold, his face is the face of someone’s whose dream came true, it’s a heartwarming moment that only professional wrestling can provide, it’s beyond wrestling, Ryuma’s joyful expression is very relatable, it’s a story about someone who has achieved his goal in life, recreating that feeling is something that almost no mediums can replicate, this match reminded me of why I’m a wrestling fan, no movie or piece can do what Fujinami and Ryuma Go pulled off was an amazing example of what wrestling can do with just a ring and a good camera angle. The pace of the match is even faster than the last two matches between them were.
I recommend to everyone the whole trilogy, every match is awesome and deserves a watch.
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Post by mrjmml on Jul 18, 2023 5:02:34 GMT -5
Dynamite Kid vs Tatsumi Fujinami 02-05-1980
NJPW
This match is just amazing, this is so brutal, it’s way more violent than I expected, they hit each other very hard, the roughness is incredibly surprising, when you hear the names Dynamite Kid and Tatsumi Fujinami you don’t associate those names with roughness, you expect a technical masterpiece from these two and we got that too, this match represents the best of both worlds, on one side you have a catch-as-catch-can contest they are known for and on the other side you can find very hard strikes that got the crowd very involved in the match, they were rooting actively for Tatsumi Fujinami, I love the energy the crowd provided to this one, in the last match (Ryuma Go vs Tatsumi Fujinami) I talked about the aura that Fujinami had and how unbeatable he looked and how Ryuma’s win reminded me why I loved wrestling, I don’t know how but this match is even better, the tone of this match is so different from the last one, there’s hatred in this match, Dynamite Kid looks filled with rage during the match and it was the main reason why he lost, he was so focused on making Fujinami suffer that he lost concentration and let Tatsumi get the win with his pin combination bridge variation, the crowd went nuts, the pop the win produced could be heard all over Japan, they really hated Dynamite Kid, it’s the greatest compliment a heel can receive in my opinion, being so hated that losing a title match as the challenger is a sign of absolute greatness, that’s why he made my Greatest Wrestler Ever list, his ability to make people hate him, I hate him because of what he did outside the ring but I loved what he did in the ring, professional wrestling how it should be.
Everyone should watch this match, it doesn’t matter what you like in wrestling this match has it all.
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Post by mrjmml on Jul 19, 2023 4:11:45 GMT -5
Kengo Kimura vs Tatsumi Fujinami 9/25/1980
NJPW
Talking about escalation, the first few minutes were full of very good technical wrestling, what Fujinami usually brings to the table in his matches but there’s always the sense that this is about to get heated and heated exchanges we had, the entirety of the final stretch is full of big moves that both of them hit to put their opponent down, I felt like the match ending sequence was incredibly ironic, it’s the most fitting finish for something like that, Tatsumi Fujinami was great in this one, he has been great in every match I covered, there are many wrestlers with a high volume of great matches without being the best wrestler in those matches, Fujinami isn’t one of them, Fujinami makes every great match he has had and that’s something to consider in his Greatest Wrestler Ever case, everything I’ve covered from 1978 to 1980 proves it but let’s see how his career turned out, for now, he deserves a spot among the greatest to ever do it.
The match is amazing as a technical match turned brawl, I love how comfortable Fujinami feels in both scenarios, the brawling benefited Kengo Kimura’s style otherwise he wouldn’t have a chance against the wrestling wizard that Fujinami is and he took advantage of the situation making the match as difficult as possible for Tatsumi Fujinami, it’s a star-making performance by Kengo Kimura, he felt like a real threat to his opponent throughout the match, so much so that it ended in a double knockout draw and somehow that ending was inmensely satisfying, it wasn’t a problem for me, if two people go as hard as they did I feel like a double knockout is the only possible ending, the people at ringside had to helped them to get up afterwards.
I’d recommend this match to everyone who liked the previous one, I feel like this match it’s wilder than the last one although less technically sound.
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Post by mvz on Jul 19, 2023 9:23:39 GMT -5
I love these reviews, I did a plunge into these matches a couple of years ago and you are really getting at Fujinamis strengths and why I consider him a candidate for a high ranking.
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Post by mrjmml on Jul 19, 2023 13:16:29 GMT -5
Thanks but they aren't that good.
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Post by mrjmml on Jul 20, 2023 5:23:15 GMT -5
Riki Choshu vs Tatsumi Fujinami 04-03-1983
NJPW
This one is stiff, I love this match, the only problem I have with it is the video quality but everything else is awesome, Choshu used his force to limit Fujinami’s technical ability, he gave him no chance at all. Choshu was relentless from start to finish and he was able to keep up hold to hold with his opponent when he had to, the pioneer of the sharpshooter looked like one of the best wrestlers in the world in part thanks to Tatsumi Fujinami’s sublime selling. The match basically is Riki Choshu tries to kill Tatsumi Fujinami in nineteen minutes, Riki Choshu’s energy combined with his opponent’s selling made for a great match, the crowd loves Fujinami and absolutely despised Choshu, when Tatsumi tried to make a comeback the people in the stands started to cheer almost instantly but I felt like Choshu I always had complete control over the situation and he was able to ground Fujinami pretty effectively throughout the entirety of this match. It looked like the first match of the Tatsumi Fujinami vs Ryuma Go trilogy but this time the roles were reversed, Fujinami’s versatility is at full display, in the that trilogy, he was that unbeatable ace figure without any notable weakness in his game while in this one he is the babyface that has no shot at beating the up and coming heel and he is outstanding in both situations, Choshu’s brutal offense also helped, he tried his best to chop Fujinami’s head off with lariats that make Stan Hansen look like Chris Jericho in comparison, add to that his sick backdrop suplex and you have a certified banger and that’s the best way to describe it, Choshu got the three count after hitting Fujinami with a brutal lariat, his opponent couldn’t kickout in time.
If you don’t mind the video quality watch this, it’s absolutely worth a watch, I personally recommend it to everyone who liked the Kengo Kimura match I reviewed yesterday.
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Post by mrjmml on Jul 21, 2023 15:55:54 GMT -5
[1983-04-21-NJPW] Tatsumi Fujinami vs Riki Choshu
This is the second match of the Riki Choshu vs Tatsumi Fujinami trilogy of 1983, you can see the review of the first one, that I did yesterday if you want to check it out, it will help you understand why this match is so important for the rivalry going forward and also why this match is pivotal for Tatsumi Fujinami, if you haven’t read that here’s a brief summary of the match. Riki Choshu just manhandled Fujinami, he was just unstoppable and Tatsumi couldn’t do anything about it, the pioneer of the sharpshooter had the performance of a lifetime against the wrestler I’m making the case for, Fujinami’s selling was outstanding, he made Choshu look great.
Fujinami was incredibly unselfish and did the job perfectly, Choshu won but the crowd was always in Fujinami’s side throughout the contest and with that out of the way let’s go to today’s match, it happened just 18 days after the last one so everyone has the match previously mentioned in mind, we have a much more aggressive Fujinami trying to overwhelm his opponent with a flurry of offense including a sharpshooter that he couldn’t execute successfully, after that Riki Choshu could regain his balance and keep the match in control with very few exceptions, Fujinami tried it all but he couldn’t put him in trouble at any point since then, Riki Choshu’s style got the better of Fujinami, Choshu battered the man who had conquered the junior division in the past and he made it look easy, if the previous match was a star-making performance this one is showed the world that his dominant victory weeks earlier wasn’t a fluke, in fact, it was the first of many he would have during his career in New Japan and All Japan in the 1980’s, a great performance by wrestling’s hottest heel at the time.
If you enjoyed the first encounter between these two watch it, if you weren’t able to watch the first one because of the video quality please give this match a chance.
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Post by mrjmml on Jul 23, 2023 4:51:36 GMT -5
Riki Choshu vs Tatsumi Fujinami 08-04-1983
NJPW
The final match of the Riki Choshu vs Tatsumi Fujinami trilogy, this match feels significantly different to the previous two matches, this time the match is even, they go back and fourth trying to get an advantage, being honest I knew the result before the match began, the way NJPW in the 80’s booked made it obvious, Fujinami was going to get his hand raised one way or another, Fujinami came to this match more prepared, more focus and more knowledgeable in the subject of Riki Choshu’s offense. Tatsumi was able to find the counter for everyone of Choshu’s holds, Riki Choshu in the other hand felt lost outside a backdrop suplex his usual stiffness was completely absent, he didn’t look like the Riki Choshu we were accustomed, in fact, it was the complete opposite, he looked weak at times, his sharpshooter didn’t look as good as it did in the previous two matches, I think it can be said for everyone of his signature moves, if that was a deliberate choice it’s brilliant if it isn’t that’s impressive.
I prefer thinking that it was Choshu’s idea to do it that way to thank Fujinami’s generosity in their previous encounters, I think that makes this match beautiful, the crowd is as hot as ever rooting for Fujinami as they always do, I love how the crowd didn’t mind the finish, any modern crowd would have complained about how it played out but they didn’t care, their guy won so it’s okay, Fujinami winning by count out is as anticlimactic as it gets but it’s NJPW in the 80’s so it’s the norm, the celebration of Tatsumi’s win after the match overshadowed the finish for me, the ace regained his crown, I think this trilogy highlighted the best of both wrestlers, that’s the reason why this series of matches are so highly regarded and that’s why it’s pivotal to understand Tatsumi Fujinami.
Everyone interested in any of the wrestlers involved should watch the entire trilogy.
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Post by mrjmml on Jul 23, 2023 4:57:26 GMT -5
The Rockers vs Buddy Rose and Doug Somers 08-30-1986
AWA TV
It’s probably the best match in one of the best rivalries the 80’s produced so it’s pretty good, Buddy Rose and Doug Somers defend their AWA Tag Team Championship against Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannety in television and what a TV match it was, compelling from start to finish, the crowd was rooting vividly for the babyfaces, Shawn and Marty delivered a masterclass of wrestling psychology, how Shawn struggled in the beginning and how he was able to tag his partner while blood was dripping down his forehead, Marty made a masterful comeback, ‘‘Pretty Boy’’ Doug Somers didn’t know how to react to his offense, a perfect way to cap off the first part of the match that was pretty much a 2 on 1 against Shawn, it escalated, chaos ensued and they began to hit each other with the crowd completely drawn to the action in the ring. Buddy Rose’s heel performance was outstanding add to that his priceless facial expressions and you have a formula to succeed, Doug Somers’ performance in the other hand relied on heavy strikes, his role on this match is being the man who puts the babyface over and he did that perfectly, the match might have ended in a disqualification but the rivalry isn’t over yet, this rivalry is so highly regarded because the characters are so well balanced and there weren’t any bad matches in the whole feud, doesn’t matter what match you’re watching every match those four had together was worth watching, this match is the best one but there’s a few matches that got close, some people consider this match to be the best tag team match of the whole decade and I can’t argue with that, I can see how someone can put this match in that conversation, that’s how great it is, the finish didn’t take away any enjoyment from the match, in fact, it did the opposite, it created an aura of intrigue about what was coming next and it was a great way to put The Rockers over without stripping Buddy and Somers of their titles, amazing action and amazing finish.
As you might have probably guessed I recommend this match.
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Post by mrjmml on Jul 23, 2023 15:29:21 GMT -5
Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, Nobuhiko Takada, Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kengo Kimura vs Riki Choshu, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Animal Hamaguchi, Isamu Teranishi & Kuniaki Kobayashi 04-19-1984
NJPW
This is widely considered best match of NJPW in the 1980’s, that’s what the people in Death Valley Driver said, this is the climax of the Choshu's Army vs New Japan Establishment rivalry and it delivered big time, every pairing was amazing and the crowd was always hot, that’s quite a feat considering that this match lasted around 75 minutes, having a crowd so involved in a plus one hour long match is very impressive, the crowd was rooting for the New Japan Establishment formed by Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, Nobuhiko Takada, Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kengo Kimura. It’s a gauntlet match like Burning vs Kensuke Office but much better, that match was a tag team gauntlet while this one is a singles gauntlet, if someone gets pinned or submits another member of his team will replace him, the heel team ( Choshu’s Army) is headed by Riki Choshu and the other members are Yoshiaki Yatsu, Animal Hamaguchi, Isamu Teranishi & Kuniaki Kobayashi, the match is building towards a clash between Antonio Inoki and Riki Choshu.
The first two pairings are Tatsumi Fujinami vs Kuniaki Kobayashi and Tatsumi Fujinami vs Isamu Teranishi, Fujinami beat both members of Choshu’s Army with ease, his next opponent Yoshiaki Yatsu was able to beat Fujinami mainly because Fujinami had been wrestling for around twenty minutes at that point while Yoshiaki Yatsu was fresh, Nobuhiko Takada enters the ring but Yoshiaki Yatsu is able to beat him pretty quickly, the match is tied, Kengo Kimura comes next, he run through Yoshiaki Yatsu to get the win and untie the match, now the match is 3-2 for the New Japan Establishment and the crowd loves it, Animal Hamaguchi enters the ring for Choshu’s Army and he beats Kengo Kimura without much problem, the match is tied again, Yoshiaki Fujiwara is next, they wrestled for a bit and then a double count out happens, which means that both Riki Choshu and Antonio Inoki will enter the ring at the same time, Inoki didn’t give Choshu a chance and Choshu submitted to a abdominal stretch.
Fujinami was the best part of the match’s early moments and he contributed positively to this match’s legacy, an absolute blast, one of the best matches of all time and pretty easy to watch. I’d recommend this match to every wrestling fan, the only problem this match had was the finish but everything else was amazing.
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Post by mrjmml on Jul 24, 2023 13:45:18 GMT -5
1984-12-05 Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch vs. Antonio Inoki & Tatsumi Fujinami
NJPW
Time for another southern tag formula, this time in Japan, the heel team is the North-South Connection formed by Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch, these two worked a lot in the WWF and they had one of the greatest matches in the company’s history not just the 80’s against the Brisco brothers Jack and Gerry Brisco just twenty two days after this match took place, if you’ve been reading my reviews in the last month or so you’ll recognise Adrian Adonis from a match he had against Buddy Rose in September 1st 1979 in Portland ( Pacific Northwest), his performance in that match was truly remarkable. Dick Murdoch on the other hand, it’s the first time I’ll review one of his matches, he is famous for his many runs in great companies like All Japan, Mid South, WWF and most importantly for today’s match New Japan, Murdoch in the ring is amazing, his facial expressions, selling and style are instantly recognisable, when you watch you know he is having fun, bumping around and being genuinely funny at times with his antics, it wasn’t something outrageous either, he wasn’t a comedy wrestler by any means, the word that comes to mind when discussing Dick Murdoch for me is standout, he’s an standout, when he’s in the ring you can’t look away from him and that’s something special, it’s a wrestler you can’t forget about if that doesn’t scream greatness I don’t know what does, anyways let’s go to the match itself.
The babyface team (Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami) struggled at the beginning, Murdoch and Adonis isolated Fujinami for a long time until they let him go and tag Inoki, he didn’t waste the hot tag and made good work of both of North-South Connection’s members, they had a great back and forth, even chairs were involved in the mayhem but after around 30 minutes Antonio Inoki submitted Adrian Adonis with an abdominal stretch.
Fujinami’s performance as a babyface is terrific, he did everything he had to do to perfection, the only problem was the crowd’s lack of involvement in Fujinami’s struggles, they went nuts everytime Inoki did something remotely exciting but Fujinami could have done an Orihara Moonsault and the crowd would have stayed silent.
I recommend this match to everyone who likes the southern tag formula and wants to see a new twist, New Japan’s version of it ticks all the boxes and it’s worth your time.
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Post by mrjmml on Jul 25, 2023 11:03:21 GMT -5
Antonio Inoki vs Tatsumi Fujinami 1985-09-19
NJPW
This match is the first of two matches between the two wrestlers, the other one being the famous 8/8/88 60 minute time limit draw, the last time Antonio Inoki challenged for the IWGP Heavyweight Title, this one is worse than that match unfortunately, it’s awesome still but there’s a few moments during the match that dragged it to this spectrum of great matches with potential to be masterpieces but alas they weren’t, the crowd isn’t as involved as they were in the gauntlet match, their intensity wasn’t even close, in the gauntlet match they cheered regardless of who was in the ring and they went nuts when Antonio Inoki and Riki Choshu faced each other, nobody is chanting it felt like they don’t care about who wins and who loses, that’s understandable considering how New Japan was booked in the 1980’s but I don’t think that the average fan at the time had any idea about how booking worked, don’t tell me they didn’t chant because the japanese crowds are silent and respectful because if that’s true there’s no way to explain their chants and involvement in the gauntlet match and don’t tell me it was a fluke because then you can’t explain why they were cheering so much in the legendary match between Stan Hansen and Andre the Giant, to be fair those two matches had something in common they were way better than this one, it wasn’t all bad, Tatsumi Fujinami looked very good and Antonio Inoki actually sold his offense very well, he was suprisingly generous by his standards (they are very low), Fujinami’s great performance wasn’t rewarded with a win, Antonio had an amazing comeback (even though the crowd didn’t care) and was able to submit Fujinami with his octopus hold.
I’d recommend this match to every fan of NJPW in the 80’s, I think it represents well the best and worst parts of this company.
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