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Post by microstatistics on Jan 13, 2018 21:30:06 GMT -5
Maybe the top teacher vs. pupil match in wrestling history. Outstanding mat work with layered strategy and high end limb psychology. Great use of the 2/3 falls structure too.
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Post by problematic on Jan 14, 2018 7:08:36 GMT -5
If this ends up being a list of my favorite matches - and that is likely to be the case with me - this will make it. At the time I think this was my favorite Japanese match in several years. Very much an old school, simple matwork heavy match, but I mean that in a way that is exceptionally complimentary. In an age of excess this was about logic and build and delivering on the story you started telling in fall one in fall three. Seconded.
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Post by childs on Jan 17, 2018 20:18:40 GMT -5
This was a beautiful wrestling match that felt like it came out of nowhere at the time. Nishimura is the modern master of building drama around simple stuff, and this was his masterpiece. The fact Fujinami wrestled a late-career gem was the cherry on top. Like problematic, I could see voting for it as a personal favorite.
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Post by superstarsleeze on Sept 22, 2018 20:10:04 GMT -5
I love traditional wrestling a lot but watched this twice and both times it left me cold. I recognized I was watching great wrestling but it never really got in the next gear for me as a classic. I know I'm in the minority.
Osamu Nishimura vs Tatsumi Fujinami - MUGA 9/25/06 Two Out of three Falls
Nishimura's performance in this reminded me of Sasuke's in Sasuke vs Dragon or Suzuki's in Suzuki vs Mutoh. They are all giving these out of the world great performances, but their opponents are just not up to snuff. It is interesting because Dragon, Mutoh and Fujinami had all slowed down a lot in terms of output in the middle of the decade. You could see they could still be carried by an opponent that was firing on all cylinders, but they just did not have enough gas in the tank to match their opponent.
If the tone set in the first fall was maintained throughout the match then you would have a MOTDC on your hands. Nishimura starts off aggressive with European Uppercuts that would make Dory Funk Jr. proud. Fujinami seems a bit taken aback, but is able to use the aggression against him and snap off a Dragon Leg Screw. He goes for the Figure-4, but an inside cradle nabs the first fall for Nishimura. It only lasted under a minute, but it was an incredible fall.
The second fall they get a little too cute for me. They seem more keen on showing off. Instead of flips, it is bridge outs and double wristlock takedowns. An exhibition is an exhibition. Fujinami rides high on a leg lace and gets caught in a short arm scissors. Nishimura applies a cross-armbreaker. The New Japan timekeeper has the hammer raised in case there was a submission and I agree with him. If you respect the cross-armbreaker, I respect you. I do NOT respect you, Mr. Fujinami. Of course, I am being facetious, but it is my number one pet peeve when wrestlers treat the cross armbreaker like a headlock. It is at best them not keeping up with the times and at worst being ignorant and lazy. Yes, I thought Fujinami's performance was lazy at times. This match is the ultimate missing the forest for the trees match. You have Fujinami doing great little things like lunging for the ropes with his feet, but not selling his arm. Or Nishimura working the injured finger of Fujinami while in a cross armbreaker, but why does it matter because Fujinami has killed the viability of the cross armbreaker as a finish. To be fair to Fujinami, Nishimura did bridge out of a cross-armbreaker, which is pretty ludicrous. Basically this match took a big shit on the cross armbreaker.
Now, once the match moved from Nishimura on offense to Fujinami on offense the match got a million times better. Just like the Sasuke match, Dragon was not interested in selling and neither was Fujinami. However, put them on top and have the wrestler who wants to work on bottom and you got magic. Fujinami goes after Nishimura's knee with a swift low kicks like Inoki in Inoki/Ali. Nishimura bails. Fujinami targets the knee, but Nishimura in desperation goes for Fujnami's knee with a spinning toe hold, shades of Dory Funk Jr, BABY! Fujinami kicks him off and a figure-4 knots it all up.
What I love about Nishimura matches, is you understand how this can be a double edged sword. Yes, you are getting time to walk it off and break up your opponent's momentum, but you are giving him the high ground. With the high ground, the opponent can dictate the match and make it very difficult for you to get back into the ring. I used to say that Akira Taue was the undisputed king of working the apron, but damn if I see more Nishimura that could change. Nishimura rocks Fujinami with a European Uppercut and crashes burns with a bombs away knee drop. What a dumbshit! He blocks the figure-4 and is able to bail. Nishimura is fed up with all this bullshit on the apron and says you want my knee you can have it, but you will not have ME, FUJINAMI! Fujinami attacks the knee and pulls him into the ring. He applies the sleeper to sap that last bit of fight out of him. Fujinami applies the figure-4 and just when you think he has it, Nishimura reverses the pressure and Fujinami has not alternative, but to submit.
This is pretty much on par with the Saito match. Saito does not feel as much of a threat as Fujinami even though he wins the match so this match had more in terms of drama. Saito works a lot harder than Fujinami, who only seemed interested in being on offense. Nishimura gives two tremendous performances within two months of each other. We need more Nishimura footage. The finish is a lot hotter in this one and that is usually my tiebreaker so I have this one edging out the Saito match. ****
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Post by fxnj on Aug 28, 2023 0:33:49 GMT -5
This was an incredible chess match type thing that had me gripped all the way through. The second fall is all about Fujinami trying to regain control of the match after the initial upset in the first fall. Nishimura goes along with it because he's already ahead and would rather play it safe and look for counters than leave himself open by being aggressive. Regarding the armbar/cross armbreaker section, there was no no-selling by Fujinami because Nishimura never got the hold properly applied. Even though it's not realistic, it's standard psychology in Shouwa NJPW for opponents to use their bicep strength to stop the hold from being applied properly. Hence, the hold Nishimura kept going back to between armbar attempts, the short armscissors/bicep slicer, was, as the name implies, a bicep-focused hold. He was using it with the aim of weakening Fujinami's ability to fight off the armbar. Nishimura doing a full neck bridge out of Fujinami's own fully applied and nasty looking armbar was a bit showy, but the way he rolled through is a standard counter in shoots so it doesn't bother me. The strike exchanges with Nishimura on the apron in the third fall were incredibly well worked, but I was a little confused trying to understand what Nishimura's strategy was at that point. It made sense once I saw the finish. The section with him going to the outside, along with the figure four stuff, was all about lowering Fujinami's guard to set up for his kill shot. I thought "what the fuck" when I saw Nishimura try so hard to fight off the figure four only to grab the ropes right behind him after he failed. Then Fujinami got it in the center of the ring and Nishimura was able to reverse it, and I realized that it was likely a premeditated finish he'd been planning with the fight to apply the hold a distraction.
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Post by elliott on Sept 26, 2023 23:56:53 GMT -5
Been looking forward to rewatching this one so of course I dunno where my disc is & can't find it online. Anyone got this one
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Post by tetsujin on Jan 25, 2024 5:11:37 GMT -5
Does anyone have a link for this one?
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Post by puroraisedme on Jan 25, 2024 5:33:27 GMT -5
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Post by elliott on Jan 25, 2024 21:02:37 GMT -5
Good one.
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Post by club on Apr 11, 2024 15:19:54 GMT -5
Tremendous stuff. Fujinami really rolling back the years with this one.
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