PRO WRESTLING FUJIWARA-GUMI SHOW #6 10/17/91

Yusuke Fuke v. Jerry Flynn

So whoever the Fujiwara-Gumi road agent is, thought the best way to open up this show, is to have Fuke and Jerry Flynn go to a 30 minute draw. You read that right Yusuke Fuke v. Jerry Flynn BROADWAY baby. I actually enjoyed big portions of this match, as Fuke is always fun, and Flynn brought more to the mulleted kicker role then Bart Vale does. They had some really nice near falls, including Flynn almost getting DQ’ed for kicking Fuke with the toe of the boot in the throat, and Fuke almost going down to a spin kick to the guy. I also liked how Fuke got the tap from the cross armbreaker right after the bell. Still 30 minutes for these two is preposterous, and this would have been much better at a third of the length.

Wayne Shamrock v. Wellington Wilkins Jr.

With my new found PWFG inspired Shamrock love, and his status as a ratings dynamo, I have wondered how a current Smackdown Shamrock run would look. This match was a nice template for a fun 6 minute Shamrock v. Regal match. Wilkins brings the carnyish headbutts and cheap shots, and Shamrock is always intense. He does a really great thing where he struggles to get in position for a hold or a throw, and then there is a moment of stillness before he explodes. He does a couple of times here, especially right before he flips Wilkins for the finish, and it makes the subsequent move look even cooler.

Kazou Takahashi v. Masakatsu Funaki

This was another fun short match, I guess the Fuke v. Flynn epic took up all of the time. Takahashi is way below Funaki on the ladder, so he rushes Funaki at the bell and takes him down. This clearly kind of pisses Funaki off, as he stomps on his head on the break. Then the rest of the match is Takahashi eating big shots trying to get in on Funaki. He does get him down again, and Funaki is able to ankle lock him for the tap. I think it would have been better for Funaki to knock him out, rather then Takahashi getting him down just to lose, but this had a bunch of spunk and fire and was fun to watch,

Yoshiaki Fujiawara v. Mark Rush

Rush is a amateur guy with a comedic mustache who I always enjoy, but isn’t usually in very good matches. This wasn’t a Fujiwara classic, but was a lot of good clean Fujiwara style fun. Most of the first ten minutes or so was straight wrestling, with Greco locks and amateur rolling. Rush does that kind of thing very well, and Fujiwara added some touches, including reversing a ride by fishooking the ear, and faking a headbutt. Later in the match after Rush hurts Fujiwara’s ribs with a suplex, Fujiwara gets nasty, laying in some headbutts, and knees to the gut for a down.

Rush really works like a typical UFC one dimensional wrestler, kind of like Rashad Evans, he has solid takedowns, but know real idea what to do on the ground. Meanwhile Fujiwara is always looking for something to hook and grab. The improvisation is one of the things I love about watching Fujiwara, he tries for a gutwrench which he kind of blows, as Rush ends up on top. Then Fujiwara just snatches the ankle from below and starts twisting.. I really enjoy watching Fujwara work all of these limited guys, he really gets a chance to play around, and the matches always put a smile on my face.

Minoru Suzuki v. Bart Vale

Probably the least of the matches on the show. Vale really did very little here, Suzuki worked and worked, but Vale kind of laid around. I did like a lot of the little matwork touches by Suzuki, he kept driving the point of his elbow into the small of Vale’s back to flatten him out, and he would shift quickly from hold to hold to try to get a submission on. The finish was pretty cool as it was a grounded full nelson with a bodylock. Still not much of a match or a main event.