PRO WRESTLING FUJIWARA-GUMI SHOW #9 2/24/92

Lato Kirawarik v. Wellington Wilkins Jr.

TKG: Lato Kirawarik facially looks like Invader 1's fat cousin and isn't very good. I imagine Invader 1 vs. Wellington Wilkins would have been alot better than this. Wilkins does alot of things well but throwing kicks isn't one of them.

PAS: There was one nice spot where Kirawarik counters a northern lights suplex with a choke, and both guys had nice headbutts, but this wasn't exactly good.

Bart Vale v. Kazuo Takahashi

TKG: Last time I saw Takahashi he kind of bored me as guy beating Wellington Wilkins. Here Takahashi is working as more of the jobber role that Phil pimped him for. And damn is he a really great jobber just making all of Vales kicks and stuff look good. Takahashi is just great at selling the accumulated damage he takes, so each kick is sold differently than the last. I think my favorite sell was one where he eats a kick catches Vales leg and then slowly starts to loose his own legs and has to drop the caught leg. Awesome. this was fun stuff.

PAS: Yeah Takahashi is amazing as Lee Scott, making the shitty shootstyle mustachoed Sid look great. I am assuming Takahashi made the jump to Pancrase and I really don't know how being really great at selling bad kicks, transfers to shootfighting.

Yoshiaki Fujiwara v. Yusuke Fuke

TKG: WOW. Ok this here is the match. Fujiwara goes with an early kick to the shin that just takes Fuke down in the first moments. Fuke clutches his ankle. Fujiwara makes a couple attempts at throws with Fuke reversing to the mat, and here you have this match all about Fuke being a guy with multiple cool ways to sprawl for stuff on the ground. When they stand back up Fujiwara is going to go right back at the ankle. Just a ton of different things going on in this. Fujiwara is caught in a triangle that has to be broken because they''re in the ropes... but post triangle Fujiwara just sells grogginess that leaves him open for one thing after another. This match just rules.

PAS: This was really great, and may have been the best Fujiwara, Fujiwara-Gumi match. The matwork was super here, as both guys were breaking out multiple counters to counters. My favorite is when Fuke was attempting a Boston Crab, Fujiwara tries to break out his signature crab counter, and Fuke counters it, then he tries it again and Fuke goes right for a cross armbreaker. I also loved all the fighting for holds, Fujiwara was going for the ankle and Fuke is just laying in bodyshots and headbutts, but Fujiwara refuses to let go. The shots to the knee were brutal, and I loved Fujiwara's viciousness.

Minoru Suzuki v. Jerry Flynn

TKG: This was odd as Flynn dominates the standup and is really defensive when being worked on the mat. Defensive enough that when they go to the mat, Suzuki really isn't able to do much. In the end Flynn puts up his arms in defense on his back only to have Suzuki hook the back of them in this neat inverted full nelson. I enjoyed this but wanted better.

PAS: This was pretty good, but not a blow away match. Flynn's hair is absolutely ridiculous, he has a fluffy mullet with a part in the middle. It looked like the front of Scott Baio's hair with the back of David Brenner's hair.

Wayne Shamrock v. Masakatsu Funaki

TKG: So last time they went to thirty minute draw. This time they were booked to go over thirty. I get the impression that these two might have a good twenty minute match. this had more interesting mat stuff then there last one. They go to standup earlier (about at the fifteen minute point). and then at 35 minute start teasing finishes. with a pretty great final five minutes. For some reason they decide to do a spot where Shamrock headbutts the back of Funakis head with Funaki trying to reverse headbutt in retaliation. just an absolutely nasty sequence that they go for a couple times in the match. I'd like to see these two go under twenty minutes.

PAS: Shamrock also punches Funaki in the back of the head a couple of times which is really nasty. Alot of the matwork is really fun, but alot of it is kind of dull too. I did love the finish as Funaki is moving into a bunch of different submissions, Shamrock fighting hard, until finally get caught in a really nasty triangle. Shamrock does a great job post match selling too, as he looks like he is going to puke.