Pro WRESTLING FUJIWARA-GUMI SHOW #16 9/2/92

Yuki Ishikawa v. Diuseul Berto

TKG: Berto works more like a shoot fighter and less like Koko Ware in this match. The crowd for this whole show is a real UFC crowd completely dead for mat work and only popping for standup. This match has a lot of mat work, lots of Berto rolling Ishikawa around. Berto low blows Ishikawa, Ishikawa needs to take a knee and then comes back house of fire and the crowd picks up for the end of this.

PAS: This was probably the best Berto match so far, the opening stuff was kind of listless, but it had a really hot last couple of minutes. I especially loved Berto throwing Ishikawa with a suplex where he lands neck first on the ropes, which really looked like something Billy Roc or Ricochet should steal. This kind of made me want to see a Diuseul/Andre Berto v. Ishikawa/Fujiwara tag.

Duane Koslowski v. Ryushi Yanagisawa

TKG: This was mostly kept on the mat and had some neat things in it. But crowd was really disinterested and Yanigasawa really hasn't learned how to sell submissions well.

PAS: Koslowski will always do a couple of cool things every match, but his matches rarely amount to much. Yanagisawa isn't the guy who is going to reign him in and add substance.

Naniev Olegg v. Jerry Flynn

TKG: This is first actively good match on the show. Its a worked shoot show, and sometimes you forget that. Here the two guys really felt uncooperative in a real way that made the whole thing more dramatic. Both guys doing stuff with a type of indifference to opponent. That kind of aura combined with what felt like lots of receipt spots and super nasty finish made this for a fun match.

PAS: Olegg was rocking the pink singlet and pink wrestling boots, Camron style. I am looking forward to watching the entire Soviet Dipset on the dome show. Flynn was great in this as he was the guy really controlling the match, as Olegg seemed to occasionally not understand what he was supposed to do.

Bart Vale v. Kazuo Takahashi

TKG: HOLY SHIT, this ruled. Takahashi is a guy who could make Stan Lane's kicks look devastating. Meanwhile Bart Vale has learned how to kick. Bart Vale has actually gotten pretty good as all his offense looks really sharp, his defense (when he's on the bottom in a mat sequence ) is really engaging, and his pacing is just solid. The best Takahashi is when he's working as underdog trying to hang with a guy above him. Bad Bart Vale is bad because he's worked as though he's higher echelon worker while his actual stuff looks garbage. Here he actually felt like a high level guy. And Takahashi can sell scrappy guy taking a beating like nobody else.

PAS: This was spectacular, Takahashi may be the guy I am most bummed about leaving for Pancrase. He has gotten almost 1993 Kikuchi great at selling and taking a beating. Vale was a real stink bomb for the UWF2 and the early PWFG, but at this point he may even be better then Shamrock. There was a great exchange where Takahashi is desperately trying for a leglock, and gets cut off by a highkick which he sells like death. You can see Fujiwara in the corner totally marking out, and making Fujiwara mark out means something.

Masakatsu Funaki v. Aleksei Medvedev

PAS: Medvedev was wearing a neon green one piece and had a really amusing mustache and smirk on his face. Kind of like a Russian comedian doing a Burt Reynolds impression, match was short and underwhelming.

TKG: Medvedev kind of looked like Benson era Rene Auberjonois. He kind of wrestled like Benson era Rene Auberjonois.

Wayne Shamrock v. Minoru Suzuki

PAS: Where the fuck was Fujiwara on this show, this isn't Pro-Wrestling Suzuki-Gumi goddamnit. This was there typical 30 minute main event draw, there was a bunch of individually impressive stuff, including some great takedowns by Shamrock. Still it all added up to nothing, as it was clear five minutes in they were working a 30 minute draw.

TKG: These two match up really well but whole match felt like they weren't going anywhere. Never felt like it was building to anything other than a standoff draw. Not a major show draw either. This wasn't the draw they do in the Omni, this is the one they ran in Gainesville. Shamrock was wearing new shoes for this match and he kept on hopping around on his toes making squeaking noises which added a weird Lil Scrappy produced dynamic to the match. there also was a fly flying around the ring for the whole match. At about the twenty minute point the ref walks over and catches the fly one handed. The crowd pops for the flies death.