PRO WRESTLING FUJIWARA-GUMI SHOW #24 9/13/94

Tokimitsu Ishizawa v. Naohiro Hoshikawa

PAS: This was clipped and what was showed was not particularly good. The mat stuff was fun, but both guys kept trying dropkicks, and their stand up kind of stunk.

TKG: I think they clipped about half of this out. KaShin whose gimmick is that he won't work pro-style, here refuses to work shootstyle and goes for drop kicks. Hoshikawa throws a really awful looking drop kick at one point and maybe they clipped out the good parts.

Carl Greco v. Shoichi Funaki

PAS: Wow this was fun, this was a total mat spotfest, as both guys were working at a million miles an hour, spinning into combinations and counters. I remember Funaki breaking out almost a Casita into an armbar, and Greco is just great at the mat sprint.

TKG: This was shockingly good. Before the match starts Greco does mic work where he speaks like a Japanese guy with broken English, I guess to help the translator. Funaki is a guy who I don't normally think of as projecting character well. Here he is really fun projecting fired up guy trying to win. The actual mat work and exchanges were also pretty spectacular.

Glen Jacobs v. Daisuke Ikeda

PAS: This was alot better then Jacobs v. Ishikawa, as Jacobs seemed to adapt to the style alot better. Unlike the previous match all of his big throws were counters here. Ikeda goes for a front face lock, Jacobs throws him with a Northern lights, Ikeda goes for an armbar, Jacobs does a keylock overhead throw. You got the sense if Jacobs had just stayed in PWFG/BattlArts he may have gotten as good as Viktor Kruger.

TKG: Ikeda is alot taller then Ishikawa and so the size difference wasn't as pronounced. I wonder who was the Pat Patterson behind this match because this was all about Ikeda trying for stuff and Jacobs countering with throws which helped cover for Jacobs difficulty selling. Jacobs still can't sell but him fighting stuff with counters made it look like he was at least concerned with his opponents offense.

Katsumi Usuda v. Yuki Ishikawa

PAS: This is the first of many really great matches between these two. This wasn't as hideously violent as their later matches, but was pretty good. Ishikawa is really working above Usuda for parts of the match, almost like he was working over a rookie, but Usuda fought back with some big shots, and looked like he caught Ishikawa unaware.

TKG: These two have better matches in the future. Greco v. Funaki was really the match of the show. still this was really good and every match Usuda seems to be getting stiffer and stiffer. Usuda's body shots to escape submissions were really good looking. and these two just jell really well.


Joe Malenko/Shinobu Kandori v. Thunder Crack/Yoshiaki Fujiwara

PAS: Thunder Crack is Fujiwara's horse face German girlfriend who he later did porn films with. You would expect this to be at least sleazy, but it is just kind of boring. Malenko looks kind of pissed that he is doing this, and even seems to half ass it a bit during his sections with Fujiwara. I was expecting Kandori to really stiff Thunder Crack (I have seen a video with a girl who looks like Kandori acting really violent towards a German girl), but she actually is professional and sells for her matwork. There is a couple of amusing Fujiwara comedy spots, but this was soul crushingly bad.

TKG: Did they do multiple porns or was it just one home video? I think she was Fujiwara's pottery instructor and girlfriend or maybe if you're a German art teacher fucking is part of the teaching technique. "Well after he explained empty space and composition my teacher made me do this for the next three classes. He said these exercises improve your pot throwing technique". The Fujiwara v Malenko sections were fun and Fujiwara as Dusty working Kandori was fun. I was amused by some of the Fujiwara/Thundercrack Ralph and Alice Kramden interactions on the apron but when Thundercrack was actually in the ring this ground to a halt. Fujiwara tends not to be a particularly masturbatory booker. Rarely booking himself in the main event. booking him and girlfriend in main to go long feels like something a money mark does. Fujiwara at least has decency to job so not complete money mark booking. Still.