Weep Not Behold the Lion of Judah Yoshiaki Fujiwara

Yoshiaki Fujiwara v. Steve Williams NJPW 10/27/88 - FUN

Really wished this was better, Fujiwara runs down to the ring and it looks like it is on, but it only kicks into gear in the last couple of minutes. Fujiwara has had some great matches with very limited amateur wrestlers, and Williams is far from limited, so there was really no reason for this to be this listless. I did like Dr. Death selling Fujiwara's hard head and the crazy cross body over the railing by Fujiwara was unexpected, but this wasn't the hidden gem it looks like on paper.

Yoshiaki Fujiwara/Yuki Ishikawa v. Mitsuya Nagai/Tatsumi Fujinami LEGEND 1/8/12 - GREAT

Lots of really nifty match ups in this match. Fujinami and Fujiwara always match up well and they have some really nice early match grappling. It really kicks however when Nagai tags in, he is a guy who can be unwatchable, but put him in with guys who throw heat, he can throw back. He and Ishikawa have a little Battlarts potato fest, and then Fujiwara does some awesome countering of his aggressive attacks, including Fujiwara's twisting monkey flip counter and his leg catch armbar which are two of my favorite spots of his. Finish was slightly flat as Ishikawa went down a bit easy, that is a guy who can eat some horrific shots, so I wasn't buying a running knee, plenty to love here though.


COMPLETE AND ACCURATE FUJIWARA