Let Us Examine Our Ways and Test Them and Let Us Return to Yoshiaki Fujiwara

 

Been a while since I added to my Fujiwara C+A, which I started 15 years ago,  so I decided to look around the internet and find some things I hadn't watched and reviewed from my favorite guy ever

Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Johnny Mantell NJPW 2/7/80 - GREAT

This is some of the earliest Fujiwara footage we have, and he hadn't become full caps FUJIWARA yet, and it was cool to see him try out some unfamiliar stuff. He hits Mantell with some cool half judo throw, half Ricky Steamboat armdrags, and some nasty looking European uppercuts, he even tries a running splash. There was a lot of cool grappling too, with Mantel working a more territory mat wrestling style, and Fujiwara breaking out some mat counters. The great looking Fujiwara selling was there, he sold the Mantell knees to the guy the same way he would sell a Sayama spin kick. Mantell looked good too, he had great looking Southern undercard guy punches and there is a nasty box off in the ropes. He also one with a out of context sick finish, lifting Fujiwara up for a traditional piledriver and then landing like a tombstone on his knees, these guys were just chugging along having an undercard scrap, and then Mantell breaks out some insane death move. Cool shit, better then some of the other earlier Fujiwara matches against Slaughter and Kimura.

Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa Zero-One 10/25/01 - GREAT

This is only five minutes, but kind of what you want from these two guys in a five minute match. Takaiwa tries to shoot in on Fujiwara a couple of times and gets caught twice in a nasty keylock and a kneebar. Takaiwa responds with some of his crowbar forearms causing Fujiwara to lay in body shots and headbutts. Takaiwa is able to life him up and hit a couple of sick death valley drivers, but as always if you don't put Fujiwara down when you can, he is going to put you down, and he sneaks in a Fujiwara armbar for a tap. Love both of these guys and dug them matching up.

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE YOSHIAKI FUJIWARA