PRO WRESTLING FUJIWARA-GUMI SHOW #14 7/27/92

Dieuseul Berto v. Ryushi Yanagisawa

PAS: Berto's son Andre is currently a top boxing prospect at 140 pounds. His dad needs to learn to keep his hands up, as Yanigasawa KO's him in 1:30 with a nice high kick.

TKG: Dieusel looks tiny next to tall Yanigasawa. Deiusel starts this working stiffer than he has before and lands some nice looking kicks. He then gets absolutely walloped by Yanigasawa.

Yuki Ishikawa v. Kazuo Takahashi

PAS: This was Ishikawa's first awesome match in an awesome career. Takahashi really brutalizes him in the way you should brutalize rookies, including some nasty shoot headbutts, and hard slaps. Ishikawa fights back and lands some big shots of his own, and it actually gets pretty competitive for a minute, until Takahashi nearly rips his leg off with a one leg boston crab.

TKG: Yeah, Ishikawa vs. Suzuki started more competitive. This was awesome as Takahashi absoutely disrespectfully abuses Ishikawa. Shoot headbutts, face slaps, grinding his elbow into Ishikawa's nose, grinding his fist into Ishikawa's mouth, slow on rope breaks, nasty nasty punches to charlie horse the thigh, refusal to lock up when standing etc. Ishikawa just takes it and eventually comes back with a nasty shot to Takahashi's kidney and all of a sudden its on. Ishikawa tries to return the headbutts in kind. Takahashi starts to kind of punch himself out and really the kidney shot slows him a bunch. All of a sudden Takahashi is forced to accept Ishikawa and agrees to lock fingers when they get back to their feet. But the moral victory doesn't mean an actual victory. Still fucking neat neat story told through really brutal shots.

Johnny Barrett v. Yoshiaki Fujiwara

TKG: Barrett has gotten huge. I mean he was big before but now he looks like Tugboat Taylor. He also has balded some more and grown some facial hair. His face has grown really dignified. Like a head chef at a fancy restaurant. His body meanwhile looks like a fry chef at a bowling alley. They do this opening section where Fujiwara counters a judo throw into an ankle lock which was awesome. They do a Super Porky in the partier section where Barretta rides Fujiwara and Fujiwara can't get out from under the weight while Barrett isn't able to hook in anything. Fujiwara takes Barrett down. Barrett tries to get up from partier but crafty Fujiwara slips on arm bar using his leg. Whole thing is just awesome 4 minute match.

PAS: I think Barret looks less like Taylor then a mix of Mukhan Singh and Dean Rassmussen. Both PWFG Barrett v. Fujiwara matches have been really short and fun. I get the sense they could have a really great 20+ minute main event. I think Barrett has had a pretty interesting career, he went from Florida indy guy, to WCW jobber, to shootstyle guy, to Chicago indy luchadore. Goodhelemet really needs to make a 10 DVD Johnny Barrett comp.

Wayne Shamrock v. Jerry Flynn

TKG: This had just a bunch of cool things going for it. Flynn's defensive stuff is always neat. there's this point where Shamrock has Flynn down and tries to grab for something. Flynn is able to defensively block every Shamrock attempt at a grab. Shamrock goes for a suplex and Flynn manages to defend while in the air. When Shamrock does have Flynn caught, Flynn makes one or two attempts to break free but always ends up going for the ropes. Flynn can defend but once Shamrock has him he struggles to escape. Its a kind of neat little thing they have going. There also is neat stand up section where Flynn gets a fall which only makes Shamrock more aggressive.

PAS: This was a really fun Monday Night Wars Nitro v. RAW match. I would have liked to see the Dan Severn v. Glacier match that would semi-main this show. Shamrock's body is getting even weirder, his abdomen has weird lumps on it, like his six pack is bottles not cans. Flynn's stand up stuff looked really great here, and I love Shamrock's KO selling.

Duane Koslowski v. Minoru Suzuki

PAS: Koslowski is an Olympic amateur wrestler, and all of his greco pummeling and throws always look good. I have never really seen him adapt to this environment though, so the match was just kind of there. Still at least he doesn't try to call the match.

TKG: I think this was better than Phil is giving it credit for being. but most of the coolest stuff in this was built around stalemate moves. guys trying for things being blocked and then stuck. I remember enjoying this while it happened but really remember nothing other than the way Koslowski is starting to look like what would have happened if you mated Lex Luger and Jack Wagner. And I'm haunted by images of Luger singing "All I Need". I think i'd have better things to say if I wrote this after the match. but I've been writing after every two matches and well.all I need is a little more time to be sure..

Maskatsu Funaki v. Bart Vale

PAS: I have decided that I don't like Funaki, I like the Rock and Roll Express, I like Cena, I like Ricky Marvin, but something about Japanese blow job wrestlers just rubs me the wrong way. There are some fun things in the way too long match, but they are pretty much all delivered by Bart Vale. Funaki is sleepwalking through this, not really selling, not really doing anything interesting with his offense, not engaging me in any way. Vale is fun, I think right around 1992 he turned into a pretty good pro-wrestler. His selling and moves were cool, and he has finally figured out how to throw a nice looking worked kick, but Funaki was killing me here. He did have a nice Jheri Curl though, his hair looked like Eriq Le Salle's from Coming to America.

TKG: I don't like all U.S. blowjob babyfaces. Not a big Von Erich fan. Although I imagine Mike vs. Killer Khan would be better than this. And at this point Vale is pretty good in the Khan role. Yep Vale has learned how to be a pro style wrestler and does enough compelling selling and struggling to make this interesting from about the 20 minute mark to the 25 minute mark. Funaki drags down the other 25 minutes.

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PRO WRESTLING FUJIWARA-GUMI SHOW #4 8/23/91

Pro-Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi 8/23/91

Duane Koslowski v. Kazuo Takahashi

This is another really fun Koslowki match, as he was chucking Takahashi all over the ring, with Takahashi getting in his fair number of shots. I think someone could make the argument that for US Olympic wrestlers turned pro Koslowski > Angle, I might not be the guy to make that argument, but someone could.

Bart Vale v. Jerry Flynn

I imagine Flynn was a Vale trainee, as he looks like the fuck up nephew to Vale's older wiser redneck uncle. Like Bart stole his share of cars in the day, but doesn't understand why Jerry has to stick up liquor stores for crank money. "Hell if I have to whoop that boys ass, to teach him a lesson, then I gots to whoop his ass." This wasn't as great as one would hope a mulleted redneck County fair karate fight would be, but it was still fine. Feels like it would have been better if it was contested in THE BLOCK.

Yoshiaki Fujiwara v. Lato Kirawarik

This was a total blast. Fujiwara puts on kickpads in the beginning of the match and decides to use his kickboxing. Really had the feel of Matt Serra breaking out his highkick, as Fujiwara just has a shit eating grin on his face the whole time he is landing axe kicks, high kicks and Tiger Mask style spin kicks on the befuddled Sumo dude. Lato does get some offense including an awesome rush where he lowers his head and gores Fujiwara like a bull. Finish was great as Lato bulls Fujiwara into the corner and pops him with shots, Soronaka breaks them up, and Fujiwara points to the ref and says something, and when Lato is distracted smacks him with a high kick. "Hey look over there...BAM"

Napataya v. Minoru Suzuki

First round was exactly like Napataya's match with Fuke. Napataya throws a kick, vamps, Suzuki tries to take him down, fails, Napataya makes Joan Crawford faces. Second round was quick, as Suzuki gets the takedown that PWFG has been working towards for two shows, and slaps a crossarmbreaker on for the tap out. It was what it was.

Masakatsu Funaki v. Wayne Shamrock

So I am going to go on record. Ken Shamrock used to rule at the pro-wrestling. I imagine if he ended up going to New Japan instead of WWF he would have had some great matches and we would all be Shamrock fans. This wasn't as good as the transcendent Shamrock v. Sano match, but it was pretty great. Both guys were clearly great athletes, and work a really fast style. I get the same vibe from this as I got from the Takada v. Yamazaki series although I like this match up more. Not a ton of selling, alot of moves, ext. Still for workrate shootstyle this was great workrate shootstyle. Great ending, with Shamrock and Funaki exchanging really fast strikes, Funaki goes for a German, ends up eating some nasty back elbows and Shamrock does a standing switch and crushes him with a dragon suplex for the KO. I was worried this was going to another 30 minute draw, and was really happy to see a winner.

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PRO-WRESTLING FUJIWARA-GUMI SHOW #3 7/26/91

Mark Rush v. Kazuo Takahashi

Mark Rush was a guy I liked from the early UWF2 even though he never really had a good match. He was a amateur wrestler with an amusing circus strongman mustache. This was better then any of the UWF stuff I saw him in, and was overall pretty good. This was almost all amateur style mat exchanges which looked really good. The only striking came near the end, when Takahashi slipped in a little headbutt and they started throwing blows. Until that it almost looked like worked RPW, which came off really well.

Bart Vale v. Lato Kirawarik

Lato is a Sumo guy I am assuming. Because he was really fat and kind of Polynesian looking. Not as good as Arashi, better then Koji Kitao is my early impression. Bart Vale isn't a guy who will make you look good in your debut. I think Fujiwara works him on the next show which will clearly be the litmus test.

Wayne Shamrock v. Duane Koslowski

Koslowski is an Olympic wrestler who had some matches in UWF. He was pretty fun here, as Shamrock continues to not irritate me. Shamrock keeps him off with kicks and punches, and Koslowski gets in with a big throw or two. Really cool looking suplexes actually, looked more like Matt Hughes throws then Scott Steiner suplexes. The finish was really pretty looking as Shamrock hits a Northern lights floating over into a kneebar. It would be a really great Austin Aries spot but I don't know if I buy Shamrock throwing an Olympian, especially as smoothly. Still this was on the good side of fine.

Napataya v. Yusuke Fuke

Napataya is one of those Thai ladyboy kickboxers I think, as he does a really fey dance before the match, has sorta cornrows and really great Grace Jonesish facials. This match had some fun parts, as Napataya was wearing Fuke out with kicks, and Fuke would shoot and try to take him down and Napataya would either grab the ropes or Fuke wouldn't be able to get a hold of him. Still they basically do that for five rounds and Fuke never gets the expected takedown. Really sort of a cocktease of a match, as you were waiting for Fuke finally to get him down, and then he doesn't and then its over. It's like if the Midnights cut off the ring, beat down Ricky, he almost makes the tag, and then they pin him.

Naoki Sano v. Minoru Suzuki

Man am I steamed Sano only worked two matches for PWFG as he is fucking gold again. This goes to a draw which keeps it a little below the sublime Sano v. Shamrock match on the second show, but it was incredible. The counters in this were faster then in the Shamrock match, but it was paced similar.

Suzuki was the one brining the pro wrestling here, as he breaks out a nasty piledriver and even tries a dropkick. The dropkick spot was great as he threw it and Sano steps away contemptuously, Suzuki lands bounces up and hit a brutal jumping spin kick into Sano's grill. Suzuki was great here, as he is awesome as a fired up babyface, there is a point where is trying to get a cross armbreaker and he is just chopping at Sano's arm and kicking him in the head in a frenzy to try to get Sano to break his grip. There is a great spot where Sano has on a choke, and Suzuki is slapping his own face to keep himself awake. I loved the draw finish too, as both guys have kneebars on each other and are just twisting the ankles in desperation to try to get the submission before the bell. I clearly need to get more UWFI Sano, as he is truly brilliant in both of his PWFG matches, and I want more shootstyle Sano.

Yoshiaki Fujiwara v. Masakatsu Funaki

Man was this great. This was almost completely worked on the feet, alot of throwing hands and feet. There was some mat stuff early, but it was really incidental to what was going on. I really dug Fujiwara's in fighting here. He was working over Funaki on the inside, throwing little bodyshots, and a great looking sneak short headbutt which dropped him for a count. Funaki is the guy with the reach and Fujiwara needs to conduct the match on the inside to win. Funaki was winning the distance here, and Fujiwara is awesome at selling a beating. He does almost a Flair flop when he get caught with the heel of Funaki's boot when he was going for a single leg crab.

The finish is what really made this match. Funaki drops Fujiwara with a high kick for a close ten count. Fujiwara barely beats count, and Funaki is all over him, trying to finish the fight. Thigh kicks, hooking slaps, kicks to the head he swarms all over Fujiwara against the ropes. Fujiwara is so overwhelmed that at one point he almost turns his back, which Funaki just drills him with some kidney shots, Fujiwara is able to get off the ropes but he is backpedaling eating shots, Funaki shoots confidentially for the takedown, and boom, Fujiwara catches his arm in a a Fujiwara armbar using his legs, he wrenches and Funaki has to tap out. Probably the best flash finish I have ever seen in wrestling. Really puts over Fujiwara as the master defensive wrestler, someone you can never count out, never drop your guard, as he can get you like that. Had me jumping off my couch. Just awesome stuff.

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