PRO WRESTLING FUJIWARA-GUMI 2/28/94

Shoichi Funaki v. Minoru Tanaka

Man this was great. It is so weird that Funaki went from this kind of strict shootstyle to being a beloved comedy jobber in the WWE for so long. Tanaka dominates most of this, throwing big kicks, locking on super tight chokes, even throwing a couple of plausable looking shoot drop kicks. Funaki had some nice takedowns, but spent almost all the match on defense. Finish is great, Tanaka hits a super nasty, super fast judo throw and gets an 8 count. When Funaki gets up, Tanaka rushes him to try for the KO, throwing knees, and Funaki spins him into super fast kneebar/ankle lock combo for the quick tap. It was a very Fujiwara finish to the first match on a Fujiwara show.

Shinobu Kandori/Utako Hozumi v. Harley Saito/Mikkiko Futagami

This was a LLPW exhibition match, and worked like an exhibition match, so the stakes felt sort of low. Still there was a lot of fun stuff in this match. Saito and Futagami are both kickers and they were throwing heat rocks, Saito especially throws with recklessness. Hozumi was very much in the Manami Toyota spirit, but her bodypress and dropkick shtick felt out of place on a card where ladies were headhunting.  I loved Kandori's tribute to Fujiwara headbutts, and her finishing cross face chicken wing submission was really neck cranking.

Next we have a pair of kickboxing matches, which appear to be shoots. Cagematch didn't have match listings, and there were no brutal KOs or anything, so I skimmed past these.

Diusel Berto v. Shupo Toto

Toto is a Thai Kickboxer, and Berto is an early UFC fighter who is the father of ex middleweight boxing champion and Mayweather opponent Andre Berto. This might have been a shoot, as it was a little dull for a work. Berto eats some kicks until he gets close enough to throw Toto and neck crank him for the tap.

Yoshiaki Fujiwara v. Katsumi Usuda

This is a classic Fujiwara versus a young guy match. Usuda throws out everything he has with kicks and takedowns, and Fujiwara counters and perries. The outcome is never really in doubt, and the match only goes about three minutes,  it is more like figuring out when Fujiwara will finish the fight. There are some cool bits of technique, including Fujiwara reversing a top wrist lock from his back, and a nice neck crank. This match up would certainly be better a couple of years later when Usuda wasn't a rookie, but it was fun to watch Fujiwara show off his skill, the way he works an ankle lock is a pretty bit of extreme violence.

Yuki Ishikawa v. Glen Jacobs

This was really good, one of my favorite Jacobs matches ever (admittedly a low bar). Jacobs is pretty great as a shootstyle bruiser he has nasty looking overhead slaps, and he is good at big throws and proto attempts at ground and pound. I loved Ishikawa crawling all over Jacobs like a jungle gym, grabbing and twisting arms and legs. There were also some moments where he just slaps the shit out of Jacobs which feels really satisfying if you have had to sit through years of shitty Kane matches. Liked the finish with Jacobs putting on a grounded full nelson and cranking Ishikawa's neck.

Battle Royal

I am amused how this show ends with a battle royal like every mid 90s US indy show. This was one of those weird Japanese battle royals where someone gets knocked down and they all dogpile on top them. There was a couple of amusing moments with Jacobs ragdolling everyone who attacked him, and I liked Don Arakawa directing traffic. The whole thing seems purposeless though, although it was fast.

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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.

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PRO WRESTLING FUJIWARA-GUMI SHOW #23 1/24/94

Katsumi Usuda v. Shoichi Funaki:

TKG: I've seen Funaki job in lots of short matches and never thought he took finishes in particularly compelling way. Here he's uninteresting for the bulk of the match but then eats a nasty kick from Usuda, sells it really great and then sells the finishing submission really great. This was nothing till the finish.

PAS: Yeah he is a way better shootstyle jobber then a Velocity jobber. This wasn't very good though. Funaki never really was particularly good, he was a fine fifth member of KDX when Hanzo Nakajima wasn't around. Hanzo Nakajimi v. Usuda might have been better.

Mark Ashford-Smith v. Minoru Tanaka

TKG: This started with a staredown. May have been the most homoerotic staredown in all of wrestling. I've seen HHH v. HBK matches. I've seen some homoerotic staredowns. Still if not number one at least top five. Really a nothing match. One neat spot where Mark Starr dodges a kick by dropping Tanaka on his head and Starr does a nice takedown to get the submission. Submission itself wasn't as cool as the takedown.

PAS: Short and underinspiring, Tanaka was really short, as Ashford-Smith dwarfed him almost as much as Kane dwarfed Ishikawa. Smith doesn't work as a giant though and he kind of needed to for this match to work.

Jack Birthrider v. Daisuke Ikeda

TKG: I don't think any match has gone over 8 minutes on this show but this was first that was actually semi-compelling. Birthrider looks like an even more roided Dan Devine. He also spends a lot of the match reaching into his trunks and adjusting his junk. When not playing with himself he works like an amateur guy with nice throws and mat stuff.Ikeda has nice kicks and submission attempts although Devines almost comedy selling kind of hurts it. Pretty much a five minute competitive squash. Best thing on show thus far.

PAS: Birthrider looked facially like Mario Cantone if he was a gym queen instead of a fashion queen. He had a nice set of takedowns, but this never got going really.

Yoshiaki Fujiwara v. Diuseul Berto

TKG: So I was looking for this to save the show and well it didn't. They mostly exchange standup till someone is in position for takedown and submission attempt. Fujiwara needs to go for rope break first, Deusuel goes for rope break after second exchange, and Fujiwara gets the take down in the middle of the ring after third exchange. Deuseul with nowhere to go taps out. Really the most primitive of shootstyle formulas. Enjoyed it but nothing really memorable.

PAS: This was the least of the recent Diuseul Berto matches, which is kind of ridiculous. I mean its Fujiwara, your Fujiwara match shouldn't be smoked by your Jerry Flynn match, but this really was. Fujiwara normally can find more interesting things to do with a guy below him, but this was worked the way Meada would work it.

Glen Jacobs v. Yuki Ishikawa

TKG: Glen Jacons looks huge next to ishikawa. Like Khali vs. Rey. Glen Jacobs is working as big guy with lots of knee strikes and giant throws vs. Ishikawa as guy who dominates on the ground. Jacobs throws aren't that spectacular but the real hole in Jacobs work is that he's either on offense or he isn't. When he's not on offense he just seems to be waiting for Ishikawa to run through his stuff before Jacobs can escape to the rope. Doesn't fight any of the offense. Just waits for Ishikawa to finish so they can be stood up. I like Ishikawa alot more than I like Takada but this was nowhere near as good as Takada vs. Mark Lewin. Most of that has to do with the falling quality of Evil wrestling monsters ( Purple Haze vis a vis Kane). Did Tamura get to work Ron Reiss?

PAS: Glen Jacobs really stinks and always has, but I may have like him more as gangly amateur wrestler, then as masked evil guy. Now that Undertaker and Kane are on the same brand again, they are clearly going to go back to that match up. I get the sense it might be fun as a Randy Couture amateur guy v. Chuck Lidell pure striker, see if Taker's sprawl can counter Kane's shoot.

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