Found Footage Friday: MASAMI~! KANDORI~! TENRYU~! FUYUKI~! TIGER~! LEWIN~?!

Devil Masami vs. Shinobu Kandori JWP 1/16/89

MD: I'm missing some context on this one as most of the Kandori I've seen was later on, but there's a lot you can pick up from the text alone. The first couple of minutes of the match were about her making herself seen by Masami. She starts by putting out a hand only for Masami to refuse to shake it. They lock up but Masami overpowers her and casually hits her with a butterfly suplex, really just dropping her. So Kandori works her into the ropes on the next lock up and starts to slap her repeatedly. After the first, Masami sees her, and after the third or fourth she really sees her. Kandori got what she wanted but soon learns to regret it as Masami powers her immediately into a dangerous back drop, but Kandori was ready to take the punishment and is able to maneuver her into a crossface chicken wing and by that point, they have a real match going (Masami gets out by biting Kandori's wrist and Kandori answers with kicks to the spine, if you were wondering just what sort of match).

The beating that followed was fairly hellacious and one-sided. Kandori would occasionally slip out, pry off a leg, and try to do some damage, but even then Masami eventually had enough and tried to tear apart Kandori's leg for revenge. They went back and forth as the match went on, but always with Masami having a clear advantage, and always with Kandori having to slip out and over to get in a bomb of her own. Usually that came in the form of going back to the leg. Meanwhile, every big impact was made all the more thunderous by Kandori leaning in as hard as humanly possible. Her selling was consistent pain. Masami's on the other hand, appeared when it was most meaningful, especially as they rushed to the finish. Again, I can't put this thing in context, but on its own it stands up extremely well.

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Hiromichi Fuyuki WAR 11/8/93

MD: Tenryu and Fuyuki were stablemates here, but I think even more so than that, they were two guys who knew each other so well in the ring, even if they hadn't matched up all that many times. Fuyuki knew everything about Tenryu and that's why he got dirty first with a stomp and a suplex and holds. He knew he had to in order to get the advantage he needed. Likewise, there was such subsequent tension when Tenryu escaped and had his back, had him up against the ropes. You, the viewer, like Fuyuki, the about-to-be victim, knew the other shoe was about to drop. It was just exactly when and how and Tenryu wrestled as if he was acutely aware of that tension and anticipation.

And the payoff came, because it was inevitable. A shoulder block and a series of these peppering, flicking kicks. The price sufficiently paid, Tenryu was happy to settle back into a Greco-Roman knucklelock but Fuyuki was going to keep stepping over the line (as he must if he was to have any chance at victory and to prove his worth as a man. And Tenryu was there over and again to put him back in his place as only he could. It was when Fuyuki finally pushed Tenryu, finally got him to go for the second rope elbow instead of reverting back to another knucklelock that he was able to capitalize, but even that couldn't last for long, for Tenryu was always back up, always rushing back at him clothesline or powerbomb or a simple shove onto the back of his head at the ready. Still, Fuyuki was no longer a young man. He had size and resilience and an understanding of his mentor's techniques and he hung even in the face of the storm, right up until the point that it blew him away. But not before reaffirming Tenryu's respect for him, however, and maybe that was all that really mattered in the end.

Super Tiger vs. Mark Lewin UWF 9/8/84

MD: If you look at the list of foreigners in UWF (even early UWF), Lewin has to be up there as one of the oddest stylistically. There are Takada and Maeda matches that I've never seen (and I have seen Meltzerian claims that Takada's win over Lewin was a big deal for Takada and UWF, but all I can say for sure is that Phil didn't like it much); I really need to go back for those but this one was pretty out there. Lewin didn't change up his act in the least. It began with Super Tiger throwing a lightning fast kick and Lewin recoiling back wondering just what he had gotten into and it doesn't really look back. Lewin sells all of Tiger's holds like he's wrestling Dusty in Florida, big broad selling. Late in the match he even lets himself get tossed off the top rope. The best bit of that is when the tiger feint gets him in the face and he starts climbing the guardrail in fury. On offense, he's clubbering with stomps, throwing ridiculous karate chops, and yes, gets behind Tiger with the dreaded nervehold. And Sayama is left to try to figure out if he's going to break the illusion by not selling or if he's going to break the illusion by selling. He chooses the latter and I'm not at all sure it was the right decision. The finish, both impressive and merciful is Super Tiger actually getting him up for the tombstone and after the match Lewin goes full maniac and starts dismantling the ring. All of this left me wishing we had the Fujiwara matches from this tour, but I doubt they were as bizarre as this.

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ALL TIME MOTY LIST Head to Head 1990: Onita/Goto v. Kurisu/Dragonmaster V. Shinobu Kandori v. Harley Saito

Shinobu Kandori v. Harley Saito JWP 7/19/90

 

PAS: Our boy Jetlag has been doing some real work in the footage mines uncovering gems like this. I feel like I need to do a Kandori deep dive because she was totally boss in this, hurling Saito to the mat with vicious judo throws, grabbing and twisting limbs throwing big shots, she has these nasty slaps where she uses her whole hand like she is trying to palm Saito face like a basketball. Saito was really game too, she had nasty kicks and refused to back down from Kandori's assault. Some great kneebar spots in this match, with Kandori really cranking back and Saito fighting out like Steamboat in a figure four. Finish was pretty neat as Saito gets a roll up for a super close pin, she thinks she has won and starts celebrating, Kandori is furious and comes back with a fury eventually beheading her with a clothesline and dropping sheer on her head for the pin.

 ER: We start with slaps before the bell, and that quickly devolves into more stiff shots, wrenched in heel hooks and nasty hard landing backdrops. Every bit of the suplexes thrown look tough, the lift looks tough, the landing looks like they're being dropped on concrete. The nastiest stuff is probably not the submissions, but the rifled kicks to the body every time a submission is broken. Saito gets to the ropes, then gets punted in the stomach several times. Kandori does this again, and it only makes Saito more vicious when it's her opportunity to stand above her prone opponent. Saito literally kicks a downed Kandori from one side of the ring to the floor on the other side, kicking her stomach, arms, face, hands, rolling her across the ring with her kicks, kicking her like a bad student kicking their backpack home from school. Saito's half crab is also outstanding, just bending Kandori's leg back diagonally across her body. I usually don't think about the pressure a half crab could put on the hip joint, but this crab looked like Saito was aiming to pop Kandori's femur out. We get some nice tight cradles for nearfalls, and we end on a disputed pin. It would have been a shame had that been the real pin, but we get the restart, and Saito flies across the ring to show Kandori that pin was no fluke. And she does bring a storm, but Kandori weathers it, blasts her with a lariat, and hits a straight vertical drop Tiger Driver (ummmm...so would it actually be a Tiger Driver '90?) for the win. We get a big post match pull apart like all the best interpromotional FMW or WAR matches, except this is the only time I've seen it with female trainees running breaking up the action in their all the colors of the rainbow gym shorts. All awesome stuff.

Onita/Goto v. Kurisu/Dragonmaster Review

Verdict:

PAS: Another hidden gem challenge for the FMW brawl falls a little short. Loved the joshi match, and it really isn't my style, but the kind of hurricane of violence in that tag is really hard to beat. That match just speaks to my soul as a wrestling fan, and as much as I loved this, it didn't reach that level.

ER: I gotta give the slight nod to the FMW tag as well, more as a style preference than anything. Four strangely dressed men getting vaguely unprofessional in violent ways is just turning my dial. But I couldn't be happier that matches like this are showing up for all to see.

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