WWWF Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Tatsumi Fujinami (c) vs. Ryuma Go - NJPW Summer Fight Series 1978 - Day 27 27/07/1978
I’ve seen very little of Tatsumi Fujinami as a Junior Heavyweight outside of the Dynamite matches. And I only know of Ryuma Go for his fame after being the defender of Earth, taking on space aliens. He looks pretty normal for what he’s known for though. This was pretty awesome. Not only the tempo in which they went, but the intensity and struggle that both put into their grappling was mesmerising. Fujinami had some fancy holds and ways to lock them on while Go was more practical. Fujinami at one point dived at Go’s legs, feet first, tripped him up and locked on a knee bar. That’s the type of high-level grappling I’d expect from a young Fujinami. There were limited striking, with the match opting for more intense grappling, but when included, it added a ton to the match whether it was Go trying to get out of a toehold with a palm strike or Fujinami unloading on Go, luring him to create an opening for which Fujinami could take advantage of. Great match. ****
IWGP Tag Team League Match: Antonio Inoki & Seiji Sakaguchi vs. Kengo Kimura & Tatsumi Fujinami - NJPW IWGP Tag Team League - Day 20 06/12/1985
The clash of generations is always a special match. Especially when it's Fujinami v Inoki. And while I’m not sure Kimura is exactly a good counterpart to what Sakaguchi was in his heyday, it's still a great story. It’s essentially the finals of the Tag Team League after Snuka and Brody fucked off and no-showed the event. This is a lengthy match built around holds and attrition breaking teamwork. Not a lot of strikes or impactful bombs but the match builds in a meaningful way. Inoki and Sakaguchi lead the match with their experience and smarts. Sakaguchi utilises his size to bully Fujinami, who doesn’t respond well to that at all. Inoki keeps on top of both with his technical skill. They soon targeted Kimura, who is the clear weak link of the match, and worked towards Fujinami helping Kimura escape danger and mount a comeback. Sakaguchi hurts his leg at some point and that becomes a game changer as Fujinami and Kimura hone in on that knee with elbows and many submissions. Sakaguchi tries to gut it out but it’s too much for him and once he tags out to Inoki, he’s out of it. Inoki is left alone and while this is usually where Inoki rises to the occasion, it’s Fujinami who overtakes Inoki and finishes him off with a Dragon Suplex, getting the CLEAN victory. It’s a monumental moment. A great sign for Fujinami and Kimura. The crowd is stunned and is hesitant to celebrate until the announcer calls it and then they go nuts. Inoki rarely loses and Fujinami pinned him in the middle of the ring. What a moment. Excellent match with a lot of great moments and story threads tying it all together. ****1/2
IWGP League 1986 Block B Match: Akira Maeda vs. Tatsumi Fujinami - NJPW IWGP Champion Series 1986 - Day 25 12/06/1986
This is why I love Maeda, he may have a different ideology than most about wrestling but he is able to blend it into other styles, that mixed with great selling and a molten crowd makes for an extremely compelling match. Maeda is very aggressive and unrelenting with his attack on the leg, locking in a nasty leg bar with Fujinami in agony refusing to give up; enduring the pain. Some nasty kicks thrown by Maeda, one that swiftly catches Fujinami making him bleed. Fujinami selling it like death, even when making his comebacks, he had an anguished look on his face. I thought the ending was genius but that's just me. Tremendous performance by both. ****3/4
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