Microblogging #2
I've written too much to call it microblogging... but here it is anyway.
On My Screen This Week
Sgt. Slaughter vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (NJPW; May 8, 1981)
After Joseph Montecillo’s fascinating Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Genichiro Tenryu video essay, I thought I’d spend some time watching a few Fujiwara matches from the ‘80s, when he looked exactly the same as he did in 1997 and beyond. My search led me to this anomaly, a handheld match from May 1981 in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Let’s make things clear from the outset: this isn’t anything worth seeking out. Even though Fujiwara’s career goes back to 1972 (he actually debuted before Slaughter), and this bout therefore witnesses him nearly a decade in, it’s almost an enhancement match for Slaughter, who was still working for the WWF before heading to the Mid-Atlantic territory in the latter third of the year.
Nineteen eighty-one is, of course, the year of Slaughter’s feud with Pat Patterson, which included their Alley Fight in August, so while Slaughter couldn’t have been expected to lose to a wrestler with around a 50-50 record in the New Japan midcard, the level to which this match is uncompetitive is stunning.
A clash of styles from the get-go, Slaughter immediately goes to the U.S wrestling heel tactics, like biting and raking, with Fujiwara mentally struggling on how to sell such attacks while giving them the disdain they deserve. Fascinatingly, Slaughter knows Fujiwara isn’t interested in selling these tactics, and rather disdainfully sets about no-selling Fujiwara’s strikes as he tries to impose his supposed seniority on the contest.
Fujiwara, of course, could’ve made mincemeat out of Slaughter had he wanted to, but the pair were happier to get this over with quickly, and mercifully. (1/2*)
Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Masanobu Fuchi (AJPW; February 26, 1991)
Only the final eight minutes of this match are available here, but these moments still offer an uplift in the feud between Tsuruta-gun and the Super Generation Army, after months of tag team matches had provided beautifully stiff competition but only occasional highlights.
Kikuchi takes a rare lead role here, selling like a Japanese Ricky Morton but having much more to his offence. Tsuruta, whose gimmick is essentially that he does not respect the next generation, especially as they attempt to topple him before he’s ready, in fact does show great affection for Kikuchi’s effort here, as is particularly notable in the finishing sequence. (JIP ***3/4)
Big Bully Busick vs. The Brooklyn Brawler (WWF; aired October 28, 1991)
In the early-1990s, Vince McMahon had a bit of a thing for oddball match-ups, especially on Prime Time Wrestling. For reasons known only to him, in late-1992 he booked Repo Man vs. Papa Shango, while a year earlier he got his kicks from The Barbarian vs. The Berzerker, and the match linked above: The Brooklyn Brawler vs. Big Bully Busick.
These are just a few examples of said contests, and it was the latter that I returned to this week out of morbid curiosity - and I was not disappointed.
This really is a pitiful encounter, not just for the inane booking but for the lack of ring chemistry and derisory technique, as witnessed when the Bully (real name: Nick Busick) takes a clothesline bump so bad that 90-year-old Mae Young would’ve kicked his ass for making her sell for it.
Despite the Bully also running the ropes like he had a torn groin, McMahon was apparently so amused that he booked a re-match the following week.
At least in that bout, which was only a little better, Gorilla Monsoon didn’t repeat his loathsome “joke” about Pat Patterson and Terry Garvin, who were both later fired from the WWF in the midst of the ring boy scandal. (DUD)
You’re being treated here to a special request from my five-year-old son, so forgive me for teasing that there might be more than one great match for you to enjoy from this newsletter.
Commentators Sean Mooney and “Lord” Alfred Hayes claim that this contest is from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, which suggests that it’s from the Wrestling Challenge taping on June 2, 1992, thereafter released on VHS as part of the Rampage ‘92 collection, now available on the WWE Network.
In any case, this is Rick Martel as his most cartoon-like, but that does have some advantages, as his bumping, facial expressions, and pre-match “You people have no class!” speech is quite entertaining.
Martel’s offence begins with a lot of punches and kicks, but thankfully for the babyface Tatanka, he does bring more wrestling into it as the bout progresses, meaning that Tatanka can actually gather some proper heat for a comeback. When it comes to that, however, Tatanka simply doesn’t have the fire to give the audience what they want, especially given his gimmick of being someone whose patience with the bad guys only lasts so long.
The match could’ve been saved with a proper finish, but a roll-up from behind after Martel was distracted in giving off to the audience did nothing but suggest that this was a fluke victory.
Their Survivor Series contest would at least have a decisive finish, setting Tatanka up for an Intercontinental title challenge in 1993. (*1/2)
Rob Van Dam & Sabu vs. Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki (ECW; August 2, 1998)
In the summer of 1998, this was the match everyone on the tape trading scene wanted to see, as two of the wildest high-flying teams in the world went at it.
Hayabusa and Shinzaki were stars in FMW at the time, and had made a splash in All Japan’s Real World Tag League the previous year, even if they only came out of it with two wins.
At the time, this match from Heatwave ‘98 was actually considered a disappointment due to the lofty expectations. With 2022 eyes, however, it’s a highly entertaining, wild exhibition, especially after the match breaks away from the tag rules around half-way through.
There’s wild dives, big saves, and lots of innovative double-team moves to keep the energy up for the duration, and all in all, the bout holds up better than many other ECW delights of the time. (***1/2)
I don’t want to leave you with so little good wrestling to enjoy from this edition, so I’ve taken a recommendation from the great @Alan4L: a Big Japan Tag Team title match between Okami (Daichi Hashimoto & Hideyoshi Kamitani) and the Astronauts (Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura). The card hasn’t made it to BJW Core as of yet, but it’s one to look for when it does.
Each one of these competitors brings a different dynamic to the match, for better or worse. The stand-out competitor is Fuminori Abe, whose no-nonsense approach still allows for plenty of wrestling-centric thrills and spills. He takes his wrestling seriously, and makes you do likewise.
At one point, though, he and Daichi Hashimoto engage in a strike exchange that looks and sounds great, but is horribly wasted as neither sells much of the offence at all. It’s tempting to blame that on Hashimoto, who clearly likes to hit hard, but is otherwise lazy in his in-ring presentation, with half-assed selling and a general demeanour of not caring. Counterintuitively, this indifference helps get him over, but it doesn’t do anything for the match itself.
Hideyoshi Kamitani plays his powerhouse gimmick very well, while remaining rather generous to his opponents when he’s not mowing them down with shoulder tackles and lariats.
Takuya Nomura is rapid and has great balance, which is especially notable when he hits a Mortal Kombat-esque double spin kick in the middle of the contest.
In any case, the champions are the nominal heels in this encounter, but this is certainly not a match with a classic dynamic; it’s more that Abe and Nomura are the smaller team, and have to produce a huge effort to match their opponents physically, while using guile to come away with the victory.
And come away with the victory they do, with a cute finish that arrives after a ton of action and half-a-dozen big near-falls. It could have been a more decisive conclusion, but the time was right to take it home, and the execution on the winning move allowed it to be perfectly believable. (***3/4)
On My Podcast App This Week
This episode contains some fine insight into the problems at Pro Wrestling NOAH, including information on its new booker and what that means for the company that occasionally seems close to getting it right… but never quite does.
Newer episodes are available!
On My Twitter Feed This Week
The following posts from @hardcopydotie are things I really should’ve elaborated upon here, but the temptation to post on Twitter and then forget about it - rather than note it down and write about it here beyond Twitter’s character limit - was just too much.
Anyway, here’s a few things to which I’d be interested in your reply.
And one from The Coach, just because he’s a blithering idiot.
REMEMBER: You can be right 99% of the time just by knowing to whom you shouldn’t listen.
A Little Bit Of Housekeeping
I am a professional writer, editor, and content strategist with over 15 years’ experience in newspapers, magazines, and as a freelance correspondent for various news agencies. I specialise in giving your publication a unique voice without sacrificing your ethics. If your organisation needs direction, please reach out to me at brian(at)hardcopy(dot)ie.
I’d love to know what you thought of the matches in this edition, and/or if they helped you enjoy wrestling a little more. Please comment here or reach out to me at brian(at)hardcopy(dot)ie.