April 24, 201114 yr comment_5470373 This is actually Tenryu & Ahara v Tatsumi Fujinami & Osamu Kido. Great match ending with a terrific bloody promo from Fujinami
June 21, 201114 yr Author comment_5474687 Every time Tenryu and Fujinami cross paths, it seems like Fujinami ends up bleeding a gusher. This was no exception. Another good match in the clear 1993 Feud of the Year. I like how over time, Tenryu's list of standard opponents grew so they could get as many people opposite him as possible.
February 1, 201411 yr comment_5584467 It occurs to me that I don't think I've ever seen Fujinami or Kido in a true hate-filled brawl (if Fujinami had one on the '80s set feel free to not bother reminding me). Well, now I have. This was filled with all kinds of hate, between Tenryu being a dick and the NJPW team doing lots of double teams and "cutting the ring in half." Kido doing the wakigatame on Tenryu as he was on the turnbuckle was a highlight. This was building into something really special but it kind of petered out into a substandard finish, as Kido is rather easily put away by Tenryu.
January 28, 20178 yr comment_5785625 This was pretty competitive when Fujinami and Kido were able to focus on Hara in the first part of the match, but once Tenryu was tagged in for the first time, any real chance that they had to win was lost. No one on the New Japan side can do a damn thing with Tenryu, and that's what keeps me from putting this over Lawler/WWF as the Feud of the Year. At one point this year, of course, it was reversed, and Tenryu had his turn at looking like an ineffectual schmuck. That's the problem with this feud: one side or the other completely dominates at a given time to the point where you feel sorry for the non-dominant side. I agree that it's nice to see Fujinami bleed for once, but watching him being safely held back instead of storming down the aisle after Tenryu and Hara left me cold. If you're going to open your mouth like he did, follow it up; it's easy to yell and scream about what you're going to do when you know that there's no way in hell that you're going to get a chance to do it. That's a universal problem in wrestling going back as long as there's been wrestling. The trick for the restrained wrestler is to make those who hold him or her back work for the privilege and make it seem like they'd really fight if they could. I saw nothing of the sort from Fujinami here. I also agree that the finish was sort of weak after we'd seen real blood and hatred at the beginning, but that's par for the course in this feud too. They need to start building toward whatever the ultimate showdown is in a hurry, whether it's Hash/Tenryu or whatever else, before they ruin this feud beyond any possible hope of salvage. It may be too late already.
May 20, 20178 yr comment_5801049 Anotrher exciting entry of this feud. I did think Hara and especially Kido were a little bit part here to make this a classic but juiced up Fujinami being pissed off creates an awesome visual. Kido coming in with his running headbutts to the stomach after all that piss and vinegar seemed hollow and I was glad to see Tenryu put him away to secure the win. WAR contingent is looking strong on these WAR shows for the month so far. ***3/4
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