Talk about it here.

I expected this to be good but was shocked to find that it was my second or third favorite All-Japan match for the year to date. I just loved the tone they set from the drop, when Fuchi locked up in super-aggressive fashion and bulled Kikuchi into the ropes. Kikuchi's rallies made the match, however. He showed incredible fire with his first flurry of forearms, and his mid-match run of missile dropkicks looked fantastic. Then he had the crowd going crazy with his last, desperate attempts to fight out of trouble down the stretch. It was really signature stuff from him, even though he was just beginning his run as a featured worker. Fuchi wasn't quite as dickish as he would become in the later Jumbo-Misawa six-mans. But he was rock-solid as the tough veteran working on top for most of the way. I imagine this will hold up as the year's second best Japanese juniors match behind Liger-Sano.

I'm glad this made it. The two would play their own nifty roles in the Jumbo & Co. vs Misawa & Co. feud that it's nice to see the perspective of their rivalry starting up at the same time Jumbo-Misawa was. So much of Fuchi's unending run with the Jr. Title felt like Kikuchi's chase of the belt that is was sad that his 5th challenge ended up with him getting clobbered rather than winning.

 

John

I'm amazed by how over Kikuchi is in this. Granted, it's a good match and he does his part well, but he hadn't become part of the Jumbo/Misawa feud on TV yet. Kikuchi was over from the start. Maybe the crowd was pumped because they anticipate a juniors version of Jumbo vs Misawa from 6/8.

I'm amazed by how over Kikuchi is in this. Granted, it's a good match and he does his part well, but he hadn't become part of the Jumbo/Misawa feud on TV yet. Kikuchi was over from the start. Maybe the crowd was pumped because they anticipate a juniors version of Jumbo vs Misawa from 6/8.

Kikuchi has been in the main event of the special 6/30/90 Korakuen Hall card that Kawada-Kobashi was the semifinal of:

 

Jumbo & Kabuki & Fuchi vs Misawa & Taue & Kikuchi

 

I haven't seen it, but it's out there on the lists for the Kawada-Kobashi match:

 

http://www.purocentralshop.com/index.php?a...mp;productId=91

 

Also saw it listed on Dynamic A's comp of the Jumbo & Co. vs Misawa & Co feud.

 

Korakuen Hall, a lot of the same people go to the shows, they were the hardest of the hardcores. My guess is that they had their spots in that match which got Kikuchi over to the hardcores for when they came back 10 days later.

 

Might want to check it out and see if it's worth adding to your archive, Ditch. While not really a major missing link, it's an opening to Kikuchi's part of it.

 

John

This really was a terrific match. Fuchi works holds better than all but a few wrestlers in history, and Kikuchi sells exceptionally well, so it's a good marriage. I thought this was good in the early stages, but the match really went to another level in the last 5-10 minutes. It had the feel that they were trading bombs, even though they really weren't, if that makes any sense at all.

I might not have seen the 6/30/90 6-man. Don't have the disc, and I don't think I've seen the match put online. Lynch has it, so I'll grab it in my next order.

 

As you say, it's not going to be an earth-shaking match to add to anything, but it's probably good. And good is all I need!

From the 6/18/90 WON:

 

June 8 Budokan Hall show, which Dave saw live

 

Fuyuki and Kikuchi beat Taue and Orihara in 11:41. Taue got a big pop coming out and ke kind of reminds fans of a younger Giant Baba. High praise, indeed. Fans hate Fuyuki though I don't know why. He works hard, although he's gained a lot of weight since he got married and is nothing compared to what he was last year. Kikuchi is over strong in the Tokyo area and they threw a lot of streamers when his name was announced but he means nothing outside of Tokyo I'm told.

The Korakuen Hall fans in that period picked out some undercard guys to love. See the Momota Mania of the prior year.

 

It's possible that they were high on Kikuchi at that point, and it caused Baba & Co. to add the Kikuchi element to the Jumbo-Misawa feud when the teams were gradually adjusted. Fuchi had teamed a little bit with Jumbo / Jumbo's group in the May/Jun series. He spent far less time in the comedy matches starting with the July series, and was very clearly defined into Jumbo's group. In turn, Kikuchi started regularly team with Misawa's group.

 

So yeah... I'd be interested to see that 6/30 match as well.

 

I'll have to check the Japanese Wrestling Journal. Korakuen Hall show, it's likely he went to it and there may be some notes.

 

John

Kikuchi was also a guy who was going to get himself over if put in any kind of featured spot. He was such an expressive worker.

Fuchi and Kikuchi always have a great dynamic together and I really love how this is worked like a Big Man vs. Little Man match even though it's two juniors and Fuchi doesn't even do a whole lot of power spots. I get Loss' point about bombs that aren't--the holds are worked so long and intensely, especially the Boston crabs, that any kind of big move comes off as a "bomb," even though neither guy has a lot of those in their arsenal. Kikuchi gets to kick out of the backdrop suplex, so Fuchi has to resort to a German to put the fucker away.

Really great match. Only annoying moment for me was when Wada thought he was Tommy Young or something and kicked Fuchi's hands off the ropes. Fuchis mixes in dickish strikes with cranking out moves so well and Kikuchi was really polished and timed his near falls perfectly. 6/8/90 really set the table for the crowd to buy into the finishes also.

Perfectly fine match to me. Didn't think as high of it as you guys. I like Fuchi but I just prefer him a lot more in tags as he's just so much better as an asshole in those and appreciate his style more against the Misawas, Kawadas, Kobashis, etc. Kikuchi got some close falls near the end but Fuchi got him in the end. Crowd did like Kikuchi.

Interesting little match here. My favorite part was the battle for the Boston crab on both men's parts. I also liked the fact that Kikuchi didn't seem to be intimidated by the veteran Fuchi, which is very important if their rivalry's going to continue.

 

I see what some of you mean about the referee being overly aggressive. Did he usually kick guys' hands off the ropes at times when that would be possible? Every once in a while it's all right, particularly when the heel's been cheating like crazy during a match, but Fucihi wasn't really cheating here as much as he was just wrestling a good, tough bout.

This rocked. Loved Kikuchi's determination and fire. Even from the get-go when streamers are thrown, there's a shot of his face and he looks pissed about the streamers, just super focused. This was a couple years before THE MATCH but Kikuchi is able to create tons of sympathy and has such great fire. And Fuchi works brutal holds and bullies the younger guy. No complaints, this is awesome.

#411

 

This was okay. I expected a bit more action and a bit more wrestling. Instead, it was like a beat down from one of the six-mans.

http://placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-450-401/2/

 

#411 - I enjoyed the fire and comeback punches of Kikuchi. They felt like bombs to me too. I thought this was really good.

This was a good match where they feed off eachother well. A little slow in parts, but some good aggressive flurries and Kikuchi trying to overcome that bastard Fuchi. Fuchi, when he was kicking Kikuchi in the face and then laying in stomps, felt more like Kawada than Actual Kawada at this point. The boston crabbing near the end was solid as was the junior style finishing stretch. Still, I feel like the opening of the match and Fuchi roughing up Kikuchi hinted at something greater, but of course this was just the beginning of their feud.

Fuchi and Kikuchi is tough to go wrong with. Fuchi is still actually kind of nice to Kikuchi here, so that's kind of weird.