Talk about it here.

Fujiwara tries playing it cool and wrestles like a sportsman. However, Wilkins wants to keep cheapshotting him with strikes, slapping him on the ear multiple times, kneeing him in the back of the head and so on. Fujiwara gives him a few warnings, but Wilkins doesn't take heed, so Fujiwara sets out to beat Wilkins at his own game, since he chose to go in that direction. And just because he can, he's still going to tie him in knots on the mat too. Fujiwara doing this while also doing a relaxed pose to mock Wilkins was a great moment, but he sells the impact of what Wilkins is doing enough that too much shouldn't be read into that. It's not like he took him lightly. The point of this seemed to be to establish that Fujiwara will outclass your ground game, but he also has a mean streak that he's willing to bring out if provoked. And when will people learn to just leave their ankles lying around near this guy? This was a fantastic match with a great narrative. Wilkins doesn't have an act nearly as dimensional as Fujiwara's, but he doesn't need one in order for the match to work. In some ways, that's the whole point.

Damn was this a blast. This was worked as a mat brawl, both guys were exchanging really nasty shots mostly on the mat. Short punches to the temple by Wilkins, almost JYDish seated headbutts by Fujiwara, Wilkins kind of leaping from a lying position into a knee on Fujiwara's throat. Fujiwara was almost working heel here, as he slaps on a kneebar and lays out in a supine lounging position with his head resting on his elbow, he almost looks like he is stifling a yawn. Wilkins is great, he has nice deadlift suplexes and takes Fujiwara's signature boston crab reversal as a dangerous neck bump. Is their any other shoot Wilkins out there? Did he work Kingdom or something?

This was a good bout between the 2. The mat brawl is a good description. Fujiwara is a master.

Of the 3 increasingly broad and theatrical shoot-style matches from these debuting promotions, this is the broadest yet, with a Boston crab attempt and reversal and Fujiwara lounging in a leg scissors, resting his hand on his hands. I think UWFI had the best of the 3 matches we saw, since that was one that could go either way while the other 2 were to put over each company's top star, but this is still very good.

Wilkins was a top-notch offensive wrestler as we saw in his 1990 match against Waltman. I loved how he tried to get nasty with Fujiwara, which is the rough equivalent of trying to pinch a crab. Fujiwara's almost casual joy in taking him out was a lot of fun to watch.

Is their any other shoot Wilkins out there?

I liked his match with Fuke from Will's PWFG set.

Yeah this was an old review when I watched the show, liked the Fuke match quite a bit. I put together the PWFG set for Will so I know all of that stuff

I was roughly 99.9% sure of that but also figured it would be worth noting for others. Telling you to watch PWFG is not really necessary...

Fujiwara throwing a couple suplexes in the match and you get the sense he knows he's the better man in the match. The relaxed pose he pulled off while holding the heel hook was great. Wilkins was getting pissed at all this stuff and is willing to trade headbutts in close position and smack Fujiwara in the ear multiple times. Fujiwara gets the heel hook again and no messing around this time as he cranks it in. Enjoyable match.

Love seeing all the different shoot style groups on display. Wilkins bring such a zanyness to these matches that is infectious and him vs. Fuji is great pairing work. I thought the finish was a little abrupt but the structure and work was a lot of fun.

Could someone please tell me how PWFG bouts are scored? The UWF kept track of its knockdowns and rope breaks on the screen, but this outfit doesn't.

 

I have no idea who this Wellington Wilkins Jr. is, mostly because I haven't gotten to his match with Waltman yet. But he's an idiot for trying to match headbutts with Fujiwara.

 

This didn't look like the hardest match in the world for Fujiwara. I'll be interested to see how he fares as PWFG gets going a little more.

Wilkins did some work as a TV jobber for the WWF, and had a semi-infamous appearance as "Wee Willie Wilkins" for Crockett, getting the shit legit kicked out of him by the Midnight Express. Most of his other work seems to have come later, for Michinoku Pro.

Thanks for the info, Pete!

#321

 

I haven't watched this since the days when I was renting PWFG tapes from Champion. This was a lot of fun. It wasn't high end shoot style and not a classic like Fujiwara's bouts with Vale, Fuke and Malenko, but it's Fujiwara. One of my all-time favourites taking an opponent to school. That'll wash the taste out of your mouth from any bad wrestling experience.

#321 - placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-350-301/2/

 

Yeah, like others, I loved the mat brawling. The strikes to the head and ear of Fujiwara, poking the bear, sucked you into the narrative.

This might even be marginally better than Sano vs. Shamrock. Wilkins gets needlessly aggressive and violent early on and pays for it dearly. The sportsmanship vanishes and Fujiwara's sadistic and arrogant side is revealed as he begins to take Wilkins to school. Brutal strikes, character work and classic storytelling. 

I did love Wilkins "poking the bear" as it were. And then Fujiwara's absolute delight in playing Wilkins' own game put an even bigger smile on my face. The more Fujiwara I see, the more I love the guy.

Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Wellington Wilkins Jr. - PWFG 5/19/91

Pull up a seat and welcome to the Yoshiaki Fujiwara show, the pleasure will most assuredly be all yours. It is all your favorite Fujiwara tricks. This is from the second ever PWFG show and to me this the perfect match. You have your Ace in a showcase match doing what he does best. He is never in any trouble, but you get a feel for everything Fujiwara can do so down the line you can build drama. They grab you attention immediately with Fujiwara's great Boston Crab reversal and Wilkins takes a header for that. Wilkins starts smacking Fujiwara in the head like Fujiwara is a dumbass. Joke is on you, brutha. You are the dumbass. Fujiwara hits him with one of his wicked headbutts and then fucking CRACKS him with a slap in the corner. This is Fujiwara in full "Fuck you" mode and it is glorious. Wilkins keeps trying to play Fujiwara's game of smacking him and in turn Fujiwara hits him twice as hard and twice as much. At one point, Fujiwara has Wilkins in a legbar and just has his head and his head leisurely reclining, if it was anyone else I would be pissed, but I love Fujiwara. I thought the finish was pretty anti-climatic. Just a standard legbar. This is a very fun exhibition of what Fujiwara can do, but he was never in any actual danger, but boy did it put a big smile on my face! ***3/4

 

Pissed off Fujiwara is the best Fujiwara. Wilkins takes down Fujiwara early and this annoys Fujiwara, so he starts slapping him, headbutting him and all sorts of other things to try and get Wilkins to crack. Fujiwara striking a post whilst grappling on the mat was brilliant. There are moments in the later parts of the match that don't keep my attention and the finish isn't exactly exciting, but Fujiwara injecting a lot of personality into the usually dry world of shoot-style is enough for me to give this my recommendation. 

★★★¼