July 20, 20232 yr comment_6007597 1980-09-19 NJPW Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Johnny Londos Civic Gymnasium, Takaoka, Japan Card ★★★ Despite the middle aged physics teacher vibes, Londos, from the opening exchange, came across as infinitely more legitimate than Tony Rocco ever did. He grabbed the upper hand with a nice headscissor takedown and then proceeded to control Fujinami for the majority of the match. Things seemed pretty much on the up and up until Londos started sprinkling in a few choke holds, but he never overstepped the mark into full heeldom. His strikes, especially the ones sharply thrust into Fujinami’s throat, looked devastating and overall I’d say Fujinami was a bumping machine here, making everything Londos connected with look like gold. The match as a whole didn’t quite reach the 10 minute mark, and I think Londos took 80% of it, which in the end hurt the match. He wasn’t as skilled bumping for Fujinami as Fujinami had been for him, which lessened those moments where Fujinami did try and make a run. Ultimately, when Fujinami snatched the victory with a nifty backslide, it didn’t feel as earned as it potentially could have. I wish this had been given 5-8 more minutes and been a bit more even, then this could have been a real classic.
August 19Aug 19 comment_6033643 You're watching this for Johnny Londos and how Fujinami works with him. And you won't be disappointed. It's under 10 minutes or pretty close to it so I can't say it's a great match..they could have done a minute or two more. But it reminded me of a Dean Malenko vs Steve Regal match from a WCW Nitro (Londos as Regal)...Just snug, entertaining and technical. Very good stuff!
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