Posted October 11, 200816 yr comment_5435125 DVD #7 3/22/85 (taped 3/21) Kimura vs. David Shultz - Actually a decent little match as Kimura's fiery comeback forced Shultz to resort to taking the double countout. This was a bit of a formula for Kimura, but hey, it worked in distinguishing him from what he'd been two years earlier. Hiro Saito vs. Ueda - I really dug this bloody end to a mentor-protege relationship gone wrong. NJ didn't run many matches built around brawling through the crowd, weapons and blood, so when they did, it stood out. Saito was willing to bleed with the best of them, and Ueda was good as a spent older wrestler who had to resort to the dirty stuff. I'll nominate it as a fun counterpoint to most of what will appear on this set. Shunji Takano/Fujinami vs. Strong Machines - Action-packed tag that might've been headed for a nomination sans the abrupt DQ due to machine interference. Brody showed up before Inoki's match, drawing a big pop from the crowd. He offered to shake Inoki's hand, but Inoki blew him off. We might want to use this as an extra if we end up nominating a match or matches from their feud. Inoki vs. Higgins - An excellent five-minute match. Higgins came out aggressively and Inoki had to up his own game to overcome. I'm not sure there was enough to it to merit a nomination. But it was one of the best short matches I've seen the promotion crank out. 3/29/85 (taped 3/29) Episode started with a Brody interview talking about the epic nature of his upcoming match with Inoki. Again, possible extra. Kimura/Fujinami vs. Strong Machines - Maybe the best tag match I've seen involving the Machines, and I think it's because Fujinami and Kimura decided to work a more back and forth structure rather than giving the heels a long control segment. They were simply better offensive wrestlers than the Machines so it made for better action. Fujinami looked particularly fired up here. Machines were perfectly fine too when they went on the attack against Kimura. They hued to the heel role by tossing him outside to their compatriots when they needed to regain momentum. I didn't mind the DQ clusterfuck ending, because it sprung from Fujinami's desire to get his hands on the whole faction and not just the two opponents in the ring with him. I'll throw it on the block though it's certainly not an upper-ballot candidate. Shunji Takano vs. Billy Jack - Poor Takano was the designated jobber of the moment for shitty Americans. Sakaguchi/Inoki vs. Adrian Adonis/Dick Murdock - Another really solid tag match. Surprisingly, Sakaguchi was the standout. I liked that when Adonis and Murdoch tried to isolate him in the corner, he fought like hell to get out and often succeeded. He threw lots of stiff knees and busted Murdoch's nose with a punch. Also, it's always fun to see Inoki take a turn at FIP. The ending seemed a bit abrupt but this struck me as another nomination.
