Posted October 29, 200816 yr comment_5435434 DVD 10 5/16/86: Matches also on NJ Classics 232 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Kerry Von Erich - They worked evenly, maybe too much so as neither guy really took on a role. Kerry tried to play cocky but wasn't as convincing a dick as Kevin. They came up with a fun claw exchange, as Kerry applied it first to Fujinami's head, then Fujinami countered to Kerry's head, then Kerry countered the counter by going to Fujinami's belly. They teased a double countout (convincing, since that was the typical ending for Von Erich matches in NJ.) But they both beat the 20 and Fujinami pulled a nearfall off his German suplex. Kerry then caught him in a roll-up for the win. Fairly clever match and I was thinking about nominating it, but then the following match reminded me that I like a bit more passion in my wrestling. Kengo Kimura vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara - Kimura was not one of the better workers in NJ. But he could take an unholy beating and pull the crowd in with his fiery rallies. Fujiwara made a perfect opponent as all his stuff looked like it hurt, and he excelled at conveying sadism. Together, they made this random mid-card match more dramatic than it had any right to be. Fujiwara jumped Kimura outside the ring and bloodied him badly. He then worked the cut to the point they were both bathed in Kimura's blood. Kimura attempted his first rally by clocking Fujiwara with a chair. But Fujiwara had the world's hardest head, so that didn't work. Fujiwara then tried to end it with a leg submission. Kimura fought to the ropes. Fujiwara reapplied the hold with more resolve. Again, Kimura fought to the ropes. Fujiwara clenched his teeth to show he was sick of this shit and went to the well one last time. Kimura fought out once more. Kimura sort of rallied at that point, but it felt more like his resilience simply outlasted Fujiwara's will to punish him. So Fujiwara tossed the punk to the outside, threw a few more vicious head butts for good measure and tossed him over the rail to end the match. This succeeded beautifully in getting across Fujiwara's potency but also allowing Kimura a moral victory for his courage. Nomination. Antonio Inoki & Umanosuke Ueda vs. Andre the Giant & The Wild Samoan - These Ueda/Inoki v. Andre matches just aren't working for me. Too much immobility. 5/23/86: Akira Maeda, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, & Osamu Kido vs. Klaus Wallas, The Assassin, & Tony St. Clair - Just a clip of what looked like a squash for the UWF guys. Kengo Kimura vs. Kerry Von Erich - They didn't fit each other. Kerry learned to wrestle as a hero, and a hero would never beat up a guy like Kimura. But the blame went both ways as Kimura failed to convey that he should be taken seriously as Kerry's athletic equal. Seiji Sakaguchi vs. The Masked Superstar - I could see these two having a good straightforward brawl. But here, they worked a bunch of holds. Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, & Umanosuke Ueda vs. Andre the Giant, Dick Murdoch, & The Wild Samoan - Not enough Murdoch and Fujinami to rescue this series from its lethargy.
