[1992-01-04-NJPW-Starrcade 1992 in Tokyo Dome] Riki Choshu vs Tatsumi Fujinami

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Good match, but not at the level of the Tenryu match a year later. Still, Choshu's style is really well-suited for dome shows. Fujinami I think could have done way more than he did. Not sure if that was a conscious decision to put Choshu over strong or what.

[Tim Evans]

Decent match but it felt like just when it was getting good, it was over. Felt like both guys were going through the motions.

[glea diddy]

Not much more to add here then what's already been said I think. Pretty good match with a finish I liked, Choshu killing Fujinami dead with the lariat.

[goodhelmet]

Too bad I haven't done previous years for the yearbooks but I think I would like to see how these matches hold up in sequence of the feud. It might not hold up individually but may work really well as the next match in the series.

[stunning_grover]

12 min. Good match. This match was for Tatsumi Fujinami’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship and Riki Choshu’s NJPW Greatest 18 Championship (which is a championship that was awarded to Choshu in 1990). The one and only Antonio Inoki entering the ring after the main event made the match and the entire show seem even more important.

[JerryvonKramer]

I thought this was missing something. Don't think it ever really got going, Fujinami looked bored. The appearance of Inoki made me think that this was a massive deal though.

[El-P]

Choshu killing Fuji at the end of the match never gets old. Good match, but not a great Dome spectacle. Fuji was a shadow of his former self by this point.

[Kevin Ridge]

Was alright but didn't feel like the quality match to end a big dome show. Action was good but in the end felt a bit too short as far as a match. Wasn't bad but needed a couple more minutes to lead into the finish.

[MikeCampbell]

Eh, this didn't do much for me, other then Fujinami's counter to Chosyu's backdrop. And coming after a fun Steiners tag match didn't really do any favors.

[Zenjo]

Didn't feel like a big match, no thanks to the typically shitty Dome atmosphere. This venue sucks for wrestling. I loved this rivalry in the 80's but it was stale bread now. A low key bout in which Lariato went over with conviction.

[WingedEagle]

Fujinami's dropkicks looked great even if the match itself was far from a world title classic. Choshu certainly went over strong at the end with the lariats, though it felt a little lacking in the drama / high stakes department for an IWGP title change. Ichi Ni San Da! Can't forget who counts here.

 

***

[PeteF3]

This was good but the intensity from these guys' '80s feud is long, long gone. Fujinami looks better than he did for most of '91 but he's still a deteriorated guy who's continually falling back-asswards into good matches rather than a truly standout worker. There's still a lot of time for him to improve again but watching him in these settings, I find it absolutely bewildering that this guy would hold the IWGP title again in 1994.

 

It's not like trying to power bomb Kidman because it's a universal hold, but I don't really care if I never see that YOU CAN'T HEADLOCK RIKI CHOSHU spot ever again. At least Fujinami had the decency to reverse it here.

[garretta]

Compared to their wars throughout the eighties, this wasn't much at all. It started tepid and pretty much finished the same way except for Choshu's lariats, which always get a pop. Fujinami didn't look washed up to me, but this match really isn't the best one to tell about stuff like that, since the pace was so slow. The only really crisp move of the bout from him was the dropkick he caught Choshu with on his first lariat attempt. The rest was a rather plodding exhibition of knucklelocks and submission holds that didn't come even close to being effective. The best matches between these two are behind both of them.

 

The postmatch ceremony didn't do much for me either. Was it supposed to be a formal passing of the New Japan torch from Inoki to Choshu?

[Eegah]

I wish this would have gone longer because I did enjoy the match but thought there was a lot of meat left on the bone afterwards. New Japan at the time wasnt into as many long drawn out bouts so just a product of the environment. I love both these guys and thought they both looked good, Fujinami running the ropes is a thing of beauty. Choshu looking non plussed about posing with the belts afterwards got a chuckle out of me. Giant chin sends the crowd home happy by getting on the mic post match. *** 1/4

[soup23]

A good match but it does feel like it ends so abruptly and we never get that extra gear that you as the viewer keep hoping around for. The matwork was done well but the Scorpion was prolonged and wasn't built to particularly well on this night. choshu does get a big win but it doesn't feel as substantial given the way the finish played out. *** (6.1)

[dawho5]

Choshu the singles wrestler has a habit of not impressing me. This is another instance of that. Fujinami seemed pretty listless here as well, and we get a mostly average result.