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[1990-02-09-UWF-with '90 2nd] Akira Maeda vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara


Loss

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This was less of a brawl then their matches usually are, as they seemed more interested in really hitting the mat hard. Of course being Maeda and Fujiwara they interspersed the counter wrestling with some violence. Meada counters an ankle pick with a WOS leg stretch and Fujiwara responds with a diving headbut right into Maeda’s mouth, and Maeda counters a leg grapevine by drilling Fujiwara in the mouth and then the back of the head. Fujiwara is truly the master of the wrestling finish, as they basically switch the awesome finish of the Miyato v. Suzuki match, with Maeda using the choke to counter the ankle pick. This wasn’t their best match against each other, but fuck that is such a high bar.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I thought this was awesome. It was one of the first times I think I've really seen what others see in Fujiwara. So many great pieces of attention to detail that were totally not there in Yamazaki/Anjoh the month before. I'm so impressed at how effortless Fujiwara makes this stuff look.

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God bless Fujiwara for continuing to work the iron head gimmick. This is so much more flowing and organic and focused than the Takada match it isn't funny, with Maeda again fighting from underneath as Fujiwara seems to have an answer for his kicks, constantly getting him into anklelocks and leg scissors and Maeda has to fight his way back to his feet. Maeda gets in a sleeper once and gets it in again a second time when Fujiwara leans a little too far back in a leg grapevine, and that gets the chokeout. Fujiwara took a nasty shot that I missed, but we get the image of him spitting out blood as he's going out. These guys had an NJPW match that I think finished in the top 15-20 that I thought was overrated as fuck, but this was pretty good.

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Really mat based match but everything was applied tightly and Fujiwara added in a lot of nice touches. Finish was really brutal with Fuji locking in the ankle lock but him being too attached to the hold and that being is downfall as he gets choked out from Maeda. This seems like a match that has more of a lasting positive effect than an emotional roller coaster while the match is taking place.

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They went for a very different dynamic than in most of their matches, with Fujiwara actually landing more meaningful strikes and Maeda ultimately outworking him on the mat. I always mark out for Fujiwara's driving shootstyle headbutts, and they were on excellent display here. The finish, with Fujiwara seeming to pull out a desperation leg submission only to fall into the choke, was nifty. It left the live crowd flat but on tape, it was nifty. This is one of my favorite match-ups in wrestling, and I have to admit I find it a little more stirring when Maeda is stalking Fujiwara with kicks and Fujiwara is rolling away from the blows James-Toney-style as he probes for a submission opening. So, good as this was, it fell short of their peak.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 5 months later...

Decent enough match here, but I was left feeling a little unimpressed. Nice looking headbutts from Fujiwara and a nice finish with Maeda choking out Fujiwara while he was bleeding from the mouth. Overall I would just say this match was a good shoot style match.

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  • 2 months later...
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  • 11 months later...

I thought Fujiwara had made Maeda tap until I saw the referee raise Maeda's arm. If I hadn't seen the chokeout on replay, I would have never known about it. If you can't tell the finish of the match without replay, something's wrong with it. Much like Parv and Zoo, shoot style's not proving to be my thing for the most part.

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  • 10 months later...

A continuation of their 87 NJ feud. The diving headbutt out of the leglock thing was so brutal and awesome. I like this style in general and I enjoy the Takada's and the Anjoh's, but what really makes it work is when a legit shooter is in there making everything really believable and natural feeling. I love the tempo and pacing of these matches where it'll be really slow, then a stiff strike, then back to the mat, then someone gets a submission hold and the crowd pops, etc. The finish was really well done and what a great shot of Fujiwara passing out while trying to hold on to the ankle lock and bleeding from the mouth. Probably the best UWF match on the set so far.

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  • GSR changed the title to [1990-02-09-UWF-with '90 2nd] Akira Maeda vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara
  • 2 years later...

The first match of its kind I've managed to sit through. I think watching without the sound helped as I find the grunting and silent crowd off-putting. I still don't really get the style but I liked the escalation of violence and Fujiwara's punches and headbutts were awesome . Excellent visual at the end as the bloody Fujiwara gets choked out. More stuff like this and I think I could get into it.

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  • 2 years later...

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