[2001-01-28-AJPW] Masa Fuchi vs Jushin Liger

[soup23]

This show really needed a shot in the arm and these grumpy bastards delivered. A brutal but calculating match where Fuchi was shown to look really strong. He does little things throughout this match that just make you delight in the misery he is inflicting on Liger. Stretching his leg out into a full split position and standing on Liger in the corner and posing were both the high water marks. This show cements APW status currently. There are certain wrestlers that I enjoy but the whole show is a nostalgia or variety show vibe. Almost everything up to that point doesn’t land, but this is two veterans but also wrapped around a great story and the finish of Liger catching him with the La Magistral felt appropriate and probably best case scenario for what AJPW was going to show matching up vs. NJJPW in the feud by this point. **** (8.2)

[fxnj]

Found this pretty disappointing mainly due to Liger. Fuchi looked motivated with his prick character work and moving between a nice variety of stretches, but Liger's selling more or less consisted of him laying in the holds and groaning. His counterwrestling was also almost non-existent. A pretty telling sequence came when Fuchi rolled out of one of his holds and basically gave Liger a toe hold opportunity on a silver platter. Liger's response is to get off the mat, throw a few slaps, run the ropes, and then put on his own leg lock while Fuchi has to just passively watch like an idiot. Match picks up slightly before the 10 minute call with a flash Liger armbar. He follows that up with some decent bombs, highlighted by a plancha to the outside. I also liked how Fuchi sold the brainbuster on the outside by laying there and blinking his eyes, like I've seen Misawa and Akiyama do after eating head drops on the outside. Wasn't a fan of Liger kicking out of 3 consecutive backdrops or the flash La Magistral finish right after that.