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[1993-06-01-PWFG-Shinsei] Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Joe Malenko


Loss

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  • 3 weeks later...

Fujiwara stepped out of the spotlight for the majority of his time in PWFG but by the time 1993 came along he had lost a number of his students when they left to form Pancrase. Joe Malenko was already well established in the company's hierarchy at this point but in 1993 he was looking like a star attraction (at least from where I'm standing). In a lot of ways this match showcases Malenko's position in the company and allows him to demonstrate just how incredible his mat assault could be. Of course Fujiwara is no slouch and there is some incredible struggle in here but Malenko still feels like the aggressor. If you love high end mat wrestling there is a lot to love here and a lot of detail to observe.

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  • 1 month later...

This was so much fun, just a pair of true maestros pulling pushing and twisting each other until someone gives. This wasn't an exchange of holds, it was a constant battle by both men to find some advantage or defense. This was really a Malenko show, as he controlled with great takedowns, and constant attacking, with Fujiwara really focused on defense. Of course Fujiwara is the greatest defensive pro-wrestler of all time, so the defense stuff ruled.

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  • 7 months later...

I liked this a lot. Really felt like two guys on the mat just poking and prodding to see if there's a weakness worth exploiting. There's moments where they'll both have a hold of a wrist or ankle and start twisting to see who releases or forces the break first. Fujiwara sprawling out with his head resting on his elbow while he has Malenko in a kneebar was also great, and a Fujiwara spot I always love.

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  • 1 year later...
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  • 1 year later...

I'm surprised no one has noted the awesomeness of Fujiwara arrogantly resting with his head on his hand while going for an armbar. This is a match I've seen numerous and have never really gotten tired of as there's just so much cool shit to watch for and this is so different from anything else out there. Joe has had only a few PWFG matches at this point and this is by far his biggest opportunity yet, so he's seems eager to prove himself by pressing the action. Malenko has more of a background in pro-style matwork than in shoot-style matwork, but he does an excellent job adapting to the setting and even bringing in adaptions of pro-style moves. Watch for him to go for stuff like a hammerlock takedown, an armdrag, and a crossface. Even though he's the aggressor, it's mostly Fujiwara who ends up controlling the early action on the mat and getting his opponent in real danger. After making Malenko use up two rope breaks, Fujiwara gets a bit cocky with the aforementioned moment of arrogance and ends up having to use a rope break himself. The camera unfortunately doesn't catch exactly what Malenko did to make Fujiwara use up a rope break, but I love Fujiwara's selling of disbelief in the aftermath. Following that, the match settles into a size vs. technique dynamic with Malenko trying to use his larger frame to repeatedly takedown Fujiwara and keep him grounded while Fujiwara fights back with some slick counters. I really appreciated the constant movement and struggle from both guys throughout all of it. Thought the crowd was great with them quietly watching the match and then rewarding the guys with a loud applause whenever a break happened. Finish comes when Malenko gets a bit too cute by doing a front chancery and Fujiwara sinks in a classic flash armbar. Great look of smugness on Fujiwara immediately after the victory. One of my favorite mat-based matches overall and I think this smokes a lot of highly pimped lucha stuff like Dandy/Azteca.

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  • 2 months later...
I'm a Joe Malenko fan. Largely because he's a great grappler, and, well.. that's it. This is largely worked as two expert carny grapplers twisting eachother where they can and find out breaks first. Parts of it came across as high end pro style matwork, altough that only added to my enjoyment. There is working "stiff", as in hitting eachother hard, and there is working "stiff" as in making your body stiff to prevent movement and put restraint against the other guys attacks, and there was a ton of that here aswell as lots of low end blocking and high end countering going on. They basically start working on the ankles with a bunch of twisting and knee grinding before moving up the body to arm attacks until Malenko finally gets the grovit on Fujiwara's head in the climax of the match. Subtle bout, not much to it really, but one of my favourite fights ever.
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  • 3 months later...

This was great. No striking, very few throws or takedowns, but tons of excellent matwork -- in particular, the opening scramble was really good, with Joe showing off his responsiveness to Fujiwara, maintaining control of the leg even as Fujiwara is trying to roll out. The build to the Fujiwara armbar was done well, with Yoshiaki scooting down to the mat in various attempts. But in classic Fujiwara fashion, he takes a moment to boredly rest his chin on his hand while he's trying to snag an armbar. I also really liked how he used the knee on Malenko's chin to escape his control. Sure, there were lulls in the action but the attention to detail, the slick counters and reversals, and the tension built through submission attempts create a technically sweet mat-based encounter.

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  • GSR changed the title to [1993-06-01-PWFG-Shinsei] Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Joe Malenko
  • 5 months later...

Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Joe Malenko - PWFG 6/1/93

Doing a live watch. I love Fujiwara so any time something with him get recommended I have to watch. This was nominated for Greatest Match Ever. PWFG is a huge blind spot. I dont know what has and has not been touted. It does not seem as prolific as the Original UWF or RINGS. I have seen two Joe Malenko matches in my life so excited to see some more. Pretty basic takedowns thus far. Pretty cautious wrestling. Fujiwara seems to go away in the 90s besides a really great Hashimoto match in '94 and Tenryu match in '97 (both are underrated). and of course the Takada classic in '90.  Fujiwara is the opposite of Chono as his breathing adds to the match instead of being distracting. They are doing a bundle of leg locks. But both have their two holds so sunk in that it is pretty good. Joe relents and grabs the ropes. Only Volk Han is better at that spot and thats a spot that is usually a real killer for me. Malekno gets a nice hammerlock. Good squeal from Fujiwara. Fujiwara uses his own abdomen to block the hammerlock. Fujiwara comes up trying for a double wristlock, but Malenko blocks by keeping his arm forward. Fujiwara grabs the ankle lets go and they stand up. Shake hands. Thats nice. Good hipblock/oo-soto-gari takedown by Malenko. Joe is thinking short arm scissors but Fujiwara blocks and evades. Fujiwara gets a front chancery and Malenko muscles him into the ropes.  Joe takes him down more forcefully and pounces into a toehold. Fujiwara reverses efficiently into a cross-armbreaker attempt as Joe is moving towards the ropes. Fujiwara casually puts his hand to head to say he is resting. He is a cheeky bastard and I love it. Fujiwara gets his takedown and is trying for his armbar, but Joe blocks. Nice bridge by Joe to reverse. This is all matwork. Very tight and great struggle. Fujiwara is just grabbing joints from crazy positions. Fujiwara is the one who needs the ropes when his toehold fails. This is grapplefuck to the highest degree. No strikes. No highspots. Even the takedowns arent that exciting. Basic takedowns a lot of them falling together. It is all grappling and chaining on the mat. Joe is starting to dominate nice crossface and headscissors. Fujiwara squeals are so important to sell all this. Fujiwara stands up with a hold of the leg. They are all wrapped up. I cant tell who has who, but in a good way! They are both attacking and defending. Joe applies a modified Crippler Crossface but Fujiwara rolls into and gets a full mount. Fujiwara is close to a top wristlock. Joe gets on his stomach and sit outs into a Fujiwara armbar on Fujiwara! Fujiwara uses his legs to get on his toes and drive out of the hold. This is high end technical wrestling. Malenko gets a double wristlock from underneath that looks like it could be a finishers, but again Fujiwara is using his weight balance to block some of the move to avoid the maximum damage. Fujiwara kind of had an armbar, but they ended up in the ropes. Joe locks into a front chancery more conventional oo-soto-gari takedown with the back heel trip. Joe gets on top with a side mount looking for a double wristlock. It is a top one. Fujiwara ends up on top, I got to rewind, I missed that. Fujiwara scissors the leg causing pain to Joe and that allowed Fujiwara to flip him. Malenko gets a headscissors from underneath. Get sell from Fujiwara. Fujiwara has the hands clasped to avoid an armbreaker. Nice short knee by Malenko on top (good Fujiwara sell) and Malenko grabs a front chancery as they stand up. Fujiwara gets out of that into his Fujiwara armabr, center of the ring and thats the finish.  ***3/4

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