[2006-09-25-MUGA] Tatsumi Fujinami vs Osamu Nishimura

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[dawho5]

This was a beautiful wrestling match. Two out of three falls. Intense early exchange leads to a quick fall for Nishimura. Fujinami is on the defensive and Nishimura picks apart the left arm. It's clear from the start that Fujinami wants to go after Nishimura's leg, and he finally starts to get some work done on it in a very cool way (within the match). Nishimura comes up with some excellent (in context, again) counters to the legwork. It's no dice for Nishimura as the fall ends with Fujinami evening things up in a fashion that leaves little hope for Nishimura. Fujinami has an injury that needs tending in between falls, one that Nishimura can attack. The desperation stuff by Nishimura during the last fall is so awesome. The highspot of the match is a teased suplex off the apron as Nishimura gets cut off by Fujinami trying to get back in the ring. Nishimura lets his pride get the better of him very near the end. Can he weather the storm and pull out one of his flash victory-from-the-jaws-of-defeat moments or will Fujinami put him away? Nishimura's selling of the leg throughout is so very incredible. As are his elbows. And Fujinami's dynamic change from early to mid-match is really great. I love the way these two adapt so fluidly, but never at a pace that suggests a lack of struggle. This is a firm number 2 for me. Sorry Akira Taue, but the awesome simplicity and execution of this match trump NOAH style any day of the week..

[Superstar Sleeze]

Osamu Nishimura vs Tatsumi Fujinami - MUGA 9/25/06 Two Out of three Falls

 

Nishimura's performance in this reminded me of Sasuke's in Sasuke vs Dragon or Suzuki's in Suzuki vs Mutoh. They are all giving these out of the world great performances, but their opponents are just not up to snuff. It is interesting because Dragon, Mutoh and Fujinami had all slowed down a lot in terms of output in the middle of the decade. You could see they could still be carried by an opponent that was firing on all cylinders, but they just did not have enough gas in the tank to match their opponent.

If the tone set in the first fall was maintained throughout the match then you would have a MOTDC on your hands. Nishimura starts off aggressive with European Uppercuts that would make Dory Funk Jr. proud. Fujinami seems a bit taken aback, but is able to use the aggression against him and snap off a Dragon Leg Screw. He goes for the Figure-4, but an inside cradle nabs the first fall for Nishimura. It only lasted under a minute, but it was an incredible fall.

The second fall they get a little too cute for me. They seem more keen on showing off. Instead of flips, it is bridge outs and double wristlock takedowns. An exhibition is an exhibition. Fujinami rides high on a leg lace and gets caught in a short arm scissors. Nishimura applies a cross-armbreaker. The New Japan timekeeper has the hammer raised in case there was a submission and I agree with him. If you respect the cross-armbreaker, I respect you. I do NOT respect you, Mr. Fujinami. Of course, I am being facetious, but it is my number one pet peeve when wrestlers treat the cross armbreaker like a headlock. It is at best them not keeping up with the times and at worst being ignorant and lazy. Yes, I thought Fujinami's performance was lazy at times. This match is the ultimate missing the forest for the trees match. You have Fujinami doing great little things like lunging for the ropes with his feet, but not selling his arm. Or Nishimura working the injured finger of Fujinami while in a cross armbreaker, but why does it matter because Fujinami has killed the viability of the cross armbreaker as a finish. To be fair to Fujinami, Nishimura did bridge out of a cross-armbreaker, which is pretty ludicrous. Basically this match took a big shit on the cross armbreaker.

Now, once the match moved from Nishimura on offense to Fujinami on offense the match got a million times better. Just like the Sasuke match, Dragon was not interested in selling and neither was Fujinami. However, put them on top and have the wrestler who wants to work on bottom and you got magic. Fujinami goes after Nishimura's knee with a swift low kicks like Inoki in Inoki/Ali. Nishimura bails. Fujinami targets the knee, but Nishimura in desperation goes for Fujnami's knee with a spinning toe hold, shades of Dory Funk Jr, BABY! Fujinami kicks him off and a figure-4 knots it all up.

 

 

What I love about Nishimura matches, is you understand how this can be a double edged sword. Yes, you are getting time to walk it off and break up your opponent's momentum, but you are giving him the high ground. With the high ground, the opponent can dictate the match and make it very difficult for you to get back into the ring. I used to say that Akira Taue was the undisputed king of working the apron, but damn if I see more Nishimura that could change. Nishimura rocks Fujinami with a European Uppercut and crashes burns with a bombs away knee drop. What a dumbshit! He blocks the figure-4 and is able to bail. Nishimura is fed up with all this bullshit on the apron and says you want my knee you can have it, but you will not have ME, FUJINAMI! Fujinami attacks the knee and pulls him into the ring. He applies the sleeper to sap that last bit of fight out of him. Fujinami applies the figure-4 and just when you think he has it, Nishimura reverses the pressure and Fujinami has not alternative, but to submit.

 

This is pretty much on par with the Saito match. Saito does not feel as much of a threat as Fujinami even though he wins the match so this match had more in terms of drama. Saito works a lot harder than Fujinami, who only seemed interested in being on offense. Nishimura gives two tremendous performances within two months of each other. We need more Nishimura footage. The finish is a lot hotter in this one and that is usually my tiebreaker so I have this one edging out the Saito match. ****

[Childs]

Both the MUGA nominees are absolute treasures, and the only difficulty will be deciding which should go higher. The Saito match maybe felt a little more vicious, but this one featured some of the best dueling legwork I've seen, complete with terrific selling by Nishimura and some of the best king-of-the-mountain work this side of Nick Bockwinkel. Fujinami was one of the greatest of all time, so I guess it shouldn't be shocking he had one last gem in his bag, especially when matched with a first-class technician and protege. But this match exceeds my expectations every time I watch it.

[superkix]

Nishimura steals the show with his well-sold defensive performance, intuition, and sense of struggle. I loved the way the figure-four played such a central role in this match, with Nishimura scouting it early on and turning the attempt into a small package to pick-up a fall. His selling during the final fall is fantastic and he's able to block the figure-four attempts, finally reversing the third attempt to submit Fujinami in a...well, odd finish, but you could tell Fujinami's knees weren't in great shape to begin with.

[Microstatistics]

Is there a better teacher vs. pupil match is wrestling history than this? Just an outstanding mat clinic with intense exchanges, layered strategy, tons of struggle and neat details based on character dynamics. Probably Nishimura's career performance with Fujinami turning on the old magic just one more time. **** 1/2

[Matt D]

This match was a pretty interesting mix of old and new. For the most part, everything in it could have happened twenty years earlier (maybe even thirty) with very little change. There were structural flourishes that I don't think would have happened that way though. The 2/3 falls stip made it feel like a 70s match but then I think it's very unlikely you would have seen that first fall (an almost immediate roll up out of a figure four attempt) happen before 1990. There was a certain self-awareness to it all which doesn't exist in the dueling limb battles of the 80s, for instance, and it both helps and hurts the match. I do think it makes it more unique. I liked the fact that nothing was overly tricked out, that they were using basic, straightforward holds and using them well to get across their story.

 

There are a lot of smaller things to look at here. I'm a sucker for the short arm scissors and this match is the most short arm scissory match I've ever seen. Nishimura's is just so good. I love in his armwork segment how he'd use the cross arm breaker not as an end but as a means to get back into the short arm scissors. I really enjoyed the way they transitioned into Fujinami's legwork, as he went after the hand/arm in revenge just long enough to get the distance/control he needed to target the area he wanted to target. Both guys sold well. Fujinami whacking his own hand repeatedly to keep the feeling in it worked. Nishimura has this very stoic face which is a tool he can utilize in showing emotion (as it shifts it completely).

 

I'm very iffy on the finish. There were things I liked. I liked Nishimura gutting it out and really calling out Fujinami for what he was doing with the attacks on the apron. He basically just put his leg there and made the whole world see what Fujinami was doing, basically asking him if it was worth it. It was a very cool moment. The turning over of the figure four as a finish didn't work for me though. Nishimura did get some leg shots in during the last third of the match but having never seen a submission on a reversed figure four in my life, I don't think it was entirely earned in context. I would have liked it more if he reversed the figure four and then used the break to put on some armlock for the finish. Overall, I think it's a unique match well worth watching.

[Jetlag]

This has a rep for being a 70s/80s throwback match involving two renowned japanese technicians. But it's really all about the close quarter fighting and Fujinami kicking the living hell out of his student. The psychology is great and Grade A material to demonstrate how top level workers would condition their audience. Exactly like you'd see in Fujinami/Inoki etc. Every move can lead to a finish or a deciding momentum swing, damage that you take is important, pin combos are finishers, positioning is important, etc. There is not a ton of matwork here, but they had a cool vibe going, as both guys would use the short arm scissor to weaken an arm and then go for an armbar and really crank back, there's also those great Nishimura bridges. Note how violent something like Nishimuras armbreakers feel. The core story comes in when Fujinami just dashes after a retreating Nishimura with low kicks in the corner. Fujinami going out of his way to sell a minuscule low kick in a big way is another example of great psychology. Some great close quarter fighting over Nishimura getting in the ring ensues, with his attempts to regain the advantage backfiring and him being forced to survive several Figure 4 attempts (with the pushing the leg back defense becoming IMPORTANT). The super basic finish may seem random and weird but I actually liked it if you consider Fujinami was a brittle old man at this point (as indicated by his selling and easy defeat earlier). The 2006 MOTY?