This series as a whole reminds me a little of the amazing Fujinami/Hashimoto match from 1998, where it's Fujinami's skill and technique matched up against the ferocity of Hashimoto. '83 Choshu and '98 Hash aren't necessarily the perfect comparison and there are certainly differences across both match-ups, but Choshu was a force of nature around this point and he was maybe never more explosive. Just the way he moves, the way he'll burst into life at any moment, it's sort of mesmerising. The start was about as perfect a way to grab you as you could get, with Choshu trying to waylay Fujinami and Fujinami, knowing he wasn't getting out the way of it, deciding to take a piece of Choshu with him. It's one of the best double clothesline spots ever. I really liked the pacing of the first two thirds, though I could see some folk struggling with it. The grappling is rough and none of it comes easy, even if sometimes the pace slows to a bit of a crawl. It's not particularly flashy, but even the simplest movements are done with real intent and it's all very gripping. Plus when the tempo did drop it felt to me like they were biding time, maybe using that to recuperate a little, because whenever they burst back into life again it was frantic. Throughout all of this we got the TETCHINESS, with both of them throwing slaps out of rope breaks or stalemates, real derisory shit from two guys who do not like each other. When things ramp up in the final third it gets awesome and that stretch run was nuclear. I loved how Choshu's first hammer blow almost came about because Fujinami fell back on his strengths - because why wouldn't he, I guess? - when he grabbed the headlock as containment, only for Choshu to rip off the backdrop. I hadn't watched this series since the DVDVR 80s set 15 years ago so I had no memory of how any of the matches ended. When it went to the floor I figured they were absolutely going to the count out, but then they took it back in and Fujinami hitting the German suplex had me biting huge. Fujinami sells the leg with a bit of subtlety after that, stemming from Choshu's work on it earlier, and maybe in the end that loss of mobility is his undoing because he can't escape getting obliterated with one more lariat. I had this as their second best match together and to the surprise of no one it held up great.
Riki Choshu v Tatsumi Fujinami (New Japan, 4/21/83)
Honestly, I might've liked this one even better! Choshu comes in as the champ this time, Fujinami with his knee bandaged up from whatever happened to it a few weeks earlier, but Choshu is Choshu and champion or not he'll still go for the throat straight out the gate. This time, in a nice twist from before, Fujinami precipitates it as the one who throws the first cheapshot; a slap across the face while the ref' is checking Choshu's boots. Of course Choshu is apoplectic and tries to decapitate Fujinami immediately, but this time, rather than matching it with his own lariat, Fujinami ducks and floors Choshu with a dropkick. If Fujinami is the thinking man's wrestler then he knew exactly how to wave the red cape in Choshu's face. Fujinami goes right to the figure-four leglock from there, probably as a means of keeping Choshu's energy in check, probably as a bit of payback for his own busted leg. I loved the hesitancy and general selling from Choshu after he can finally cause a break, trying to keep his distance from Fujinami who makes no bones about wanting to go after that leg again. Choshu is also not above kicking Fujinami in the knee and in the least shocking turn of events imaginable tries to do just that on more than one occasion. That leg probably writes Choshu's strategy for him and I liked how this time around he wanted the sasori-gatame more than anything. In the last match he was brute force, full steam ahead, but this time it felt like he was using the lariat to set up the submission attempt. When he finally manages to apply it Fujinami refuses to quit so in true Choshu fashion he decides to just body slam him on the guardrail. He already beat Fujinami clean before, why would be balk at a count-out this time around? These guys are pretty much made for each other.
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