Antonio Inoki, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Masa Saito, Seiji Sakaguchi & Dick Murdoch v Tatsumi Fujinami, Nobuhiko Takada, Riki Choshu, Akira Maeda & Super Strong Machine (New Japan, 9/17/87)
The old guard and the new generation explode! I must've been HITTIN' the good whisky back when I put together my DVDVR New Japan ballot because I had this outside my top 30, and that is quite frankly a nonsense of a thing to do because holy smokes what a match. I think the biggest compliment I can give it is that Dick Murdoch and Riki Choshu are both eliminated right away and we see none of what led to that due to a commercial break, and yet 30 seconds later you don't even care because everyone else has dragged you back in. And everyone else was amazing in this. Not a bad or average performance to be had anywhere, just top drawer pro wrestling from all involved. Masa Saito may have been the star though, turning in one of the all-time great thug performances. What a monumental bastard of a man he chose to be on this night. It wasn't even like he was underhanded about it either. There were no cheapshots to speak of, nothing sly, it was all pretty clear and obvious. Clear and obvious in that he was clearly and obviously enjoying being a bastard. He was a total shark in the water, where he'd jump into attack mode and maul someone if the opportunity presented itself, but he was just as likely to go right for the throat of a fresh man as well. Sakaguchi wasn't in this for very long but he was a hoot while he was. He was the sympathetic big lanky kid in school who'd get mugged for his YuGiOh cards even though he was the only one who even played YuGiOh before finally snapping and making the bullies pay dearly. Takada was always eager to throw grenades and he had some great exchanges, especially with Fujiwara who slapped him down to size more than once. Also got wrecked by Saito because Saito was just in one of those moods. Inoki is always a bit of a prick in these matches. He's stupid charismatic and crowds will live and die on anything he does, so whenever he gets in for the first time the building just erupts, but it was always like he enjoyed fucking with people and would tag back out again straight away. This time he came in to a monster pop, immediately took a swing at Fujinami on the apron, and then Fujinami demanded to be tagged in to an even bigger monster pop. Teacher versus student, the old king versus the crowned prince...and Inoki just tags out. I think the first time I saw him do it (I specifically recall him doing it in the first big New Japan v UWF match) I was disappointed, but at this point I sort of like it because I'm pretty sure it's a deliberate wind-up tactic. There were two stretches of the match that stood out to me above the rest and the first was Fujiwara and Maeda reprising their fight from a couple weeks back. Fujiwara goes after the leg again, dogged in forcing the tap and Maeda sells it spectacularly, really milking every near submission while there's a palpable sense that he's going to submit. The desperation roll-up to flip the tables and eliminate Fujiwara was incredible, then Saito came in like a dog with a bone and was fucking amazing smashing Maeda's leg off the mat, twisting him into the prison lock for the huge tap out. The second awesome (or even more awesome) part of the match was the finishing run. Fujinami is left alone against Inoki and Saito and Saito just tries to break his skull open off the exposed turnbuckle. Fujinami is a mess and I love him swinging blindly at Inoki, while Inoki almost looks on regretfully at having to do this to his old pupil. Saito regrets nothing and completely abuses him, biting the exposed wound, hitting multiple Saito suplexes and a sick lariat, picking Fujinami's shoulders up off the mat after every two-count so he can dish out more punishment. Initially the crowd are going crazy because it looks like Fujinami is kicking out, but after the fourth or fifth instance of this it's clear he's not. His legs might be moving like he's TRYING to kick out, but the only reason the shoulders are coming up is because Saito's lifting them. Fujinami is pretty much dead in the water, so Inoki tags himself in, slaps Saito and immediately pins Fujinami to put him out his misery. I thought that finish was fucking sensational. I could see it maybe falling flat for some people, but knowing the history of Inoki and Fujinami, and Inoki and SAITO - who tried to kill each other six months ago - I thought it was a perfect little bit of storytelling that never felt forced or melodramatic or hammy at all. Choshu is irate after the bell. "He was your wee buddy and this is how you treat him?!" I assume. Murdoch has no idea what's happening and Fujinami is carried out with a head bandage the size of a bath towel and this was phenomenal.
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