The rest of November is now Yoshiaki Fujiwara Month

Yoshiaki Fujiwara v Riki Choshu (New Japan, 6/19/88)

Another fine entry into one of the greatest match-up scrapbooks in history. This wasn't as heated as the two matches from '87, but it had a lot of the same things going for it. Initially I thought they were going to work a more grounded contest, one that wasn't built on Fujiwara being a bastard and forcing Choshu to be the same. They even started with a knucklelock, much like a nice sporting contest might. Then Fujiwara headbutted Choshu dead in the face and I mean DEAD in the face and that was the end of that. I don't know what it is about Choshu but Fujiwara is a man possessed every time he steps in the ring with him. Did he hate him for real? I've never seen him not try to choke the life out of Choshu any time they square off. At one point Choshu was flat on the canvas and Fujiwara stood over him, one foot planted on Choshu's hair to keep him pinned, staring at him in obvious contempt, then let him back up just to slap him as hard as possible. The match slowed down a bit when Choshu took over, but he always has that quality where he'll grind someone down then unleash a huge burst of offence, where even a snapmare will look like it comes from a place of malice. Choshu goes after the leg for a little bit and I love how savage he comes across when he has a guy in the corner. This time he wrapped Fujiwara's leg in the rope and started throwing kicks, hit a couple nasty back elbows to the neck, used his weighty advantage to keep Fujiwara stuck in there, just some really mean corner offence. You still get the sense Fujiwara's biding his time and he even manages a tentative run at a Fujiwara armbar, in case Choshu forgot who he was dealing with. Great bit where Fujiwara is on the apron and Choshu is peppering him with shots, then as Fujiwara steps through the ropes he pauses, waits for Choshu to throw another one, and as he does Fujiwara headbutts him in the stomach. First lariat comes after Fujiwara locks in the armbar too close to the ropes and takes umbrage with the ref' forcing the break, but then he dodges the second and grabs it again out the corner to a massive pop. These two are always great at milking that big lariat into Fujiwara armbar counter in their matches and people go nuts for it every time. Choshu cracking Fujiwara with a punch as the latter winds up for a headbutt was incredible and not a single person in history is better at selling a lariat decapitation than Fujiwara.