This was a match between two old masters, who at this point in time weren't really that old. Murdoch was 40, Fujiwara 38. But they worked it as a pair of guys who'd been around the block and seen all the tricks. Which I guess they were, really. Fujiwara had been wrestling for 15 years, although we still only have about half of that on tape. By 1987 Murdoch was a 21-year pro. So they WERE old masters, just maybe not truly OLD. In fact you could make a real strong argument that both were at their absolute peaks. I've watched probably 90% of the Murdoch footage we have from 1985-1987 and he might be one of the top three wrestlers in the world over that stretch. I've watched even more Fujiwara from that period and 1986-1987 Fujiwara is DEFINITELY top three in the world and I can tell you he's not two or three. '87 Fujiwara is as good as any wrestler I've ever seen, one of the greatest to ever do it at his very best. So we have two old masters who know all the tricks, many of them they invented, at the peak of their powers. I mean, shit, obviously it fucking ruled. It wasn't what I'd call tetchy, if anything it was pretty sporting, mostly clean as a whistle, but there was a hesitancy here and it's probably because they each knew the other would take a mile if you gave them an inch. You think Murdoch wouldn't still rabbit punch you in the cheek even if he was playing nice? Would you be at all shocked if Fujiwara headbutted you in the face while shaking your hand? Fuck no you wouldn't. Murdoch lifted Fujiwara up out of a headlock and sat him on the top turnbuckles, then a minute later Fujiwara did the exact same. Murdoch was impressed enough to applaud it and even asked the crowd to show their own appreciation. Part of me wondered if it wasn't him being condescending or he was trying to lure Fujiwara into thinking this would be a gentleman's contest, but over the course of the match he proved that no, it wasn't bullshit and maybe he really did just respect our boy Fujiwara. The first 10 minutes were largely built around Fujiwara trying to apply the Fujiwara armbar and Murdoch finding ways to avoid it, each escape a touch more desperate than the last. Well really the match as a whole was built around that but the first 10 minutes had most of the grappling. I struggle to watch anything these days for half an hour but I could watch these two work in and out of holds for half an hour no problem at all. The first time Fujiwara went for the armbar Murdoch immediately dipped out the ring like he knew he needed no part of it. He knew what the armbar meant. Murdoch was 100% pro wrestling and sometimes against the UWF guys, or a few years later against the Russians, he'd still react to and sell some of the shoot holds like they were pro wrestling holds. Now and then he'd sell a cross armbreaker like it was a hammerlock, wriggling to the ropes for the break rather than scrambling like his arm was about to snap. When Fujiwara grabbed the armbar he was URGENT and the crowd picked up on it right away. He even wagged a finger at Fujiwara like no thank you my good man I will not be throwing beer cans at street signs with my OTHER arm tonight. Of course Murdoch's big weapon is the brainbuster and Fujiwara is pretty much built to counter that, which he almost does a couple times. Murdoch kipping up out of a wristlock is always great because you maybe sometimes forget how much of a proper athlete Captain Redneck is, then Fujiwara nearly rips him into another armbar you almost fall out the bed. As things did start to get a bit niggly I loved Murdoch blocking all of Fujiwara's headbutt attempts with his forearms. That he had Fujiwara scouted the way he did was another little sign of how much he respected him, and that the early applause really was genuine. When Fujiwara finally sneaks one through the guard Murdoch flops through the ropes and out to the floor like only he can. Overall this didn't feel like a match with the highest of stakes, but every single thing they did was earned through struggle and their considerable personalities shone through with every movement, clear as day even on handheld video footage nearly 40 years old.
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