Genichiro Tenryu vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara

[10.0] "A dream match. Considering their attitudes and personalities, the handshake is a surprising start. Fujiwara's mutual complaining with Tenryu and his constant protests to the referee irritate Tenryu, who attacks him harshly. The smile on Fujiwara's face while he destroys Tenryu with headbutts and punches is priceless. Tenryu's eyebrow opens quickly and Fujiwara smears Tenryu's blood on the opposite turnbuckle. Tenryu wants to even the score, but Fujiwara applying a Fujiwara armbar from the apron that almost throws him out of the ring is insane. Tenryu completely violates the break rule and shifts into a maniacal attitude. Tenryu's transformation from an unsympathetic figure into a sympathetic one is organic because his selling is magnificent. Fujiwara dominates his arm with arm work using Fujiwara armbar variations so thoroughly that whenever Tenryu tries to fight back, he gets caught in the same hold again. Incredible strikes, violence and character work. ****1/2"

[6.0] "While there was some really good strikes exchanges and submission work from Fujiwara here, that solid action was let down by the last few minutes. Tenryu threw out several rolling kicks that barely connected and the chop finish didn't really work for me."

[6.0] "very funny match i would say. Strikes from both competitors progress from open fist to closed fist, Tenyru dropping f bombs after every armbar attempt from fujiwara, fujiwara performing like a prideful and arrogant man so it make sense for him to immediately go for the armbar after losing in surprising fashion. It was a good, goofy, odd match and i would recommend not as a must-watch but if you have the time and are fond of the 2."

[6.0] "Solid match but beyond the unique finish I found nothing here worth recommending to others. Fujiwara was well past his prime, which played into the crowd not really caring about anything. Polite response yes, "interested" no. Prime Fujiwara is 84-90, for those seeking that journey. 2.75*."

[6.0] "I have never seen an ending like that one in a match ever and it was pretty cool. This match does kind of slog is some parts especially when Fujiwara's got Tenryu in one of his armbars but it does at least serve its purpose of adding to his domination of him. Tenryu has some amazing selling here, but I also want to note that both Fujiwara and Tenryu both use facial expressions really nicely here, as well as some 'FUCK's thrown out from Tenryu's mouth while Fujiwara's fucking him up."

[6.0] "I was hyped up to watch this and came away very disappointed. I was expecting a war and got 15 minutes of some nice mat work by Fujiwara with a polite but not particularly interested crowd. There was barely any heat for the whole thing, not even for Tenryu's comeback which consisted of some of the worst rolling kicks he's ever attempted. I kept waiting for the match to hit the next gear but instead it ended with a flat finish out of nowhere."

[7.0] "Damn, some of y'all really watched a video about it and fell head over heels for not even a top 100 match from either guy. Basic appeal, they punch each other hard and bleed, then Tenryu gets lucky off a chop for the abrupt finish. It's cool that this even happened and they're both great enough to make something good out of very little."

[9.0] "This match ruled so much. Yoshiaki Fujiwara put on an amazing performance here with his character work ring work. He relentlessly worked in the right arm of Tenryu and cut him above his eye with his HEADBUTTS and shoot punches. Tenryu was fantastic with his selling and comebacks with those shoot punches, chops and flip kicks of his. Tenryu was gushing blood and Fujiwara didn't care. I loved the story of this whole match and Fujiwara wasn't selling Tenryu's offense which was just pissing off Tenryu more and he went harder with his offense but Fujiwara refuses to sell so Tenryu hits a vicious chop on Fujiwara's throat and forcefully pinned him. Quite an spectacle this match was. 8.50/10"

[8.0] "A very fun match. Starts off with a hard-hitting striking battle and Fujiwara opening up Tenryu the hard way. The middle of the match features a lot of mat work. Tenryu is constantly fighting from the bottom to reach the ropes and Fujiwara keeps the holds on for as long as he can. I really enjoyed the finish here. Tenryu gets the 3 count off a chop to the neck and Fujiwara instantly attacks Tenryu's arm after the match. ****1/4"

[8.0] "They got pissed off at each other right away. Fujiwara was milking the referee's 5 count over and over being on the verge of getting disqualified. Yeah, this needed a strong finish with Tenryu kicking the crap out of Fujiwara."

[8.0] "A real brutal and violent match, emphasized by the strikes by both men. This is mostly a Fujiwara showcase, with him destroying the arm and face of Tenryu, cutting of Tenryu's comebacks with his mean power. This match is a little hampered by the finish, but it makes sense within the context of the match. Tenryu gets a lucky break with a chop to the throat and Fujiwara rightly no sold the pin afterwards. A great and tight match with excellent selling by Tenryu and frightening strikes from Fujiwara. - [****1/2]"

[8.0] "It was a techinical and stiff match by Fujiwara done very well, Tenryu selling is on another level in this one, the match finish was really dissapointg from my point but this match needs ti be seen."

[10.0] "Yoshiaki Fujiwara victimized Genichiro Tenryu. Can't put it in any other way. This was a match where every strike sounded like a gunshot, and based on the crimson mask, I hope it felt like one as well. Fujiwara was in control for so long that when Tenryu launched his comebacks, the no-selling made perfect sense and it felt fucked up. Things felt so futile, I felt bad for him. He was just clocking him with anger and fury, and it didn't matter lmao. The finish is perfect, is all I will say about that. Fits the tone present in the match so well. This may be the rare if not only occasion where I watched a Tenryu match and I didn't think he was the best wrestler in the ring that night. Just a pure evil Fujiwara performance."