[5.0] "Last time these guys had a match, it pretty much sucked across the board. Now nine years later, with both even older than before, with the boss himself on commentary, the stakes couldn't be any higher. Both men have a long history between each other: sometimes as respectful rivals, others less so. Fujiwara can't defend himself on stand-up as well as he could before, leading to him usually succumbing to big kicks from Mask. They tease a early knockout early after a sequence of these while he's pinned in the corner. Eventually Fujiwara catches his leg and transitions to a kneebar into heel hook, which his opponent barely escapes from. He tries this trick again but Sayama has him scouted and hits a Enzuigiri which Fujiwara sells like death for. He recovers but it's a more stubborn "I'm not quitting" attitude as he tries to take on more kicks, but they get to him eventually with a big roundhouse knocking him down. a big kick to Fujiwara's torso makes him stumble to the corner and collapse once more, leading to a Tiger DDT and Diving Headbutt that gets dodged at the last minute. Fujiwara gets mad and starts hurling out headbutts, namely to the exposed turnbuckle, which busts him up hardway and gets some blood. He's so mad that he won't even let the ref do his count after Mask is knocked down and gets more headbutts in, the last one causing Mask to flop to the floor. When he shows the slightest bit of life, Fujiwara gets him back up and keeps hitting them until Mask counters into some last-minute roundhouses, which knock Fujiwara back but noticeably don't keep him down, and the lads brawl a bit. Mask even tries for his own headbutt, but obviously that's a terrible idea as he does far more damage to himself than his opponent. Eventually Fujiwara gets brought down with a punch to the throat and a knee drop. The drama mounts as the time ticks down, with Fujiwara quickly grabbing on a armbar to try to end the match, but Mask refuses to tap, leading to a draw. This isn't great, but manages to be a decent vet showing despite the respective age and wear and tear of both guys. Fujiwara can still go, Sayama is.... varied at this point, but they manage to get some of that old fire back with each other with Fujiwara just going nuts near the end with big headbutts all the time alongside a bunch of kicks. The pacing never truly drags and this doesn't really tire much. If you are looking for a technical, shoot-style bout, this isn't for you: go watch their 80's series. This is more of the NJPW, angry grandpa Fujiwara that pops out here, and it does make this a lot less dry in the process."
