Ray Mendoza vs. Ring Fujinami

[4.0] "Maybe one day Lucha will finally click for me but it's another one I'm not crazy about. The holds don't look as tight as other Fujinami matches, the refs count is painfully slow which makes the impressive cradles and pinfalls look awkward and the struggle isn't conveyed the best. There's still a fair amount to like here, they're good when they're hitting the ropes or Fujinami is hitting a dive."

[8.0] "[4.0*] This is definitely one of the best matches in that era 77-79 from what I've seen so far, just as pure and as great as you might expect; 3 falls and all of them were just really amazing, I liked the technicality in this, I'd probably appreciate this more after rewatch, cuz those holds and submissions were just fascinating to watch."

[5.0] "Slow methodical bout. About what you would expect from this era. I did love Fujinami's suicide dive. The crowd gasped for that one. Wish there were some bigger moments."

[7.0] "Actually pretty good? I've never been big on lucha, something that is readily apparent if ever talked with me, but this was honestly not all that bad. Maybe it is because since Fujinami was in it that I paid more attention, I am not sure, but I will admit that is a possibility. Either way though it was pretty nice, which was a pleasant surprise for me."

[8.0] "This is a defense of Fujinami's WWWF Junior Heavyweight title, and the first one to be held in the UWA. After the Ryuma Go and Mando Guerrero matches set the standard, this is another great defense. No, the matwork doesn't have the flash of the Mando match, but that's not what this story is. Mendoza is nearly fifty at this point, but he delivers an supernal performance. The thing with Fujinami and wrestlers of his ilk is that they see matwork as a setup for when you get off the mat to win a fall. That's how the first fall goes, as Fujinami does his "leg clutch into sunset-ish flip" to win; this finish is the only real flaw I can think of with this match, as the referee count is a bit slow to be totally credible, but I'm not going to hold that against the performers. But hang around on the mat with an old-school guy like Mendoza, and he'll break you. When he gets that leglock in on the second fall, you know he's the real deal, and whatever qualms I might have had with the first fall finish, the submission in the second completely worked for me. What's more, Mendoza still has the athleticism to cooperate with and make Fujinami's flashier offense shine. He gets to the leg again in the third fall, but Fujinami overpowers him with a headlock, and shortly afterward throws caution to the wind with a tope suicida. His leg pays for that, and when he recklessly goes for a shoulder block to Mendoza as he reenters the ring at the turnbuckle, he pays for that too. Fujinami manages to recover first after Mendoza hits a vertical suplex, and targets the arm to try to beat Mendoza at his own game and build tension. Mendoza escapes, and then gets an abdominal stretch to fall back into a pin. But Fujinami's got something for him, and gets a drop toe hold to set up the Japanese Leg Roll Clutch and retain. Youth ultimately prevails in the tercera, but Mendoza shows himself to have been the real deal. ****, and that might be a little low."