Hey y'all! It's been a little bit longer since the last post, I know. Things have been slightly hectic lately and so some of the stuff I've been working on had to take some small delays. Fortunately though, I did want to get out a post today because I need to scratch that writing itch somehow.
The biggest reason I couldn't write much earlier in the week is because I haven't really been watching much lately. The past couple weeks have mostly been recent CMLL stuff that I've really loved, but didn't have anything to say about it other than "I recommend these matches." Two of these matches were watched only because they were suggestions from friends (as part of a mini wrestling "book club", if that makes sense).
Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Super Tiger (UWF 9/7/1984) - EPIC
In response to a Matt D tweet a few weeks back that was about how a spot from a Mike Bailey vs. Kazuchika Okada match felt sport-like as opposed to feeling "real", I asked if there was anything in wrestling that could do both: make things feel real but also feel like a competition. Most of the responses were answers of shoot-style and to be fair, it makes sense.
I thought about that a lot throughout this matchup largely because of how I already perceive Fujiwara. He's not a wrestler that seems to care for the competitive nature of shoot-style, but does a hell of a job at making what he does feel real. Rather than it feel like he just wants to out-wrestle his opponent, I almost am horrified (in the best way) at how he would instead prefer to crush whoever stands across from him.
I know it's too easy to say this (especially when it comes to shoot-style stuff), but the match truly does feel like a fight instead of a wrestling match. And I love that. Fujiwara spends the early portions of the match trying to murder Sayama and I wince at how brutal that offense looks. When Sayama gets the upper hand, he does the same and it's even more disgusting. It goes beyond the "beat the hell out of each other" scale and enters the "are they shooting???" territory in my mind.
Something that will occur throughout these matches today is my praise for the selling. Super Tiger does a great job at getting his ass beat and making you feel bad for him but the star of this show is Fujiwara by far. What sticks out is the selling of his exhaustion. For a feeling that is so common and one that the audience can relate to, I don't think there's many wrestlers ever that have sold it great. Fujiwara is on that very short list of those who can though. As I'm watching him lay there after getting destroyed by Tiger's kicks and knee drops, I start to feel like I just went through a war myself.
For someone like Fujiwara who has kind of always been an evil bastard wrestler in my eyes, I do feel sorry for him while Sayama is laying it in on him (even after Fujiwara was being just as evil to him earlier in the match!). If that's not a testament to how strong his selling is here, I don't know what is. To me, that's what selling is for.
MS-1 vs. Sangre Chicana (EMLL 50th Anniversario 9/23/1983) - EPIC
I've tried to deep-dive Sangre Chicana before but just have never gotten around to doing so, which makes me all the more glad I got to watch this recently. Both him and MS-1 are names that I've heard have some of the bloodiest brawls in all of lucha history and if there's anything I love most in wrestling, it's two awesome punchy guys making each other bleed throughout any venue.
It's a 2/3 falls hair vs hair match, and most of the first fall is spent with MS-1 keeping Chicana outside the ring after catching him off guard during his entrance. An interesting note-to-self is that throughout this ordeal, MS-1 looks scared. His body language makes him seem anxious. Almost as if he attacked Chicana before the bell because he knows he wouldn't stand a chance otherwise.
Once again, this is another match that serves as a masterclass in selling fatigue and exhaustion. Sangre Chicana showcases fantastic selling but also some of the best striking I've ever seen in wrestling. Every single punch is exaggerated just enough that all of them mean something without going too overboard that it would become cartoonish.
And they don't call him SANGRE Chicana for nothing; he bleeds buckets in this one. The visual of the bleeding itself looks awesome but what follows is even better. Throughout the course of the match, it feels like Chicana is getting stronger in real-time as soon as he starts to see his own blood. It's astoundingly easy to get behind him during this, really leaving me with wanting to watch more of his work. Only the best of the best can flip a switch and get everyone behind their big comeback solely through their bleeding (and punching).
Excellent match; maybe one of the greatest ever?
Sareee vs. Ranna Yagami (Stardom 6/8/2025) - GREAT
Let me be clear, I do love Ranna Yagami and she's someone that I do always want to cheer for. But I understand that Stardom is behind when it comes to their trainee quality compared to the rest of joshi promotions. Marvelous has Senka Akatsuki and Sora Ayame, Pro-Wrestling Evolution has ZONES and Chi Chi, Marigold has Seri Yamaoka and the recently debuting Shinno showed so much in her debut match against Mai Sakurai. While I don't think Stardom produces bad talent, their current, more lenient approach has certainly led to some of their rookies being lapped by those coming out of some of the more traditional dojos.
Sareee seems to agree too. In an interview with Tokyo Sports prior to this match, she was quoted as saying, "“Stardom wrestlers overwhelmingly lack the fighting spirit that is an important part of joshi puroresu. I have no choice but to train Ranna Yagami thoroughly in the 6/8 Korakuen show!" [credit to Shigeo on twitter for translating this quote]
Even though the interview is in-character, I think there's some truth to what she's saying. In fact, the part that sticks out the most is that she says she will "train Ranna Yagami" in their match. Sareee truly does care about the joshi scene and is not saying these things just to chastise the talent coming up in Stardom. She's trying to prove a point and push these rookies to be stronger and get further.
The best compliment I can give a match like this is that it was very reminiscent of an 80s AJPW match with the same dynamics: fiery young boy getting killed by much more experienced, grumpier old man. The match quite literally starts exactly how I'd want something like that to start, with Ranna instantly getting on the offense before Sareee could even finish making her entrance.
And going back to that point I said about Sareee wanting the best for these rookies and wanting to further them, my favorite part of this match comes pretty early on. After Ranna catches her off guard in the beginning, she continues to get some offense in on the outside. Right when she lands a couple of forearm strikes, you see the biggest smile grow on Sareee's face to the extent where she can't even hide it. She looks like a proud mom because she knows very well what she has done. She unlocked something in Ranna and pushed her. That might be my favorite wrestling moment this year.
While this match continues to be even better from there, that's the stuff I wanted to talk about for today. If you want a more in-depth look at this match, I highly suggest checking out my friend Zeph's blog when they publish their own thoughts about it!
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Thank you for listening to my thoughts on some random matches today; I hope you enjoyed reading! If you didn't, that's alright too. Let me know if you have any thoughts, criticisms, ideas, or whatever in the comments or get in touch with me on my Twitter page.
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