Japan TV 10-30-87 Fujinami vs Choshu!

[Chitohausen]

World Wrestling Kingdom; Lou Thesz, Chairman



Airs on Saturday, October 30, 1987 on:





Taped on October 21 at the Kumamoto City Gymnasium in Kumamoto, Japan



Announcers: Kenji Wakabayashi and Takashi Yamada; Wakabayashi also performs ring announcer duties
Referees: Tiger Hattori, Joe Higuchi, and Kyohei Wada



While the opening theme plays, we see the following clip:

Tenryu is up first, and he connects with an Enziguri for a very close nearfall! Tenryu then stomps Hansen, before heading to the middle turnbuckle for his diving reverse elbowdrop. However Hansen rolls out of the way, and Tenryu crashes to the mat. Hansen goes at Tenryu again, driving a knee into his side, sending Tenryu rolling out of the ring again. Hansen follows him out again, and batters Tenryu on the floor before rolling him back inside the ring.

Hansen continues to pummel Tenryu, repeatedly driving the point of his elbow down into the bloody forehead of Tenryu. Genichiro turns the tables in an instant, though, when Hansen pulls him up, Tenryu jumps up and hits an Enziguri! Hansen stumbles, but doesn’t go down. Tenryu connects with another Enziguri!

Tenryu sets Hansen up for the folding Powerbomb, but Hansen blocks it, and backdrops Tenryu to the mat! As Genichiro slowly gets back to his feet, Hansen charges at him . . . LARIATOOOOOOO!!!!

Tenryu crumbles to the mat, and Hansen covers him for the 1, 2, 3!



KENJI WAKABAYASHI and TAKASHI YAMADA open the show.


They welcome us to this week’s episode of World Wrestling Kingdom!

The King’s Road League continues this week! Another chapter in a long-standing rivalry will be written here today, as Tatsumi Fujinami squares off with Riki Choshu!

Two gaijins meet, as Dino Bravo looks to earn his first points of the tournament when he meets Scott Hall!

Yoshiaki Yatsu faces Dick Slater!

Antonio Inoki squares off with Ashura Hara!


KING’S ROAD LEAGUE:
BLOCK A:
SCOTT HALL [4 points] beats DINO BRAVO [0 points]. We kick things off with a battle between two big, powerful wrestlers. We don’t get a lot of scientific wrestling here, and Hall eventually gets the win after driving Bravo into the mat with a Crucifix Powerbomb for the 1, 2, 3!



An ad airs for upcoming shows. We see clips of some of the wrestlers that will be in action, as well as a list of the following shows:

Tonight, October 30, in Chiba for a TV taping!

The King’s Road tour ends tomorrow night, October 31, with a TV taping in Tokyo at Nippon Budokan Hall!

November 7 at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall for another TV taping!

November 19, the World Tag League kicks off at Korakuen Hall, and will be taped for TV!

November 21 in Mito, Ibaraki prefecture!

November 22 in Hachinohe, Aomori prefecture!

November 23 in Hakodate, Hokkaido prefecture!

November 24 in Sapporo, Hokkaido prefecture, for a TV taping at the Nakajima Sports Center!


KING’S ROAD LEAGUE:
BLOCK B:
YOSHIAKI YATSU [6 points] beats DICK SLATER [3 points]. Slater gives Yatsu a tough match, and it looks like it could really go either way during the match. However, Yatsu eventually gains the upper hand, and applies the Prison Lock for the submission victory.



KING’S ROAD LEAGUE:
BLOCK A:
ANTONIO INOKI [4 points] defeats ASHURA HARA [0 points]. Hara is an excellent wrestler, and as tough as they come. He gives Inoki the fight of his life here, but in the end, Inoki stuns Hara with an enziguri, and moments later locks on the Octopus Hold for the submission.



We see clips of some King’s Road tournament matches that took place at non-televised shows:

On October 25 at Kyoto’s Daigo Gran Dome, RIKI CHOSHU beat TIGER JEET SINGH in a Block B match, and in Block A STAN HANSEN beat DINO BRAVO.

On October 29 in Nagoya, GENICHIRO TENRYU beat SCOTT HALL to pick up 2 more points in Block A. TATSUMI FUJINAMI won a Block B match against DICK SLATER, and in another Block A match, STAN HANSEN beat ASHURA HARA.


KING’S ROAD LEAGUE:
BLOCK B:
TATSUMI FUJINAMI [8 points] defeats RIKI CHOSHU [2 points]. There’s a long history between these two. They were friends and tag team partners until 1982, when Choshu let his jealousy get the better of him, and he turned on the Dragon during a 6-man tag team match. They’ve had many heated, and bloody, battles since then, and they meet again here today in the King’s Road League!

When the bell sounds, they circle each other a few times . . . then charge at each other! Fujinami quickly gets the upper hand, taking Choshu to the mat with an armdrag. Choshu’s frustration shows as he slaps the mat, as Fujinami applies an armbar. Choshu is quickly up to his feet though, and leaps up, taking Fujinami down with a flying headscissors! Choshu keeps Fuji on the mat, applying more and more pressure on Tatsumi’s head. Fujinami tries to get free, but Choshu’s got his legs tight around Tatsumi’s head. Finally, with Choshu in a sitting position, Fujinami ends up in a headstand like position, and then is able to slip out of Choshu’s grasp! Fujinami sits up, and stuns Choshu with a vicious slap across the face!

Both men are back to their feet, but Fujinami quickly slaps on a side headlock and starts to apply the pressure to the head of Choshu, paying him back for the earlier headscissors. Choshu drops to his knees, but soon he’s back up, and fires Fujinami off into the ropes. Fuji bounces off the ropes, and drops Choshu with a shoulderblock, but Choshu is back up quickly, and drives a knee into Fujinami’s midsection, dropping the Dragon to the mat!

Choshu then hoists Fujinami up on his shoulders, then charges across the ring, driving the Dragon into the mat with an Oklahoma Stampede that would make Bill Watts proud!

Choshu stomps away at Fujinami, before once again applying the headscissors. Fujinami is close enough to reach the ropes, forcing a break. Both men again back to their feet. Fuji hits several knife-edged chops in rapid succession, then pulls Choshu’s leg out from under him, and Riki falls to the mat. Tatsumi goes to work on Choshu’s leg, and we get a stretch of legwork, with the Dragon bending and twisting Choshu’s leg at all sorts of unnatural angles!

Choshu is able to get free, and quickly rolls out under the bottom rope and to the floor, looking to put some space between himself and Fujinami. Choshu’s frustration is clear on his face as he does a few laps around the ring, while Fujinami waits patiently on the inside. Choshu finally decides to get back in the ring and continue the fight. He suggests a test of strength, but before locking his hands, he hauls off and punches Fujinami square in the mouth!

The Dragon is stunned, and falls to the mat, while referee Tiger Hattori admonishes Choshu for his use of a closed fist. Choshu ignores Hattori, just pushing him aside, and Choshu puts the boots to Fujinami, repeatedly kicking him in the head and chest, before Fujinami rolls to the floor for a breather.

When Fuji gets back into the ring, he charges at Choshu, and goes for a clothesline, but Choshu ducks underneath it, and then wraps his arms around Fujinami and takes him over with a suplex. Choshu then quickly grabs Fujinami’s arm, and falls to the mat, applying a short arm scissors! Fujinami fights it, and Choshu can’t fully extend Fuji’s arm to get the leverage he needs for the hold. Fujinami is able to turn over into a position where he can roll Choshu back, putting Riki’s shoulders on the mat! Choshu quickly lets go of Fuji’s arm, and gets a shoulder up at 2.

Choshu is up to his feet first, and drives a knee into the side of Fuji’s head, knocking the Dragon back to the mat. Choshu then stomps away at Fujinami, until Tatsumi rolls under the ropes, and Tiger Hattori forces Choshu back. Tatsumi is back up, and Choshu looks confident that he’s got the match well in hand. He moves in for the attack again, but out of nowhere, Fujinami fires off some absolutely vicious kicks to the leg of Choshu, that put Riki down on the mat. Fujinami stays on him, stomping at the leg, and repeatedly driving his knee down into the leg of Choshu, who isn’t looking so confident anymore!

Choshu gets free, and slowly gets back to his feet, but Fujinami is waiting with more kicks! Choshu backs into the corner, trying to get a breather. As Choshu comes out of the corner, Fujinami goes for another kick, this time to Choshu’s midsection, but Riki catches his leg, and takes Tatsumi down to the mat! Choshu goes to work on Fujinami’s leg now, and quickly goes for the Scorpion Lock! Fujinami fights it, refusing to let Choshu turn him over, and for a moment, we’ve got a stalemate, as Choshu can’t turn Fuji over. Choshu again attempts to turn Fuji over, and this time he does! He sits back and cinches in the hold.

Fujinami uses his arms to push up off the mat, but Choshu sits back even further, and Fujinami drops back to the mat. Fuji again pushes up off the mat, and this time, he’s able to use his arms to pull himself close enough to reach the bottom rope, forcing a break. Choshu lets go of the hold, but delivers several vicious kicks to his opponent. Fujinami is back up on his feet, Choshu grabs him in a side headlock, but Fujinami lifts him up like he’s going for a side suplex, but instead, drops Choshu down across his knee with a vicious backbreaker! Fujinami then pulls Choshu up, whips him into the ropes, and hits a standing dropkick!

Fujinami then grabs Choshu by the hair, pulls him up into a sitting position . . . AND SLAPS ON THE DRAGON SLEEPER!!!! Fortunately for Choshu, he’s close enough that he can pull himself to the ropes, draping his leg over the bottom rope to force a break.

Fujinami takes Choshu over with a snapmare, into the centre of the ring, and goes for the Dragon Sleeper again! Choshu sees it coming this time, and he’s able to get free of Fujinami’s grasp before the Dragon can fully apply the hold. Both men are back to their feet, and Choshu suddenly grabs ahold of Fujinami, and hits a belly to belly suplex. He covers Fujinami, but only gets 2.

Choshu backs off, and motions for the Lariat! He charges at Fujinami, but the Dragon is ready, and hits a picture-perfect standing dropkick! Choshu rolls towards the ropes, and as Fujinami moves in for the kill, Choshu grabs him by the front of his trunks, pulling him forward, and sending Fujinami tumbling through the ropes and to the floor! Choshu shakes off the cobwebs, and as Fujinami gets back up on the ring apron, Choshu charges . . . LARIAT!!! This sends Fujinami flying off the apron and crashing into the guardrail! Tiger Hattori starts his count, and it looks like Fujinami might be counted out! However, Tatsumi is able to roll back into the ring at the count of 19, and the match continues!

Choshu stays on the attack, he hoists Fuji up and drops him with a suplex. Choshu prepares for another Lariat, but Fujinami again dropkicks him as Choshu charges towards him!

Both men are slow to get up, with Fujinami stunning Choshu with some knife-edged chops before applying an Abdominal Stretch. Choshu is in the middle of the ring, there’s nowhere to go, but he manages to flip Fujinami over, breaking the hold. As Fujinami gets to his feet, Choshu again attempts a Lariat, this time, Fuji ducks under, hooks Choshu’s arms, and brings him over with a backslide for a VERY close nearfall!

Fujinami hits an enziguri for another nearfall! Choshu grabs him, but Fujinami rolls him up in a small package for the ONE . . . TWO . . . THREE!!!!



Before the show ends, a graphic shows up on the screen, showing the standings for the King’s Road League:

Block A:

Stan Hansen: 10 Points

Genichiro Tenryu: 6 Points

Antonio Inoki: 4 Points

Scott Hall: 4 Points

Ashura Hara: 0 Points

Dino Bravo: 0 Points

Block B:

Tatsumi Fujinami: 8 Points

Yoshiaki Yatsu: 6 Points

Riki Choshu: 4 Points

Dick Slater: 3 Points

Jim Neidhart: 1 Point

Tiger Jeet Singh: 0 Points


Wakabayashi and Yamada wrap things up, and hype next week’s show.



Credits Roll


© 1987, World Wrestling Kingdom