WWK TV 7-16-88 Fujinami vs Saito!

[Chitohausen]

World Wrestling Kingdom, Lord James Blears; Chairman


Airs across Japan on Saturday, July 16, 1988 on:




Taped on July 11, 1988 at the Nakajima Sports Center in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan



Announcers: Kenji Wakabayashi and Kotetsu Yamamoto
Ring Announcer: Takashi Yamada
Referees: Tiger Hattori, Joe Higuchi, Kyohei Wada



KENJI WAKABAYASHI and KOTETSU YAMAMOTO open the show.


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

Four matches are on the bill today, youngster Toshiaki Kawada meets former World Jr heavyweight champion Chavo Guerrero!

Fit Finlay and Mark Rocco will square off with another gaijin team, the Young Gunns, Shane Douglas and Johnny Gunn!

Then, Jumbo Tsuruta takes super rookie Kenta Kobashi under his wing, and they’ll meet the devastating duo of Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody!

And, in the feature bout, Tatsumi Fujinami faces Masa Saito!


TOSHIAKI KAWADA (w/ Shinya Hashimoto) defeats CHAVO GUERRERO (w/ Eddie Guerrero). Kawada gets what has to be considered an upset victory over the former NWA Jr heavyweight champion. After a fast-paced, hard-hitting match, Kawada gets the win when he connects with a diving kneedrop off the middle turnbuckle for the 1, 2, 3!


FIT FINLAY & MARK “ROLLERBALL” ROCCO defeat THE YOUNG GUNNS: SHANE DOUGLAS & JOHNNY GUNN. Douglas and Gunn are a dynamic young team, but today they fall in defeat to the unorthodox, brawling team of Finlay and Rocco. The match ends when Rocco drives Gunn into the mat with a Tombstone Piledriver for the 1, 2, 3!


We see footage from the end of last week’s show, with Tatsumi Fujinami pinning Shinya Hashimoto to get the win in the 6-man tag team main event. Fujinami then issues a challenge to King’s Crown champion Genichiro Tenryu for a title match!

Wakabayashi and Yamamoto talk about Fujinami’s challenge, and say that his road to the title match starts today, when he faces Tenryu’s tag team partner Masa Saito in our main event!


We go to Tatsumi Fujinami in the dressing room area. The Dragon says that he will beat Saito today, and go on to take the King’s Crown from Tenryu!


STAN HANSEN & BRUISER BRODY beat JUMBO TSURUTA & KENTA KOBASHI. About 15 minutes of this 20+ minute match is shown on TV. The match goes about how you would expect, as Tsuruta holds his own against the monster gaijins, but when Kobashi is in, Hansen and Brody pummel him. In the end, after Jumbo breaks up several pinfall attempts, Hansen throws him out of the ring, and they brawl on the floor, while back inside, Brody catches Kobashi with a boot to the jaw, and then delivers the jumping kneedrop off the ropes for the 1, 2, 3!


“THE DRAGON” TATSUMI FUJINAMI (w/ Jumbo Tsuruta) beats “MR. TORTURE” MASA SAITO (w/ Genichiro Tenryu). Jumbo and Tenryu get into it at ringside throughout the match, while Fujinami and Saito battle in the ring. In the end, Fujinami gets a hard-fought win after catching Saito with the Dragon Suplex for the 1, 2, 3!

Afterwards, Tenryu attacks Fujinami, dropping him with a Lariat to the back of the head, then Tenryu puts the boots to him! Tenryu pulls the barely-conscious Fujinami up into a sitting position, then bashes him in the face with the King’s Crown title belt!

While this is going on, Toshiaki Kawada and Shinya Hashimoto have come out to the ring, and they join Saito in pummeling Jumbo Tsuruta, keeping him from helping his friend.

This brings Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi and Dory Funk Jr to the ring, and they even things up!

Tsuruta is able to get into the ring, and he chases Tenryu off before checking on Fujinami. While he’s doing that, Misawa, Kobashi and Funk get the upper hand on Saito, Kawada and Hashimoto, and run them off.

The show ends with Tsuruta and Misawa each taking an arm, and helping the bloodied Fujinami to the locker room.


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


Credits Roll



© 1988, World Wrestling Kingdom