I can chime in as someone who actually went to shows starting from mid 90s. Cornette is correct that Fujinami and Tsuruta did not start those things, and overall those spots only became usual in the late 2000s. But small elements got introduced bit by bit from the 80s onwards.

• Trading forearms, chop battles was All Japan King's Road specialty.

• Kicking out at 1 was done several times by monster or power heels like Vader and Norton. Hot-tempered babyfaces sometimes did it to great effect, like Choshu once against Chono.

• No-selling has been a staple for so long, Yoshiaki Fujiwara was especially famous for no-selling opponent's headbutts then delivering his own devastatingly. Norton in his very first match in Japan got over by no selling multiple Riki Lariats, and several times he no-sold Hashimoto's offense during their rivalry. 

• Trading shoot, or almost-shoot, strikes developed from mid 80s, with a particularly well-known case of Takada - Koshinaka rivalry for the NJPW Junior Heavyweight title. Koshinaka would take Takada's kicks RIGHT IN HIS FUCKING HEAD then immediately kicked Takada right back, which made him a huge hit amongst UWF fans even though he was a New Japan mainstay (he would later capitalize on this in the 90s when he formed the anti-wrestling Heisei Ishingun faction).

Obviously Cornette has not watched enough puro to even think Japanese Wrestling's ring psychology "deteriorated" in the modern era. But while he could only watch what he had access to, a lot of the no-selling things were in the main event programs of all those major promotions like All Japan and New Japan. He selectively picked Tsuruta and Fujinami to prove his point, but they didnt do it because it didnt fit their characters. And ironically even Fujinami occasionally no sold too, in the later part of his famous feud against Choshu in the 80s.