Pro Wrestling Love vol. 11: Best of All Japan Pro Wrestling 1980-1984 (Jumbo Tsuruta, Stan Hansen, Terry Funk)

Hey Yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Today at Mass, they formally invested our Pastor and in the process the Bishop said how he was pushing for women to have a stronger voice in the Church. I gotta say that this is a long time coming in the Roman Catholic Church. I have been a big proponent of this. The Catholic Church can change and I hope this will come to fruition.

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 11:

The Greatest Matches of All Japan Pro Wrestling 1980-1984

Objective:  Break up the Greatest Match Ever Project (hosted at gwe.freeforums.project.net) into more manageable chunks to help me build my Top 100 List for the project.

Motivation: Contribute to the discussion around these matches to enrich my own understanding of pro wrestling and give a fresh perspective for old matches and even hopefully discover great pro wrestling matches that have been hidden by the sands of time.

Subject: This eleventh volume of Pro Wrestling Love begins the Top 12 countdown of the best matches to take place in All Japan Pro Wrestling from 1980-1984. The ending date makes sense as that was the last year All Japan used their booking paradigm of bringing in gaijin World Champions from the NWA & AWA to defend against their major stars (i.e. Jumbo Tsuruta, Giant Baba and Genichiro Tenryu). In 1985, there was a paradigm shift to native vs native feuds with the invasion of New Japan pro wrestler, Riki Choshu. This was also in part necessitated by American World Champions not making the trip over to Japan as frequently (Crockett needed Flair for their national expansion and AWA was in its downward spiral). The beginning date is more out of convenience as it is both the beginning of the decade and the start of DVDVR All Japan 80s project. That project was used as a source of recommendations for the matches I watched to determine the best matches to take place in All Japan between 1980-1984.   You can revisit past Pro Wrestling Love Volumes at ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com. You can check out the full version of these reviews in ProWrestlingOnly.com by going to the forums and finding the folders associated with the date of the match.

The Pillars of All Japan Pro Wrestling

DVDVR hosted a best of All Japan in 1980s project. I have leveraged that project and its rankings to watch key matches from All Japan in the 80s. I finished up my first half of the 80s run a year ago, but never got around to post my final thoughts. With the impetus of the Greatest Match Ever Project, I am getting it out now.

It actually makes good sense to look at All Japan between 1980-1984 because in 1985 the booking paradigm shifts once Choshu invades and the gaijin talent dries up. The booking from 1980-84 focused around two major things.

1. Foreign world champions coming overseas to defend their championships. This would be Ric Flair & Harley Race from the NWA and Nick Bockwinkel & Rick Martel from the AWA. They would usually defend against AJPW Ace Jumbo Tsuruta and occasionally Genichiro Tenryu.

2. Stan Hansen. The resident monster gaijin that jumped from New Japan to All Japan in a shocking angle in late 1981 was positioned against the top two babyfaces of All Japan those being Giant Baba and Terry Funk.

Who were the main characters of All Japan 1980-84:

1. Giant Baba - Founder, Owner and booker of All Japan. He was the historic top star of the promotion but by 1980 was getting up there in years. He was the PWF World Heavyweight Champion during this time, the top singles title in All Japan. He fought feature bouts against the top monster gaijin, Stan Hansen. He is a weird looking dude with really skinny arms, a very boxy torso, a Giant head and is really tall. Somehow he makes it all work.

2. Jumbo Tsuruta - Baba's understudy in the 70s blossomed into the Ace of All Japan in the early 80s. He started taking the World Championship Title Challenges from Baba as Baba was winding down. He started the decade as the United National Champion (tertiary title) but was promoted to International Heavyweight Champion as Dory Funk Jr was winding down. He has an amateur background. He is strong on the mat and an excellent bomb thrower down the stretch (suplexes, an excellent bodyslam, High Knee and Boston Crab). He can be dry at times, but when he raises his arm, the crowd in Budokan goes wild. Jumbo has a one of the greatest victories in All Japan history when he defeats Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship and successfully ends the tour as the Champion.

3. Genichiro Tenryu - Jumbo's understudy. You don't see too much of him during this time period. When Jumbo graduates to International Champion, Tenryu picks up the United National Belt. He does have an excellent match with Ted DiBiase around this timeframe for that title. Tenryu does not really make a splash until the Choshu feud in 1985. He has a sumo background. He is stoic badass that can become really violent. He is raw and hard hitting. No one has a better contemptuous stare than Tenryu.

4. Terry & Dory Funk - Terry Funk did the impossible he became a beloved babyface in Japan. Since the 1950s, Americans were brought in as evil foreigners for the native Japanese to vanquish. Terry Funk started that way but ended becoming a hero to the Japanese people. Crowds had huge banners for Terry Funk and he even had cheerleaders! Whereas Jumbo was positioned a top, technical challenger for the championship, Terry Funk was the heart & soul of All Japan. He was where the emotion was. This led to many violent, brutal masterpieces with the top monster heel of All Japan, Stan Hansen. Terry Funk was an extraordinary babyface seller in All Japan and a great brawler.

5. Stan Hansen - The man who made All Japan run. A violent tour de force. A bull in the China Shop. In one of my reviews below, I state in a choice between fighting Stan Hansen and the Bear in the Revenant, I may just pick the Bear. Stan Hansen is a terrorizing, overwhelming monster. He is underrated seller. When Stan Hansen sells for you, it means something.

6. "Nature Boy" Ric Flair - Flair wins his first championship in 1981 from Dusty Rhodes. Most fans are familiar with his title victory against Harley Race at the first Starrcade in November of 1983. Most of what we know of Flair's first title reign comes from his matches in Japan. He has a excellent trilogy with Jumbo Tsuruta. Flair is very over in Japan and is definitely treated as a major special attraction. Flair is more understated in Japan than he is America. There are still a smattering of Woos and a strut here and there, but he is much more focused on amateur style wrestling, which he is good at and then those classic hot finish stretches that Ric Flair is known for.

I watched 31 matches from this era. So I may not have liked a certain as much as you and we can discuss or maybe I overlooked a match.

Honorable Mentions

PWF World Heavyweight Champion Stan Hansen vs Giant Baba - AJPW 7/31/84

Hansen vs Baba always scares me because Baba looks to frail and gangly and I think Hansen will murder him in the ring. Despite my concerns, it always works out to be a great match.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW 10/9/81 

Two Out Of Three Falls

The weakest of their classic three match series, but this is still a dandy and sets the table for the next two.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Kerry Von Erich vs Ric Flair - AJPW 5/24/84

Two Out of Three Falls

All good things must come to an end and so does Kerry Von Erich's World Championship reign. It is Flair vs Kerry maybe the greatest in-ring rivalry in the history of American Pro Wrestling. 

Stan Hansen vs Terry Funk - AJPW 9/11/82
The opening salvo in their vicious, violent rivalry. If I have to choose between fighting the Bear in the Revenant and Stan Hansen, I may just choose the Bear.

The Cowboy  & The Giant

#12. PWF World Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba vs Stan Hansen - AJPW 2/4/82

Huge fight feel to this one! Hansen had just debuted for the company about two months ago in one of the all-time great angles and instantly was the biggest gaijin star in the company. This is just the natural progression. I still have to mention Baba's body. It is so weird. The giant head and boxy torso with those weirdly skinny arms. He looks so fragile and I was scared with him going up against Hansen. This was a more reserved Hansen. But Hansen at 75% is still going to hit you fucking hard he is just not flying all over the place. He was also more willing to bump for Baba. The story of the match was simple: Baba wanted to take out the Lariat arm of Hansen and Hansen wanted to ground the Giant and set up for The Lariat. Opening Shine was great with Baba nailing some big boots and then a Russian Legsweep. Hansen did a great job making Baba feel like a Giant and so he kept him on the ground. He was working the leg in hopes of taking out his base. Baba was fucking awesome working the arm. He got Hansen into his really nasty predicaments. Baba also loved using the big overhand chop as the equalizer. Loved the finish run with them running all over the place with Hansen finally nailing the Lariat. Baba just gets steamrolled. The crowd lets out an audible gasp. The crowd was super into this. Baba was so over. They were popping for him. The brawl outside the ring post-Lariat was great as Hansen first overwhelms Baba and they go to double countout. He is nailing young boys with Lariats and then Baba sends him packing.

Just a huge Clash of the Titans feel that does not overstay its welcome. Really sensible story with two huge, larger than life characters. I loved the tension of the Lariat. It was this cloud of impending doom that loomed over the match. When would it happen? BAM! He nails it. Really great big time match. ****1/4

#11. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW 6/8/82

All Japan Match of the Year, 1982

I love All Japan in the early 80s. It feels like an all-star promotion with the all the stars of Japan, NWA and AWA come together and compete. Jumbo vs Flair has the biggest fight feel of them all. It really feels like the best of America against the best of Japan. Flair is decked out in his coolest robe and the way Jumbo rips off his jacket, you know he is jacked for this one. GAME TIME!

Jumbo brings the offense to Flair. Working NWA-style holds, headlocks, wristlocks and surfboard. The early sleeper gets a pop. Flair is working his usual style. Trying to go on the mat, create movement, but nothing works. He starts to try go toe to toe with Jumbo. There were some really  big meaty exchanges in this. I love the sound of flesh on flesh. Flair tries after the sleeper to bring it to Jumbo with hard shots, but Jumbo is game for a fight. Jumbo fires up and climaxes with a HIGH KNEE! First big nearfall of the match. Flair tries to use the short headbutt to stall Jumbo's momentum. He is able to hit a couple kneedrops and a chinlock to stall out Jumbo. But in the fire fight, Flair loses control, Jumbo in showing he can chop with the best of them. BUTTERFLY SUPLEX! Only two! Boston Crab! Abdominal Stretch! HIGH CROSSBODY! 1-2-NO! Huge pop! Flair heads to the hills. That felt like a basketball game where someone goes on a 12-4 run. Jumbo was just firing and Flair was overwhelmed. Flair uses the outside to break momentum. You see when Flair gets back in he goes for a test of strength. That's psychology! You are 15 minutes into a match and going back to a tie up. That shows poise. He knows he needs to slow it down. It is just laughable that people don't think Flair has psychology when he is a top 5 Ring General ever. Period.

Flair gets his own ab stretch, but Jumbo hiptosses out. MISSILE DROPKICK! 1-2-NO! Flair is desperate goes for a suplex, but get reversed by Jumbo into his own. Flair avoids the elbow and immediately goes for the Figure-4. People are always like why doesn't Flair work the leg. Well the Figure-4 is a home run shot. If he applies it, he will win. He sets it up when he is in control. In a match he is being totally overwhelmed and nothing is going his way, you bet his ass he is going for the figure-4. So that's ends up in an inside cradle, but once he gets the kneecrusher, now he is working the leg because now he has the time and is control. Flair had gotten offense but it was always short-lived because he never was able to really connect with a game-changer. Jumbo was ready for a fight. The kneecrusher represented the first  time he made a significant in-road. Big Tsuruta chant for when he is in the figure-4. Big pop for him turning it over. Jumbo is really good in the figure-4. Sells it well and really adds to drama. Flair gets a back suplex, but kick out. Flair goes up top, this is not going to end well...WATCH OUT BELOW! 1-2-NO! TOP ROPE CROSSBODY! Jumbo applies the figure-4 to a MASSIVE POP! It does not matter if it is Greensboro, North Carolina or Tokyo, Japan that spot is OVER LIKE ROVER!

I thought that was a really good climax to the match. I thought either Jumbo needed to one up it with a Back Drop Driver or something big or they needed to go home. It took them a little while to go home. Flair got some really good punches in when they were both on the mat. Flair throws Jumbo out so I was thinking here comes the countout finish. Flair suplexes him back in, which did not feel like an earned highspot for Flair. It kinda feels like the match is going backwards into a Flair heat segment with the elbow and then sleeper. So big chops and strikes late that I dig. Feels like a war of attrition. Whip into buckles and Flair Flop...Crowd pops! Love it. PILEDRIVER! 1-2-Foot on the ropes! Jumbo high knees sends Flair crashing out to the floor. Jumbo is feeling the strain. WICKED ENZIGUIRI! Jumbo falls out too. Piledriver on the floor.  Jumbo into the post. Tease Double countout! It being All Japan, I totally bite. Jumbo tries for a deadweight German, but Flair falls on top. Both shoudlers are down. DRAW! Jumbo tries to sell he won, but crowd is too smart. They know both men's shoudlers were down and there is no pop.

I thought first 3/4s was really good classic NWA style championship match. Flair trying a bunch of stuff but getting thwarted. Lots of good fire fights that Jumbo would win and led to big high spots like the Knee and then Butterfly suplex. That big Jumbo's offense run in the middle of the match was double hot. Flair was a master of bringing it up and down. Cooled it off a bit then went back to a Jumbo highspot of a missile dropkick and that's when Flair got so desperate that he finally got the figure-4. The dueling figure-4s was so over. You could feel Jumbo was getting his energy sapped from trying to win this match. Flair will tax you that way. Liked the chops late and the Piledriver. The high knee and that enziguiri was great. I think a double countout would have been better than the double pin. I thought they should have went to the finish quicker they lost some momentum because the crowd was molten for a good 15 minute stretch from the first high knee to the Jumbo figure-4. Flair really knows how to make a classic happen and let his opponent shine. ****1/2

#10. NWA United National Champion Ted DiBiase vs Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 10/23/83

DiBiase comes in wearing a robe saying "Italian Stallion". I never once thought of DiBiase as an Italian American even though DiBiase is clearly an Italian last name. Just strikes me too much as a country boy.

Jumbo vacated this championship in June 1983 as he graduated to the International Heavyweight Championship. DiBiase was awarded the title via forfeit because Jerry Lawler failed to appear for the match. The announcers namedrop Lawler at least twice during the match. This was DiBiase first title defense as champion. At the time, Tenryu had never won a major singles championship in All Japan.

Match totally snuck up on me. Tenryu had disappointed in his previous pre-Choshu outings. I like DiBiase a lot in brawls in Mid-South; I have never seen much out of Technical ted. I loved this! Tenryu was a beast on the arm and I thought DiBiase sold the hell out of his arm. I really thought the arm work was tight. DiBiase let Tenryu know he was there, but Tenryu was definitely in charge. There was a great exchange where DiBiase went for a spinning toehold and Tenryu monkey flipped him into a pinning predicament. DiBiase would definitely try roughhousing to get out of this jam, but Tenryu was not afraid to throws hands with Ted. Ted was able to get some offense started with a lariat and then his big powerslam. Tenryu sent him out of the ring and SUICIDE DIVE! WOW! MARK OUT CITY! Tenryu totally wiped him out. Been loving this match, strong arm work, everything is snug. Tenryu is in control in the biggest match of his life. Reverse Tenryu elbow gets two! Back to the arm. You feel like Tenryu is wrestling the match of his career to this point. DiBiase is selling really well. Up against the ropes, DiBiase chops Tenryu and throws him out. Great typical heel tactics by DiBiase using the outside to his advantage. Big suplex by DiBiase. Could be swinging his way. Tenryu holds ropes and DiBiase crashes & burns on dropkick attempt. I love how Tenryu is grabbing him by the head and really taking control. Piledriver NO SHOULDERBREAKER ON BAD ARM! AWESOME! Octopus stretch by Tenryu! Awkward position so they both collapse on each other. Feels like this will be a short lived title reign for DiBiase. I think this match set the record for most small packages. Crossbody by Tenryu, floatover by DiBiase, I bit hard on that nearfall. DiBiase throws him out and PILEDRIVER on the floor! Bit on that near countout finish! ENZIGUIRI! CROWD GOES WILD! DiBiase rolls out the ring at the last second. Tenryu is left reaching for him inside the ring. So frustratingly close. They end up on the outside hit a suplex, but it is a double countout. It felt like they left nothing in the ring in this match and the double countout finish feels totally credible.

I am so surprised this did not do well in All Japan voting. It has two really well liked and respected stars having a balls out match. Tons of action and no dull moments. There was limb psychology for those that like that. Great selling from DiBiase. Hard hitting. BIG Finish run. You had the story of Tenryu going for his first major title pouring it on at the end and hits his signature enziguiri only for DiBiase to roll out of the ring at the last second. There were some things that I would have liked. A really big transition for DiBiase, some real big momentum shifts and a nearfall or two more for him. That's stuff that I like, usually that stuff doesn't bother others. Would really like to know why people are low on this match because I thought this was great. ****1/2

#9. Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody vs Dory & Terry Funk - AJPW 4/20/83

Just a scant six days after the classic Hansen/Funk singles match, this awesome tag gets lost in the shadow of the EPIC Terry Funk Retirement Tag, which may be the match of the decade. Definitely one of Brody's best individual performances and one of his best matches. He still did not sell or bump. But at least his offense looked really good here. The first half of the match is four pros executing the tag formula really well, but once Dory tags out to Terry...IT IS FUCKING ON! Terry goes apeshit on Brody's knee. Nailing Hansen. The knee work on Brody is so damn exciting and urgent. Terry holding the leg while Dory came crashing down is great. Terry taking off Brody's boot and wailing on his knee with it was AWESOME! Funk sends Hansen packing to the outside. As he is struggling with him, Brody comes from behind with a big knee. Hansen and Brody are just wailing on Terry with some wicked stiff shots but Terry takes it like a man and never goes down. Little things like that are lost today. Funk is selling, but he never leaves his feet. It is such a powerful moment. The ending is wild with the Monsters double teaming Terry, Dory trying to save, but this ends with the Spike Piledriver on Terry. So Dory has had enough now. Now the Monsters can isolate Dory. Going to set him up for the Western Lariat, but at the last second, Terry tackles Hansen's knees and they roll to the outside and they get tangled up in streamers. It was wild. Funk and Brody brawl in the ring and the ref counts everyone out for a double countout. The match was totally fine with the monsters dominating early and a pretty good heat segment on Dory. Holy shit, what an ending. Terry losing his mind on Brody. Brody crashing down on him. The way he stood up to the monsters only to be overwhelmed and felled by the Spike Piledriver. Then saving his brother from certain DOOM. Really amazing finishing stretch. ****1/2

JUMBO WINS THE BIG ONE!

#8. AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel vs Jumbo Tsuruta -
AJPW Budokan 2/23/84 Special Guest Referee Terry Funk

It had been almost four years since Giant Baba had won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Harley Race. While Jumbo had been challenging for the NWA World Title since the mid-70s, the pressure must have been mounting for him to follow in Baba's foot steps and finally win the big one. All Japan, NWA and AWA were booked in a tough position where the American promotions did not want to a Japanese wrestler representing them, but All Japan needed to prove to their fan base their ace was a legitimate world class pro wrestler. In 1984, it was high time for Jumbo Tsuruta to avoid the choker label and he did just that by pinning Nick Bockwinkel to win the AWA World Heavyweight Championship. He did Baba one better by actually finishing the tour with his reign intact and actually defending the championship in America. You see Baba spent a ton of money to cement Jumbo's status as the man by buying him this reign. In return, Verne got actually what he needed a gaijin transitional champion to go from ace heel Nick Bockwinkel to his prospective new hot babyface act, Rick Martel. Baba would use a similar model of gaijin (Hansen, Doc and Gordy) to transition titles among the natives. It was a win-win for everyone involved and of course the big winners were the Japanese faithful that were able to see their hero win the World Heavyweight Championship from Bockwinkel after being thwarted repeatedly by cheap finishes.

The match starts with Bockwinkel trying to end the match early with a surprise cross body, but only gets two. Bockwinkel works an extensive arm work segment that is just awesome. Bockwinkel is wrenching Jumbo's arm in all directions, applying pressure with his head and knees (THAT IS A LEGAL KNEE TO THE HEAD, Terry Funk yells, which makes me chuckle). Jumbo is always struggling, teasing escapes, but Bock uses a multitude of nefarious tactics to keep him down. One of my favorite spots of the match was Bock's super slick double wristlock takedown into a rolling short arm scissors just really strong work there. Another fun spot was Jumbo trying to show Funk that he keeps getting pulled down by the hair only to be pulled down by the hair again. Jumbo finally is able to string some offense together in the form of an enziguiri into a high knee, but only gets one. Bock retreats and tries to go back to the arm, but Jumbo is rolling now with two piledrivers and a Thesz Press. The action is so hot and heavy that it spills to the outside. Bock unloads with heavy blows on the outside. Hey there is the 80s spot the head to head collision, but really does not lead anywhere in this match. I can't say I am a fan of that spot. Jumbo is throwing closed fists and ignoring Funk's admonishments. Jumbo will not be denied tonight and the crowd is pumped. Bockwinkel goes back to a top wristlock to get a nearfall, but Jumbo counters with a Russian Legsweep. Nice! It is bombs away from Jumbo with a variety of suplexes and he has the champion on the ropes literally as he has to use the ropes to break Jumbo's Boston Crab. The Japanese fans have seen this story before and usually it does not end well for their boy. Bockwinkel shoves Jumbo into Funk and if I was a fan I would be smelling screwjob and Bockwinkel hits two piledrivers and a bodyslam, but nothing doing. As usual, Bockwinkel chucks his opponent to the outside to buy himself some time. When it comes time to bring him in the hardway, Jumbo floats over and BACK DROP DRIVER! 1-2-3! Jumbo wins the World Title!

This was an interesting story as you get the sense that Bockwinkel clearly sees Jumbo as a massive threat to his title reign. He tries to win quickly with a  cross body from there he dictates the pace and tries to take Jumbo out via arm work. He is keeping Jumbo grounded and we find out why later in the match. Bockwinkel does not have a prayer in a bomb throwing match. Once Jumbo is able to break free of the arm work and establish himself, he just starts throwing everything at Bockwinkel to finally win the championship. The tease all the usual screwjob finishes (double countout, ref bump), but this time the fans get to home happy with Jumbo Tsuruta winning the AWA World Title. Jumbo's long term selling could have been better. Bockwinkel was awesome in this, cocky in control and desperate on defense. The feel good ending elevates the great work in this to a classic match in my eyes. ****1/2

#7. AWA World Heavyweight Champion Rick Martel vs Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW 7/31/84

OUI OUI RICKY MARTEL! How I missed you! This is the championship rematch as Martel defeated Jumbo for the AWA Championship in Minnesota in May of 84. Now Jumbo has home field advantage.  We are nearing the end of Jumbo's role as the defender of Japan against the foreign champions, but he has one more classic in this style for us. Jumbo is ridiculously over in this match and throughout the match. I liked the champion vs challenger dynamic early in the match. Jumbo is way more offensively minded. Martel is willing to grind it out with toeholds and barring the arm. Jumbo is playing for keeps hitting big suplexes for nearfalls and dropkicks that send Martel flying. Martel realizes he is in a war and hits a reverse crossbody for two. He pounces on the back. Both are masters of the Boston Crab. They do a nice symmetry of each powering out of the other's Boston Crab. We get Martel's finish run which is comprised of a piledriver and a tenacious sleeper. I loved the roll through and hold by Martel. Real nice. The transition to Jumbos' finish run is great because its gradual. First he heaves Martel up out of the sleeper into a backdrop driver. Martel still has some energy so he goes for a tope rope crossbody but Jumbo rolls through. MARTEL IS PISSED AT HIMSELF! I love that fire. Being pinned off your own offensive move is very frustrating and he just won the World Championship from Jumbo two months ago so to lose that way would be the worst. He lets the anger get the best of him and misses a dropkick. The crowd comes alive! They have been biting on nearfalls, but they think Jumbo can do it again and win the AWA Championship for the second time! You never would hear such a big pop for a missed dropkick. Jumbo signals to the crowd. TWO Jumping knees for two! Tope Rope Crossbody! Gutwrench suplex! Jumbo off the ropes...hotshot?...nope airplane spin and they both fall over the ropes. Martel prevents Jumbo from returning to the ring and it is a double countout.

I don't mind the double countout finish but the airplane spin was kinda lame and it felt very pedestrian for otherwise awesome championship match. Jumbo having defeated Bock for the title in Japan in February did wonders for this match because everybody believed it could happen again. Loved Jumbo's aggressive strategy to throw bombs. Martel as the champion was trying to wear down with holds and the sleeper proved to be his best weapon. Thought the gradual finish stretch starting the backdrop driver then Martel getting pissed at himself for almost costing himself the match and then Jumbo's bombs was a great way to end it. I have their Sept 85 AWA match just a smidge higher, but this was an awesome bomb-throwing championship match. ****1/2