Hey Yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,
Pro Wrestling Love vol. 67:
The Best of All Japan Pro Wrestling 1985-April 1990
Objective: Break up the Greatest Match Ever Project (hosted at http://gweproject.freeforums.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 sixty-seventh volume of Pro Wrestling Love is the beginning of the Top 12 countdown of the best pro wrestling matches to take place in All Japan Pro Wrestling between 1985-April 1990. For the first time ever, Pro Wrestling Love does a partial year. Pretty straightforward. The last major Genichiro Tenryu match is in April of 1990 before his exodus to form SWS, which would later become WAR. His departure along with several others forced the push of the next generation of pro wrestlers namely, Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue and Kenta Kobashi, the Four Corners of Heaven. In May of 1990, Misawa unmasked as Tiger Mask II and there is the famous six-man tag with the Elbow Heard 'Round The World pitting Jumbo's Army vs Super Generation Army for the first time. That explains the ending point. We previously did an All Japan series from 1980-1984 so that picks where that left off. The years 1985-1987 see a major shake up as Riki Choshu, a major player in New Japan, formed his "own promotion" Japan Pro-Wrestling and invaded All Japan Pro Wrestling. What may have started out as an earnest at founding his own promotion turned into a major stable for All Japan. This forced Baba away from the business model of native vs gaijin and away from the touring NWA & AWA World Champions. 1985 is about when the touring dates on the NWA World Champion started to dry up. Ted DiBiase would stop coming over once he signed with WWF. That really left Hansen and Gordy as the only two major heavyweights that consistently wrestled in All Japan. Once Choshu left in early 1987 to return to New Japan, Baba stuck with the native vs native concept and had Jumbo Tsuruta feud with his junior tag partner Genichiro Tenryu which became an instant sensation in the late 80s producing amazing match after amazing match both in singles and tags. It became the template for booking 90s All Japan. I hope you enjoy this article as I truly enjoying watching all these matches from this time period to come up with this list. 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.
Contact Info: @superstarsleeze on Twitter, Instagram & ProWrestlingOnly.com.
Masa Fuchi vs Hiro Saito - AJPW 6/12/86
Masa Fuchi vs Kuniaki Kobayashi - AJPW 4/6/86
PWF World Junior Heavyweight Champion Masa Fuchi vs Mitsuo Momota - AJPW 3/29/89
Masa Fuchi may have had the most thankless role in all of pro wrestling as the head of the Junior Heavyweight Division in All Japan for a decade plus. Besides maybe the WWF/E, there has been no promotion more heavyweight-oriented than All Japan, but these matches show, Fuchi was putting on gems in the undercard.
Stan Hansen vs Terry Funk - AJPW 8/23/85 - All Japan 1985 Match of the Year
It is hard to be believe a match pairing Stan Hansen & Terry Funk could constitute a hidden gem, but this bad boy finishing at #75 on the DVDVR Top 150 for 80s All Japan leaves me scratching my head. Yes it is 2 years after their most famous, epic feud, but this match is an excellent post-script. 1985 was a weak year for All Japan in my opinion and this took the 1985 match of the year honors for this promotion in my opinion.
Jumbo Tsuruta vs Tiger Mask II (Mitsuharu Misawa) - AJPW 3/9/88
Three years before their famous 6/8/90 encounter these two showed they had chemistry from jump in this match. Misawa had a very rocky, uneven 80s. Kawada handily was having better matches and in 1989 Kobashi showed more promise, but we would see once Misawa ditched the mask he would become The Ace. This is best 80s Misawa match.
NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs AWA World Heavyweight Champion Rick Martel - AJPW 10/21/85
It is fitting in a way that last great touring World Heavyweight Championship match to take place in All Japan pitted the two different World Championship that came to All Japan. It was not just Flair & NWA that toured All Japan, but the AWA was a key staple in All Japan also. Jumbo's biggest win of his career until the Triple Crown was winning the AWA World Title from Nick Bockwinkel. Flair would have one more great match in Japan against Tenryu in SWS in 1992, but this was his last great one as NWA touring champion. As a massive Rick Martel mark, I am very glad that we got at least one Flair vs Martel in their primes match.
"Macho King" Randy Savage vs Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 4/13/90
Hulk Hogan vs Stan Hansen - AJPW 4/13/90
Pro Wrestling just kinda has a way of working itself out. Yes there have been plenty of dream matches missed but more often than not, somehow someway, he get Savage vs Tenryu or Hogan vs Hansen in the Tokyo Dome because pro wrestling rules. Hogan had a long history in Japan. WWF was customarily aligned with New Japan, but when WCW switched allegiance from All Japan to New Japan, I guess that forced a realignment for WWF. The alliance wouldnt last long as WWF would switch their Japanese affiliation to SWS which would give us the badass matches of Hogan & Tenryu vs Road Warriors and Hogan vs Tenryu the singles match. Pro wrestling rules!
NWA United National Heavyweight Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Riki Choshu - AJPW 6/21/85
NWA International Tag Team Champions Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu - AJPW 2/5/86
NWA International Tag Team Champions Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 1/24/87
NWA International Tag Team Champions Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 2/5/87
The game changing feud of the 1980s, when All Japan went native vs native because Riki Choshu invaded the territory which came at a perfect time as gaijin sources were beginning to dry up. All these matches are great but they would top themselves in both singles and tags later in my list. Interestingly, I never watched a Jumbo vs Choshu singles match. I heard horror stories of a 60 minute draw which does sound like a terrible use of punk rockstar Choshu, but one day I will watch them too.
NWA International Champion Jumbo Tsuruta vs NWA United National Champion Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 8/31/87
NWA International Champion Jumbo Tsuruta vs NWA United National Champion Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 10/11/87
NWA International Heavyweight Champion Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 10/28/88
Jumbo Tsuruta, The Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa vs Ashura Hara, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki - AJPW 3/11/88
All Japan Triple Crown Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 4/19/90
Jumbo vs Tenryu is such a fundamentally important feud in All Japan. It gave us grouchy old man Jumbo best seen in the Six-Man tag where he beats the piss out of Fuyuki. It gave us ultra-motivated, take no prisoners, hold everyone in contempt Tenryu as he was just lighting everyone up. It was the template for Jumbo vs Misawa, Misawa vs Kawada and Misawa vs Kobashi. 90s All Japan started here.
AWA World Heavyweight Champion Stan Hansen vs NWA United National Heavyweight Champion Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 7/26/86
PWF World Heavyweight Champion Stan Hansen vs NWA United National Heavyweight Champion Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 9/20/87, All Japan Match of the Year, 1987
PWF & United National Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Stan Hansen - AJPW 7/27/88
An amazingly underappreciated pairing, Stan Hansen and Genichiro Tenryu are generally considered ten of the greatest wrestlers that ever live but you almost never hear their singles matches against each other getting lauded in the same breathe as Hansen/Funk or Tenryu/Jumbo, but I definitely think they should! Tenryu loved to sell and work underneath. Hansen is a bull in a China Shop. It is a great pairing. In fact, I would say their 9/20/87 match is the best All Japan Match of 1987 even better than Jumbo/Tenryu matches from that year. These matches all rule, but wait there's more.
PWF World Tag Team Champions Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase vs NWA International Tag Team Champions Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 8/31/85
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase - AJPW 12/12/86
Before Terry Gordy, there was Ted DiBiase playing Stan Hansen Jr. These are the two best Hansen & DiBiase tag matches and not surprisingly they are against Jumbo Tenryu.
NWA International Heavyweight Champion Stan Hansen vs Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW 10/18/86
PWF & United National Champion Stan Hansen vs NWA International Champion Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW 4/16/89
AJPW World Tag Team Champions Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Stan Hansen & Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW 6/8/89
Whereas, I will beat the drum for Hansen vs Tenryu as an underappreciated rivalry, I will admit, Hansen vs Jumbo underwhelms, but there are some great matches. The 1986 match is generally considered their best match together and I wholeheartedly agree. The match two days before the unify the Triple Crown is a kickass heated brawl. Unfortunately, the actual Triple Crown unification is more on the good side of the tracks.
Giant Baba, Rusher Kimura & Masa Fuchi vs Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada, Ricky Fuyuki - AJPW 9/24/89
Remember how said Fuchi had the most thankless role in pro wrestling, I definitely stand by it now. He had to carry two old timers up against one of the most elite fighting forces ever put together. This match is a load of fun. The Tenryu vs Fuchi dynamic is totally what makes it. Baba & Kimura rule too, but Tenryu vs Fuchi is what makes this easy a top 20 match of All Japan 85-89.
AJPW World Tag Team Champions Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen - AJPW 7/11/89
All Japan World Tag Team Champions Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen vs - AJPW 10/20/89
Similar to how Hansen vs Tenryu is underappreciated, Hansen & Tenryu is too. The top match (7/11/89) did NOT even make the DVDVR 150 for 80s All Japan set! That match was awesome, a top 20 match of the 85-89 period! Thats how underappreciated we are talking. These two teams did have a match that reached even higher heights than these two, but to really appreciate that one, people really should watch these two first!
All-Asia Tag Team Champions Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano - AJPW 7/15/88
The last cut. I will be honest Footloose vs Can-Ams really disappointed for me. I was expected Top Ten material what I found was uneven, disjointed work. Some stretches were good others left we scratching my head. To me the Footloose classic was this one against Takano & Nakano! This is the balls to the walls bomb-throwing spotfest that I just loved! Check this one out.
Top 12 All Japan Pro Wrestling Matches 1985-April 1990
#12. Jumbo Tsuruta & Kenta Kobashi vs Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen - AJPW 7/15/89
BABY KOBASHI~! And he is over like rover! Dont get me started on face & heel alignment in late 80s as I just dont get it. Jumbo & Kobashi are clearly the fan favorites. Tenryu & Hansen are quite the super team! What happened to Gordy? I dont even remember what he was doing at this point. What happened to Hara? Even with Tenryu as the Triple Crown Champ, this feels like Jumbo's promotion. Kobashi in red...is just bizarre, doesnt he know thats Taue's color!!? I was ten minutes in this match and it was so fast and so furious there was no way I could keep up with it and then write a review. Starting from the begining and doing this stream of consciousness style:
Jumbo goes full Leroy Jenkins and charges Tenryu at the bell and reigns down the elbows at the ringside table. This leaves poor Kobashi against Hansen and thus igniting one of the hottest, most epic feuds in pro wrestling history! You see Tenryu flail a chair in self-defense at Jumbo as poor Kobashi gets a chair bounces off his back by Hansen. Jumbo High Knee in the ring! He hurts his knee in an interesting bit of selling that goes nowhere. Tsuruta chants! Kobashi comes in and hits a missile dropkick as Jumbo is holding Tenryu. Massive Kobashi chants like it is 1997. This is insane! I didnt expect him to be over at all. Tenryu chops Kobashi hard and CLUBS him with an Enziguiri. Hansen tagged into a big pop. Hansen brutalizes young Kobashi and sends him out. Jumbo saves Kobashi from the Grizzly by slamming him into the railing. Hansen evades the dropkick and bodyslams Kobashi. Big Kobashi chants. DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE BY THE ALL STAR TEAM! Wicked. Suplex by Tenryu gets two and he comes and SLAPS Jumbo right off the apron. Kobashi spin wheel kick and he tags in Jumbo. Jumbo plays to the crowd. High Knee again to Tenryu and smack to Hansen on apron for good measure. Hansen tackles Jumbo! Kobashi is not shy and comes in and to fend off Hansen. That smack on the apron was dumb you knew Hansen was not going to take it lying down. Jumbo tries for a powerbomb or piledriver but Tenryu deadweights him. Jumbo applies an Abdominal Stretch on Tenryu and drops down into the Banana Split for a one count.
Jumbo tags in Kobashi and holds Tenryu for the double axe handle. Kobashi is so over. Tenryu draws him in and tags in Hansen for knees Kobashi. Hansen BIG SELL of the reverse elbow as he tumbles out of the ring. Hansen takes back over on the outside. Hansen smothers him back in the ring. Great aggressive Hansen! Double Shouldertackle by the All Star Team. Tenryu chops the shit out Kobashi. This is exactly what I wanted out of this match. Hansen & Tenryu pummeling Kobashi. Kobashi reverse crossbody hope spot! Tag! Hansen heads Jumbo off at the pass and runs Jumbo down the apron and rams him into the metal turnbuckle. He brings him over to Tenryu as sacrificial offering and they take turns smacking the shit out of him. Tenryu Mack Truck Lariat and a Cowboy Kick but Jumbo comes back with the Big Boot. More Tsuruta chants. Jumbo has the best bodyslam in history and follows that up with a kneedrop but Tenryu is too close to the ropes. Jumbo Death Lariat middle of the ring for two. Kobashi tagged in applies a Single Leg Crab. Hansen breaks that up and Tenryu/Hansen beat the shit out of Kobashi. They do the FOOTLOOSE SPOT! Hansen whips Tenryu into an Out of Control Lariat into the corner. Massive Kobashi Chants! Tenryu wants the powerbomb but Jumbo intimidates Tenryu enough to abandon that and tags in Hansen. Hansen misses the elbow drop. Jumbo arm wringer and over the shoulder amrbreaker on Hansen's Lariat Arm and then wrestles him down by the Lariat arm into an armbar. Jumbo tags in Kobashi who axehandles the lariat arm and takes him over with an armdrag into a cross-armbreaker on the Lariat arm. Hansen rolls on his belly. Hansen rolls Kobashi up but Kobashi breaks free and maintains the pressure. Hansens elbows out and tags in Tenryu. Kobashi is tired of Tenryu's chops and lets Tenryu have it so many slaps and a big dropkick that has JUMBO FIRED THE FUCK UP! Crowd is going crazy for all this! Easily the spot of the match!
Another dropkick for two! He goes back to the well yet again. Two! Kobashi brings Tenryu over to Jumbo. Jumbo gets in on the action with a Jumbo dropkick and Hansen saves to a chorus of loud boos. Jumbo clamps on a side headlock on Tenryu. Jumbo tags in Kobashi. Kobashi top rope crossbody for two! Kobashi throws on a chinlock to stick with theme of draining Tenryu's energy.
Kobashi goes for some sort of legbar which I dont know if that an FU to Tenryu because I know Tenryu was using that around this time. Kobashi legdrop gets two. Kobashi chops away at Tenryu in the corner and now slaps. I think thats a bad idea and here comes Tenryu who slaps away. Kobashi tries throw a spinning heel kick and Tenryu just kicks through it! Tenryu tags in Hansen but Kobashi tags out. Jumbo High Knee on Hansen. Jumbo Goes back to the abdominal stretch. Jumbo tags in Kobashi. Double Double Chop on Hansen. Hansen sandbags Kobashi, but Kobahsi takes him over anyways on the vertical suplex. Kobashi will not be denied! Hansen BIG BOOTS through a Kobashi dropkick. Hansen brought Kobashi over to the wrong corner and tagged in Jumbo. What the fuck happened there? Hansen holds Jumbo by the head as Tenryu LIGHTS HIS SHIT UP WITH CHOPS FROM HELL! DANGEROUS BACK DROPD RIVER BY JUMBO! Kobashi legdrop! Tenryu back drop of Kobashi.
Tenryu is still crouched over AND Jumbo stiff knees him. Jumbo tries for a piledriver and WESTERN LARIAT! HOLY SHIT! Jumbo reeling falls back into a tag. Kobashi missile dropick on Tenryu. The crowd & I are rocking! Hansen/Jumbo on outside. Fisherman Suplex by Kobashi gets two, which is an ultra hot nearfall. Amazing Kobashi is getting such a bright spotlight. Tenryu slows out. Clubbing Enziguiri. Hansen has Jumbo detained. The end is nigh me thinks. TENRYU POWERBOMB~! FOR THE WIN!
Were there way too many spots? Hell Yes! Did any one pairing ever have time to build a real narrative? Hell No! Was it fun as all get out? Hell Yeah! What separates a balls to the wall all-out workrate action match like this from the 21st Century is everyone is still struggling against each other and it still feels organic. There are no contrived spots. They are just tagging very very frequently so action stays brisk they constantly fighting into or away from the corners. How many times did we see people get knocked off aprons or as soon they tagged in they were bumrushed before they were even able to enter the match. The match felt like a fight. A very competitive match where they all wanted to win. Yes, I would like more narrative and something where every pairing mattered but this still rocked. Kobashi was the clear the star of the match! He was insanely over given his age & experience. They gave him a huge spotlight. Hansen sold big for him. Tenryu let Kobashi smack him around and hit a Fisherman Suplex as the last nearfall of the match. Jumbo was a big cheerleader for Kobashi. I was expecting a big Kobashi FIP but anytime he got in any semblance of trouble he tagged out. Jumbo vs Tenryu was red hot and Hansen versus anyone is automatically heated. This match kicked ass!
#11. PWF World Heavyweight Champion Riki Choshu vs Killer Khan - AJPW 7/31/86
I am just finishing Jack Weatherford's excellent Genghis Khan and specifically the chapter about Kublai Khan trying to invade Japan twice. In the first invasion, they were only thwarted because a massive Wind storm blew up and destroyed the Mongol fleet. This Divine Wind is known as the "Kamikaze" in Japanese. The use of a "barbaric" Mongol heel in the 1970s/80s, 700 years after the Mongol Invasions of Japan shows the impact of history. It is only fitting I watch a Killer Khan and one of his three classics at that.
Riki Choshu is such a badass rockstar. What is the backstory here? This is heel vs heel, no? They tagged in 1985? Where was the falling out? This a Clash of Titans brawl. It is very Choshu and Khan is a perfect villain for the the Choshu style. He is much larger than Choshu, very imposing and can go blow for blow with the meaty Choshu. Lots of intense lock-ups. The unique aspect to me in this match was Khan's use of "War Cries" or "Ghoulish Screams". He sounded like a banshee. He clubbers Choshu down, mostly focusing on the midsection. It is a stomp to Choshu while he is in the supine position after being battered by relentless barrage of kneelifts that we hear the first of these war cries. He continues to use the War Cries throughout the match. Another aspect of the match that makes it great is the amount of struggle in the match. There is a lot of fighting through offense. The first major turning point is when Killer Khan misses his favorite Bombs Away Kneedrop from the top rope to the floor! Choshu begins to go to work on the larger Khan by clubbering away. There is such a great intensity to Choshu that makes this engrossing. In the ring, he uses the Dangerous Backdrop Driver and the Scorpion Deathlock to get the quick victory. This is an aspect of 80s Puroresu, dont fuck around, humiliate your opponent by beating him so bad that it is a quick win. Khan gets to the ropes and escapes to outside. It is here we see the most emphatic use of the War Cries! Khan SCREAMS as he unloads with the Mongolian Double Chops! Choshu fires right back and bashing Khan's head into the ring post twice, he signals to the crowd that he is a badass and Khan is wearing the Crimson Mask! This is killer! Khan is stumbling and bumbling. I love how quickly Choshu closes the gap when Khan is trying to scale the apron. Those punches were wicked and the acceleration was ferocious. Choshu just keeps punching the head while Khan sells blood loss/concussed really damn well. He looks like he has been beaten to a bloody pulp on the floor. Choshu allows him to get back in presumably to end him. Choshu mercilessly punches the open wound but have he feels enough punishment has been meted out, he winds up for the Lariat but eats the BIG BOOT?!?! There is life in Killer Khan yet. Kneelift back to the midsection. Big double kneedrop followed up with the BOMBS AWAY KNEEDROP! Khan cant capitalize! He is too beaten up. Khan covers for two! Khan is incredulous! He is so besides himself, that he collapses outside to tell the front row fans that was three. This is crazy! I have never seen anything like this. He is telling anybody that will listen that was three. Back in the ring, KNEEDROP! He still has three fingers up to the crowd. Again Choshu kicks out! Killer Khan is besides him as the crowd chants for Choshu. I think the end is nigh for Khan. He settles for choking the life out of Choshu with his care hands and then with wrist tape. Choshu kicks him off and the tape goes flying. Choshu pours it on with Big Dangerous Backdrop Drivers, BIG POPEYE WINDUP, Mack Truck Lariat, 1-2-NO!!!! Are you shitting me? Another Lariat does Khan in.
More things change, the more they stay the same. The extra Lariat would become a staple of All Japan, NOAH and now New Japan and WWE. I dont think it was necessary at all. There was more heat on the penultimate pinfall attempt than the final. This is Clash of the Titans Tokyo Dome, WrestleMania Main Event structure to a tee. Everything feels huge. Khan not accepting his two count felt very Ultimate Warrior looking at his hands at WrestleMania VII for instance. Very simple (Khan works the midsection, misses Kneedrop, Choshu kicks ass, bloodies Khan, misses Lariat, Khan finish run, Choushu hulks up final finish run), but incredibly effective because of the heat. The heat is Khan's War Cries, his Kneedrops and his crazy awesome selling. The heat is Choshu oozing badass charisma out of every pore, not giving an inch and just kicking ass. Not quite tippy top, Greatest Match of All Time, but definitely an awesome Clash of the Titans-style, Dome Main Event match that Choshu excels in.
#10. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen vs Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura - AJPW 11/29/89
Got a little taste of the old man team in an earlier six-man that featured Tenryu beating Fuchi like he fucked his girlfriend. Baba was Baba, such an amazing presence. Kimura seemed fine, interested to see what they can do against this Superpowers tag team. Part of the Real World Tag League and this will be done in the stream of consciousness style:
TENRYU DIVES ON BABA WHILE BABA IS STILL IN THE KIMONO OUTSIDE THE RING AND KNOCKS BABA OUT COLD AGAINST THE RAILING! ALL THE STARS! What an awesome start! Kimura starts headbutting Tenryu grabbing his hair and trying to exact revenge and survive & thrive. Bulldog by Kimura for two and we are off to a red hot start! Hansen tags in. Kimura is all headbutts maybe an eye rake. Someone is checking on Baba. Lariat by Kimura on Hansen and Kimura tries to open up Hansen with punches. Hansen stymied by Kimura. Hansen tags in Tenryu. MACK TRUCK LARIAT ON THE OLD MAN! Tenryu is pelting him with shots. Kimura can only headbutt! He is tenacious and it is all he has. Kimura chants. Tenryu Enziguiri! Hansen in and throws Kimura out. He bashes Kimura's head into the railing. Sets up the announce tables and bashed Kimura head into that. Tenryu smashes the table into Kimura's head. Hansen does it again. This is a great strategy against man's whose sole offense is headbutts. Or it could backfire because his head is so hard. Hansen sticks with the bashing the head strategy. Cold spray on Baba! Kimura knows no PAIN! He makes his comeback with headbutts completely. Choking Hansen. To quote Kal Rudman THAT IS BLOOD! Kimura is bleeding not surprisingly. Tenryu attacks Kimura and it is two on one. Great heel shit against and old fucking man. Double teaming him. What a bunch of assholes. Tenryu big boots to the cut. BABA IS ON HIS FEET!!! Tenryu gets two in the ring. Tenryu runs Kimura's head into Hansen's elbow. Shouldertackle by Hansen great cover only gets two, big pop. Hansen kicks to the head. Tenryu chops. BABA IS ON THE APRON! Tenryu sees it and keeps kicking Kimura in the head. Baba stomps Hansen's head on a cover! That was awesome! Baba selling like a mutha on the apron. Tenryu is LIGHTING KIMURA UP! Tenryu STRIKES HIM DOWN! Baba is mobile. Top Rope Reverse Elbow for two! Kimura wont stay down! Tenyu's stomp to Kimura's head is fucking criminal. Hansen elbows Kimura's cut. Tenryus knees the cut. This is a mugging! Baba is winding up. Time to get involved, Big Fella! Tenryu Enziguiri. Tenryu Chops Baba on the apron. Baba tells him come back over here. Tenryu charges into the corner and runs into Kimura's head. ALL TIME GREAT TRANSITION! THE MUTHA OF ALL HOT TAGS!
BABA TIME! Baba mows him down with a big boot! Big Boot for Hansen. Russian Legsweep by Baba selling the ribs! Hansen elbow to break it up! Baba attacks Hansen but here comes Tenryu. They are double teaming Baba! Baba head into knee. Baba realizes there is no Kimura. Tenryu charges and eats the chop! Baba Neckbreaker Drop! Hansen breaks it up. Baba is lying clutching his ribs. Hansen jabs the chair into Baba ribs! Baba Abdominal Stretch! Baba is a stud! Hansen breaks it up to boos. Tenryu slaps the bad rips. Overhand Chop! Tenryu tags in Baba. Hansen torpedo lunge at the bad ribs. Baba eye pokes! Baba overhand chop and big chop. Tenryu tags in and forearms to the bad side. This is kinda dragging, hate to admit it. It has been so damn good. They are belaboring the point. Hansen is tenaciously going after the ribs. Tenryu and Hansen double team chops. Baba Big Boot on a charging Tenryu gets the crowd going again but only gets two! Baba neckbreaker for two! Baba armbar takedown but Hansen saves. Baba chops Hansen who is selling like Arn Anderson for Baba and foot on ropes. Cowboy Kicks! Double Shouldertackle. Double Suplex on Baba. Tenryu tries the Reverse Top Rope Elbow but Baba Back Supelx for two! Hansen back on the bad side. Spike Piledriver! Baba had trouble with that but Bab kicks out! Kimura on his knees. They reign elbows down on Baba like Ziggler on Lawler, too soon? The Tenryu/Hansen Powerbmb double team and Baba looks down. Kimura trips Hansen! WESTERN LARIAT ON KIMURA! Well he dead. Baba kicks out. Tenryu Enziguiri on Baba. Tenryu really revs up gets a monster head of steam but eats the Big Boot! Hansen goes FUCKING FLYING on The Western Lariat! Baba back drop out of Powerbomb for two. Tenryu Powerbomb on Baba! I am terrified! 1-2-3! Holy Shit Tenryu pinned BABA~! GODDAMN HE LEFT THE COMPANY LIKE SIX MONTHS LATER! INSANITY! They are lucky Baba didnt break his neck. Tenryu powerbombs are scary under normal circumstances nevermind with old man Baba!
I really loved the beginning, the hot tag and the finish! That dive totally caught me off guard and I was immediately hooked. All the Kimura stuff was super engrossing. Loved the reliance on the head, working the head and for the transition to be head-related. We all knew it was building to the hot tag. The hot tag ruled! I think they could have been more efficient. Let Baba get all his big spots in and have them break it up. Do the two on one, have Hansen take Kimura's head off and Tenryu pin Baba. I think they did too much work the side over. Baba was not a good enough seller to keep it interesting. Lets not dwell on the negative because 90% of this match was excellent pro wrestling!
#9. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW 10/11/89
I disagree with the DVDVR voters and I think that this is the second best Jumbo vs Tenryu match not the inaugural 1987 match and I dont think it is very close to the 1988 match. I like the inaugural 1987 match as a #3 and then 1988 and the other 1987 are a gulf apart. Late 80s All Japan reminds me a lot of early 2000s Ring of Honor. It is very noisy wrestling. There is a lot of action, BUT it is definitely NOT a spotfest because there is so much struggle escalation, but at the same time there is not a hook or narrative that you can really sink your teeth into. I thought this match was more sticky than the others which is why I would rate it as #2.
They started the match off with scouting similar to what they did in the famous 6/5/89. These spots would serve as the bedrock for the greatness of 90s All Japan which took inter-match storytelling to its highest level. Jumbo was very expressive at the beginning of the match. He was none too happy when Tenryu did not give him a clean break and gave him a shove and expressed his annoyance to the ref. Jumbo looked very confused when Tenryu evaded the first High Knee. The second High Knee Tenryu blocked and slashed Jumbo with a chop which he fired out of. Tenryu tried to set up his Enziguiri with an elbow but that didnt help much. As Jumbo avoided that. They went to working holds on the mat. The next flash point was Tenryu chopped Jumbo high. Jumbo is left gasping for breathe and is pissed. He shoves the ref down. Then murders Tenryu with a dropkick. That extension was just explosive. Baseball slide and slings him into the railing and cracks him with a chair. Back in the ring, Jumbo justifies everything to the ref by reminding him this was all caused because Tenryu was chopped in the throat. My favorite part of the match by far.
Jumbo heat segment is solid here, good Big Boot, Butterfly Suplex and Boston Crab. Wisely they transition out to the second best part of the match, Tenryu's heat segment on Jumbo. Jumbo charges and eats a knee to the midsection. He crumples and writhes in pain. In most promotion, this is inconsequential, in All Japan they love their "side", "abdomen" psychology. Jumbo is squirming too much so Tenryu kinda fucks up the first kick, second kick, he has a clear mark and COWBOY KICK! The side injury allows Tenryu to hit his Enziguiri and his fancy new move, a Double Leg Takedown Lift (hes doesnt use underhooks, think of it like someone trying to powerbomb someone who was standing upright). I wouldnt think much of it but @Matt D told me it was a thing and definitely becomes a thing. They brawl on the outside. They fuck up a crossbody reversal spot. Jumbo comes out of it and hits a Belly to Belly Suplex to go on his second run. THESZ PRESS FOR TWO! It is bomb throwing time! Another mistiming this time on a bodyslam! You know what was NOT mistimed...THAT JUMBO DEATH LARIAT! He SMOKED HIM! The plume of sweat! That was awesome! Next thing I remember clearly is Tenryu used an Enziguiri to start a comeback and hit a more ordinary Back Suplex. Tenryu tries for the Powerbomb of course, but Jumbo back drops out and does a Tenryu style stomp to Tenryu exposed head. Hows that for a taste of your own medicine, asshole! Jumbo's Bomb Away Kneedrop as Tenryu has his head slightly lifted in the prone position was cool.
Can I change my pick for my second favorite part of the match? Tenryu blasts Jumbo off the top with a Lariat and follows that up by running a table into Jumbo on the outside! Tenryu cannot negotiate the Poerbomb again try as he might. I love Powerbobm struggle spots. Tenryu just kinds dumps him on his head. Goddamn man! Jumbo goes for the Back Drop Driver! Tenryu shifts his weight shades of Martin's little brother! I always mark out for that spot! Jumbo DEATH LARIAT! He got all of that! Wow! DANGEROUS BACK DROP DRIVER! Too close to the ropes! Jumbo tries for a Powerbomb/Piledriver but cant negotiate it. Tenryu goes back to the Double Leg Takedown Lift and Jumbo does a Jumbo Hurricanarana for the win! In a move that inspired Misawa for decades to come!
Loved Jumbo losing his shit! Enjoyed Tenryu working the side. I thought the finish stretch was a portent of things to come, Big Bombs that were timed perfectly, that felt earned and crescendo'd perfectly.
#8. AJPW World Tag Team Champions Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs
Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW 8/29/89
REVOLUTION IS BACK BABY! Rematch of one of the best matches of the year right here! Jumbo & Yatsu have since won the tag titles back from Hansen & Tenryu which we do have on tape if I have time I will try to review that. Stream of consciousness baby:
Jumbo and Tenryu to stat! Heated as always. Tenryu bowls Jumbo over and goes for the Powerbomb early. He gives up. Jumbo gets an armbar takedown. They trade chops as Jumbo garners wrist control. Tenryu evades the High Knee and grabs the ankles and reverses Jumbo direction which was cool. Tenryu tags in Kawada. Kawada spinning heel kick. Kawada wraps Jumbo in a front chancery. Jumbo destroys Kawada with a kneelfit. Kawada eats Yatsu knee and it is back to Kawada midsection with the kneelift and then sidewalk slam. Tenryu tags in. Yatsu cuts him off with chops and big dropkick. Yatsu believes a good offense a great defense. Yatsu headbutts in the corner. Yatsu taking it to him. Tenryu gets kneelift and wicked cracking chops against Yatsu tags in Kawada. Kawada missile dropkick as Tenryu held him. Kawada spinning heel kick and baseball slde. Kawada brings such great energy to these tags. Yatsu is selling on the outside and taking time to regroup. He is not dumb asks ref to keep Kawada back. Kawada looks for singles leg but maneuvers him back into Tenryu. They do the Footloose spot ending in a Spinning Heel Kick. Tenryu Enziguiri as they are starting to consolidate their advantage against Yatsu. Yatsu's head meets Kawada's knee, Kawada tags in. Kawada Kicks look ferocious some of the best he has ever thrown. Yatsu catches a kick into Human Capture suplex great transition! Off to a rollicking start!
Jumbo tags in. High knee! JUMBO PILEDRIVER! 1-2-No. Crowd didnt buy it. I liked it. Jumbo wraps him up in a sleeper and Tenryu kicks right in the head. They trade chops in the big scuffle. Kawada comes flying in a with a Spinning Heel Kick. Tenryu Enzguiri. Tenryu German for two. Kawada crossbody on Jumbo as Tenryu holds him. Kawada headscissors on Jumbo. I have really enjoyed this match so far. Some gravitas to the workrate. Tenryu cowboy kicks to Jumbo while in the hold. Yatsu takes umbrage to this and a skirmish breaks out. That was cool, you dont see that often, the illegal man coming in to add insult to injury as opposed to break it up. Jumbo gets to his belly anad escapes. Kawada goes flying into the buckles and really sells his side. Remember all those kneelifts to the side earlier in the match! Jumbo signals to the crowd he is ready to kick ass. Kawada is such a great seller. Backbreaker focused on side. Kawada is left writhing in pain. Jumbo kneelift and Kawada's bump and selling are incredible. Jumbo abdominal stretch and Yatsu crashes down onto Kawada. Yatsu charging kneelfit. This is awesome! Again! Kawada collapses to the outside through the ropes. Kawada rules! Jumbo throws him back in. Back Suplex by Yatsu. Yatsu abdominal stretch. Tenryu slaps Yatsu to break it up. Kawada Enziguiri. Yatsu crawls but cant stop him.
Tenryu Mack Truck Lariat on Yatsu. He throws him out. Yatsu slings an injured but game Kawada into the railing. Dont be bringing that into my house! Tenryu kicking the injured Yatsu. Tenryu works on an armbar on Yatsu. Tenryu swift kick and Kawada kicks pour it on. Kawada kicks into Yatsu but it feels like it might be too early for him to come back. He is still wincing and clutching his side. He works a crossarmbreaker. Yatsu escapes and they struggle on he mat. Kawada knees him in head and tags in Tenryu. Tenryu kicks Yatsu in the head and Yatsu enziguiri, great Tenryu sell. Classic Tenryu stomp to Yatsu's head that looks criminal. Kneedrop on Yatsu and meaty chops. Yatsu GERMAN SUPLEX! 2! Kawada saves. Kawada tagged in and Kawada bodyslam. Kawada kneedrop. Sneaky good heat segment on Yatsu here. Kawada tries to powerbomb Yatsu but it IS just too much.
Jumbo tags in not a lot of fire JUMBO POWERBOMS KAWADA! Ok I see you Jumbo. Tenryu kick to the head to break up the pinfall and another while Jumbo is on ground. Jumbo lights Tenryu's shit up and then knocks the ref down. Jeez Jumbo dont have to get hot about it. Ref has a broken nose! What the fuck! Rewinding for that. This tag became a VERY HOT TAG! Rewound. Jumbo fucking smoke the ref on that SWAT! Jumbo Death Bodyslam on Kawada! Havent seen one of those in a while. Nobody with a better bodyslam. He does another one. High Knee Sandwich, I am pretty sure the commentator has been calling that spot a Sandwich the whole time too. Yatsu piledriver! 1-2-NO! Crowd has been pretty dead for this badass match! Dont they know there will be a Pandemic in 31 years and they have to savor every moemnt of this! Jumbo creams Kawada with a big boot. Tenryu breaks it up. Jumbo misses Kawada on a High Knee but reconfigures and clobbers Tenryu with an elbow. Kawada ROARS BACK WITH A OUT OF CONTROL LARIAT!
Tag to Tenryu! Enziguiri! Tenryu chops! Slashing! Bodyslam Reverse Top Rope Elbow! Yatsu yanks him off. Tenryu tags in Kawada. Kawada Kick and Jumbo falls to his ass. Kawada Top Rope Sunset Flip! Crowd is starting to heat up. Frequent tags. Tag to Tenryu. Double shouldertackle. Tenryu blasts away with chops. Jumbo misses the elbow when Tenryu ducks. Awesome! Kawada misses the Spinning Heel Kick, Jumbo Death Lariat! Tenryu saves! Tenryu tags in. Jumbo High Knee! Jumbo is his won hot tag! Jumbo misses LARIAT IN CORNER Mack Truck Lariat by Tenryu! Yatsu breaks it up and attacks Tenryu. Tenryu slaps him. Jumping High KICK Right to Jumbo's Face! POWERBOMB! Illegal Yatsu pulls him off and powerbombs Tenryu! INSANITY! Jumbo tags out! Yatsu is clobbering with swinging lariats and knees in the corner. This matches rules so hard! Jumbo is cheerleading. Tenryu refuses to be bulldogged. Yatsu keeps trying. Kawada comes flying into the screen with a Spinning Heel Kick. MARK OUT CITY! Tenryu Enziguiri. Tenryu Powerbomb NOT TODAY SAYS Jumbo! Tenryu misses the crossbody didnt think I have seen that. Yatsu inverted Figure-4 and Kawada rifles him with a barrage of kicks. Enziguiri/Spinning Heel Kick sandwich. Kawada German for two. Tenryu BLASTS Jumbo off the apron. Doesnt look good for the champs! Yatsu catches Kawada off the top rope with a powerslam. Crazy spot! Crazy back suplex for the win! Jumbo & Yatsu retain!
What the fuck how this is not as highly regarded as the first match! I think this match is just as good if not better! I thought there was a lot more selling and stickiness to the spots. The Jumbo vs Tenryu shit was red hot just ask the ref! The finish was killer. I think I need to watch both matches back to back. Wicked good!
#7. AJPW World Tag Team Champions Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs
Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW 2/23/89
Fun fact: Jumbo & Yatsu had just recently won the titles back from Hansen & Gordy in Kansas City of all places. Central States was long gone. Says it was at a World Wrestling Alliance card. Who was running that? So I did some research, Geigel tried to stage a comeback it sounds like after selling to Crockett and tried to go National under the name World Wrestling Alliance card using Mike George as his champion. Jesus. The Mike George vs Dick Slater match to crown the inaugural WWA Champion has piqued my interest.
Kawada in the leopard print never gets old, imagine if he tried to carry that into the 90s selling out the Budokan having the greatest matches in pro wrestling history looking like that. Kawada was wicked over in this match. Besides the one Jumbo singles match, it feels like Kawada is getting way bigger opportunities than Misawa in the 80s.
Kawada & Yatsu to start but the heat is on the big boys of course. Tenryu grabs Yatsu when he backs into the wrong corner. Jumbo takes exception to that. Before you know it they are put tagged in (Jumbo did feed for a Kawada reverse crossbody to set up the tag out) and they just go at each other like two fucking rams. Jumbo wins that battle with a High Knee followed by a Spike Piledriver! I love when Jumbo hollers to the crowd. The Tenryu vs Yatsu firefight is wicked. Mack Truck Lariat to escape and tag in Kawada. Yatsu stops Kawada dead in his tracks with a wicked thrust kick. The are definitely establishing a pecking order. Jumbo quashes the Kawada Crucifix Pin dropping back. This is when it was hard to make out if the crowd was chanting for Tsuruta or Kawada. Kawada used the out of control Lariat to escape and tag in Tenryu. Kawada shows shades of Footloose when he lets Tenryu whip him for a crazy lariat into the corner. Tenryu licks his hand for a CRACKING CHOP IN THE CORNER! Not very sanitary but the result were effective! All the heat is on Jumbo vs Tenryu with Kawada being that crazy spark plug that you are just wondering if he will be ab asset or a liability in the match.
Kawada loses control of the advantage to Jumbo who wriggles out of a hold and counters into a toehold. He tags out to Yatsu who takes Kawada on a ride with two bulldogs. Back Drop Driver on the 3rd Bulldog attempt brings Tenryu in. Tenryu BRINGS THE PAIN! Wicked chops! I have been watching a ton of New Japan vs UWF so when Tenryu drops down into a straight kneebar I am wondering what promotion I am watching. Goo struggle from Yatsu to make the hold more exciting. Tenryu goes ful mount and unleades a brutal ground& pound punctuated by RIFLING HIM WITH A COWBOY KICK! Kawada eager to prove himself drops the Senton and goes back to the leglace. Kawada does not have it tight enough and Yatsu tags out in the hold. Which I think should be illegal. Jumbo not to be outdone...COWBOY KICK! Jumbo has murder in his eyes. HIGH KNEE! Whips Kawada into the rails. Abdominal stretch, Yatsu comes from across the ring to drive the knee into the trapped Kawada. Three times we have thought Kawada was going to be in peril and it looks like it finally happening as Yatsu has targeted the knee out of revenge for what happened to him. Yatsu vulnerable as he has Kawada in a leglace eats some of the most brutal stomps to the head I have ever seen. Yatsu break and glares at Tenryu. Yatsu powerslams Kawada and goes to the Inverted Figure-4. Jumbo plays watch dog. Tenryu dives with a dropkick and this leaves him open to being attacked by Jumbo. JUMBO VS TENRYU BRAWL BREAKS OUT ON THE OUTSIDE! Yatsu applies the Inverted Figure-4, if the brawl continued I would have bit on this as a finish. The crowd is chanting for Kawada thunderously this is when I noticed he was wicked over. Jumbo continues to beat on the knee. Kawada even in 1989 is a champ at selling the knee in how he later his rope running. Jumbo sets too early, kick and tag out. ENZIGUIRI! GERMAN! 1-2-NO! Jumbo Death Lariat for two! It is All Japan baby! SLASHING CHOP FROM TENRYU! Kawada tags back in. Seems way too soon. He eats a High Knee right to the face! Jumbo High Knees Kawada right in front of Tenryu which was a bad idea as Tenryu just swings for the fences and connects with a lariat! Tenryu and Jumbo on the floor! Yatsu and Kawada join them. TENRYU HAS A CHAIR! I definitely thought we were getting the double countout. Kawada closed fist to Jumbo in the ring! Jumbo is bleeding! Kawada gets a nearfall on Jumbo. Tenryu tags in. Tenryu Mack Truck Lariat! Tenryu working the cut with stomps! Tenryu's chops in this match are otherworldly. Tenryu tags back out. Kawada spinning heel kick! Kawada Back Drop Driver! Jumbo tags out after punting Kawada. Yastu pummels Kawada in their corner. FLESH ON FLESH! MAN ON MAN! Jumbo throws Kawada into Tenryu, before Tenryu can enter the ring, Jumbo MUGS HIM! JUMBOS HAS HIS FOOT ON TENRYU'S FACE! After all that heat, going to the abdominal stretch is a letdown. Kawada breaks it up. Tenryu Enziguiri! He attempts the Powerbomb for the first time. TENRYU POWERBOMB!!!! Yatsu saves! Tenryu is pissed! Jumbo nails him from behind with a wicked elbow! High Knee Tenryu Sandwich! Tenryu has the best chops ever in this match. Yatsu powerbomb but Kawda saves. Kawada barrage of kicks to Yatsu BEATS HIM BACK WITH OVERHAND CHOPS! Yatsu misses a charge... KAWADA Bridging German for two but Jumbo saves. Yatsu bridging German and Tenryu saves. Nice symmetry. Yatsu tags out and Tenryu comes charging across ring with Lariat. Top Rope Sunset Flip! Jumbo hotshots Tenryu for three!!!!!! WAIT NO HE KICKED OUT!!!! WHAT THE FUCK! Tenryu Enziguiri after a bunch of nearfalls. Kawda missile dropkick, Jumbo tags out. Yatsu headbutts! Kawada schoolboy for two gets huge heat. Yatsu throws him down on his ass on the Spinning heel kick. Yatsu German broken by Tenryu who says not on my watch. Jumbo tries to kick Kawada head off his body REPEATEDLY! DANGEROUS BACK DROP DRIVER! 1-2-3! WOW WHAT A MATCH!
Three all-time classic performances, Tenryu was insane in this match. He was a Man Possessed. His chops were sick and brutal. You need to watch the match just for those chops. He was a surly, ornery bastard. He was in total fight mode. Kawada crushed it as Young Lion in over his head, biting off more than he can chew, but coming back for more. Jumbo as the Ace, protecting his yard and ripping into Kawada & Tenryu when ever he could. Yatsu was great dont get me wrong, but he didnt have that clear defined role. He was just throwing hands and throwing bodies. I had never heard this match talked up but JK and In Your Case are right, this is an all-timer hiding in plain sight. It is 1989 All Japan and it is hard to believe anything is left that has been talked to death, but this ruled and is definitely harbinger of the matches to come!
