Posted July 10, 201015 yr comment_5452984 What can you say? This was an absolute war for 35 minutes. I liked the way neither guy would let the other get far ahead in the early going. They also did a nice job of hitting big exchanges of offense and then pulling back on the pace with hardfought hold sections. The last 10 minutes were amazing, with Tenryu trying to take out Jumbo's tired legs and Jumbo willing his way through to hit finish-worthy moves. They ended up brawling right through the ref, and Tenryu dropped Jumbo with multiple low blows. He then got disqualified for refusing to stop attacking in the corner. The ending really enriched their rivalry. You had Tenryu, who was clearly the fresher guy but didn't quite have the maturity to get his decisive win. And then you had Jumbo, looking like a broken, old man after emptying his tank to defend the throne. He tried to raise his arm in victory post-match but the crowd refused to respond. They knew who had really won. Anyway, great, epic shit and a strong top-five contender. 1988 All Japan TV Disc 23
September 20, 201015 yr comment_5456034 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/28/88) (aired 11/13/88) - The early portion with each guy tossing the other out was neat. I found it odd that Jumbo ended up getting whipped into the rail twice instead of giving Tenryu his receipt. Early on, this has a weird structure… it seems like neither guy is willing to show damage form each other’s big moves (no selling?). This does have some of the sickest strikes I have seen yet. Every chop, punch, kick, slap… all look painful and neither guy pulls back. Throughout this thing, the theme is “how can I torture you more than I already have”. I am a logic kind of guy. I like it when Move A leads to Move B which leads to Counter A. this wasn’t really that kind of match. This was “Jumbo just punched Tenryu in the temple. I think that might hurt a lot”. Two sadistic fucks. As hot of a stretch run as any match. I love how Jumbo pulls out all the big guns, can’t keep Tenryu down and just starts tagging him in frustration. Then when it comes time for Tenryu’s receipt. He pops Jumbo in the nuts and just lays waste to him in the corner. About as good of a bad ending as you can have. I enjoyed this, it is an absolute slam dunk but I won’t have this as high as Childs did.
October 13, 201014 yr comment_5457195 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (10/28/88) What else can really be said here as this was just sheer violence and a precursor to what All-Japan would become in the 90's. The strikes here were as hard as we've seen on this set and this is a grand slam nomination.
