Posted October 3, 201014 yr comment_5456567 Jumbo/Tiger Toguchi vs. Funk/Slater (2/3 falls) - JIP with Jumbo and Slater grappling. Funk and Slater used double teams to dominate Toguchi through most of the first fall. Jumbo and Terry produced some sweet punch-chop exchanges during the second fall and Jumbo just annihilated Slater with a high knee once Terry tagged out, setting up Toguchi to get the pin after a perfunctory shoulderbreaker. The match ended in chaos with Slater piledriving Toguchi on the floor and Jumbo refusing to let Slater back in the ring. Despite some fun Jumbo/Terry stuff, this never had the intensity or focus of a nomination-level tag. Jumbo/Baba vs. Race/Black ??? (2/3 falls) - Race's partner was a masked white guy with adequate, clubbering offense. They went back and forth in the first fall without a clear theme until Race pinned Jumbo clean with a brainbuster. Jumbo had to survive a good amount of punishment from Harley in the second fall before he reversed another attempted brainbuster to get a receipt pin. In the third fall, Race and Jumbo managed to keep the masked man in the ring more, and Harley didn't even bother to save his partner when Jumbo rolled him into a sunset flip from the top for the win. Match was fine but never got out of second gear. Tiger Toguchi vs. Harley Race (2/3 falls) - They showed highlights of the first fall with Harley winning it on a sweet roll-up after Toguchi missed a tackle into the corner. Race started the second fall on attack until Toguchi turned the tide by posting the champ and piledriving him on the floor. Harley responded with some nasty punches and butts but missed his headbutt from the second rope. That allowed Toguchi another flurry of offense, climaxing with a shoulderbreaker for the pin. Race did a nice job selling the shoulder as the third fall began, and Toguchi pressed his advantage by going after it. But Race kicked out of a second shoulderbreaker and won with a single brainbuster in what felt like a cheap win given Toguchi's dominance of the last fall. Between the lack of a complete first fall and the sketchy finish, this lost any shot of making the set. Jumbo vs. Harley Race (2/3 falls) - JIP at the 24-minute mark with Jumbo clubbing on Harley's back and Harley fending him off with potshots to the gut. Jumbo took the first fall with a beautiful German suplex. They kept a methodical pace in the second fall, with lots of front facelocks and trips to the floor. Though it came off as a physically intense match, neither guy kept a real focus to his attack. When Harley won the second fall with a brainbuster, it felt random. Jumbo tried to get the crowd behind in the third fall as he went for the championship. They got a little excited when he worked Harley's leg with a spinning toe hold, but they didn't seem to buy his desperate quest for the title as they would in other matches. In fact, they hardly reacted when the bell rang for the 60-minute draw. I credit both guys for working hard, but they just went back-and-forth without building to memorable moments, and the draw felt pre-ordained given the pacing. Even without the 24-minute clip, I don't think I would have nominated it.
