[1978-12-15-AJPW] Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs Terry & Dory Funk Jr

Terry Funk was terrific here, exuding a ton of charisma and selling to the sympathy of the Japanese fans, whom, by the end of it, were in full support of the Funks winning. I thought Dory looked more fired up then usual and both guys outshined Jumbo and Baba for the most part. Loved Funk selling Baba’s chop early on, tagging out in frustration only to return to shake Baba’s hand. Some of the extended hold sequences dragged a bit with Jumbo and Baba on offense but there were a couple spots like Dory delivering a knee crusher to escape a side headlock but Jumbo keeping it cinched in while still selling the leg. Or Terry physically walking Jumbo toward the ropes while he’s in the camel clutch. Terry worked from underneath as the FIP through most of this as Jumbo/Baba targeted his injured ribs with abdominal stretches. Jumbo’s kneeling uppercuts are really neat and him going nuts on Terry with the chops was great. The final minutes of this match sizzled with panic and desperation as each side unloads on offense trying to pick up the fall before the time expires. A plodding first half builds to a hot finishing stretch, with the Funksters all riled up and the crowd fully in support. Turned out to be a lot of fun.