Posted March 28, 20178 yr comment_5793625 Ric Flair's first defense of the NWA Title in Japan!!! This is absolutely a hidden gem, perhaps overlooked by the more famous Terry Funk and Jumbo matches the next few days. I just got a copy of this complete match after seeing the highlights. I have never seen Tenryu so young before, he was 31 at the time and Flair was 32. I'm not good at long detailed reviews, but you need to seek this out. It is longer than the Funk and Jumbo matches as well. I would rate it at least 4 1/4**** This is 9 minutes of highlights. The full match is more than 30 minutes. Available on All Japan Classics 9/5/05 "Flair vs. Tenryu"
August 1, 20241 yr comment_6023008 A good match overall, even if this was JIP and the first 11 minutes were not shown. It was the first big match for Tenryu and he clearly passed the Flair test: he was focused, solid on the mat and got the crowd behind him with good charisma. Interestingly, he was the one working on Flair's legs, which got a pretty good reaction when he "stole" the figure four from the Naitch. The crowd was hot when Tenryu seemed having a good shot of winning the match, which added some good drama, but I was disappointed on how quickly he gave up to the figure four, considering that Flair didn't do much damage to his legs during the match. ***1/4
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