Posted February 2, 200817 yr comment_5427755 Jumbo Tsuruta v. Stan Hanson (Int'l Title, 09/09/86) - I was really enjoying this match. Early on, some stiff chops and elbow exchanges. It kind of slipped from me when Hansen was working the nerve hold, but he actually worked the move. This led to Jumbo selling an injured arm that Hansen continued to attack in and out of the ring. Somewhere along the way, Jumbo gets busted open and I can’t tell if it was from a vicious Hansen blow or from falling on the rail outside. Sick visual as Hansen gives Jumbo a knee lift and a big blotch of blood is left on his leg. Eventually, Stan joins in and lets out a gusher himself and once inside, Jumbo, kicks the shit out of Hansen’s head and hits a nice enziguiri as well. Late in the match, Hansen looks like he is in control but misses a charge and Jumbo gets a roll-up for the win. Shit, I always heard Jumbo and Hansen never had a great match against each other. This was pretty damn great. Easy nomination from my point of view. (AJC 137)
April 27, 201015 yr comment_5450100 I take back what I said about Hansen and Jumbo always falling a little short; this was fucking great. They eschewed the early limbwork and got straight to blasting. Jumbo bled buckets after Hansen lariated him off the apron into the guardrail. Hansen ended up bleeding as well and both guys did a great job of pouring on the nasty little elbows, chops and knees from all angles. In a lesser Hansen-Jumbo match, Jumbo's missed knee on the outside might have signaled the time to take it home. But instead, it led to a second section of focused attack from Hansen. He seemed to have it only for Jumbo to repay the ending of their July match with the roll-up. Man, this felt like the two biggest heavyweight punchers in the world going toe-to-toe for eight rounds. They got me all fired up, which counts for a lot considering the amount of fucking All-Japan I've watched in the last month. Top 10-20 match.
July 1, 201015 yr comment_5452628 Based on the TV, I think the date for this match is 10/21, not 9/9.
September 8, 201015 yr comment_5455454 NWA International Heavyweight Title: Jumbo Tsuruta © vs. Stan "The Lariat" Hansen (10/21/86) Now this was way better than their match 6 days earlier. Sure they did the armwork but there was more viciousness here regarding the strikes plus you get double juice here which is always a plus. Plus you get a hot crowd that is wild for Jumbo who is fucking drenched in blood making a fun comeback after being dominated by Hansen. Then we had a hot stretch run leading to a great finish with everyone including Akira Fukuzawa going nuts and this was completely awesome. Slam dunk nomination.
