Ric Flair vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (Non-Title Match) (10/19/85)

- I’ll have to compare all the Flair-Jumbo matchups to see if they all deserve to be on the set but I really liked this one. Pretty subdued match but I liked that Jumbo was the one working on the leg with Flair in survival mode. Flair turned the tied after throwing Jumbo out of the ring and he works in the Figure-4 shortly after. Just when the crowd picks up steam and this one gets moving, it is a time limit draw at the 15-minute mark. I’ll give it a nomination to keep it in the drawing when we compare Flair-Jumbo matches but it may not make it into the later rounds.

 

(AJC 121)

This was the house show version of their typical match. They kept the action moving and packed a bunch of signature spots into 15 minutes. But they didn't produce any indelible moments or strike any new ground. The crowd seemed engaged but never reacted as if the match was important (in contrast to Choshu-Martel just before it.) It was probably a better match, move for move, than some other stuff that will make the set. But it never struck me as essential viewing in the context of their series, so I'm leaning no.

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (10/19/85)

 

This is a 15:00 non-title match which was interesting and it reminded me of some of Flair's TV matches in Florida where they would be non-title against guys like Scott McGhee or Barry Windham where both men would go back and forth ending with either Flair jobbing or going to the draw. This was no different as both men were solid here hitting their spots with Jumbo working the Flair style match very well and Flair being Flair. Korakuen was getting hot as they were counting down the clock on the mic with Jumbo getting Flair in the figure-four but time would run out before he could get the high knee. This was fun but I'll give this a mild endorsement because I want to see the other Flair/Jumbo matches that were given more time.