Posted February 9, 200818 yr comment_5427975 Genichiro Tenryu & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Great Kabuki & Jumbo Tsuruta (10/22/89) - I can’t decide what I like more… the Jumbo-Tenryu feud or Footloose-Can-Ams feud. I may be laughed at for this but 1989 Kabuki isn’t half-bad compared to World Class Kabuki. Shit, he bumps, sells, and doesn’t rely on a fucking nerve hold. He even bleeds in this one. I love how Fuyuki and Tenryu go to town on the cut once it is opened. So many times you’ll see Flair or Brody or someone bleed but the opponent doesn’t even try to exploit the cut. He actually makes a pretty sympathetic character while playing FIP. I am stunned. When he makes the hot tag to Jumbo, the crowd comes alive. Some nonsensical no-selling kind of killed it for me. Fuyuki shakes off the big knee only to hit a clothesline that Jumbo shrugs off. They don’t even do a delayed sell. Pretty hot ending as they try to put Kabuki away but he gets a sunset flip flash pin to the delight of the crowd. This doesn’t compare to those Can-Am-Footloose matches but I have absolutely no problem nominating this match. Am I hallucinating?
May 2, 201015 yr comment_5450345 You weren't hallucinating. The Jumbo-Tenryu interactions were a notch above anything else in the match, but Kabuki was actively good. He got the crowd behind him while selling his ass-kicking and showed excellent timing on his little uppercut chops. I really liked the actual finish too, where it looked like Tenryu and Fuyuki were about to put him away but Kabuki proved more resourceful than they expected. Between his performance and the brief but brutal exchanges between Jumbo and Tenryu, the match deserves a nomination.
September 17, 201015 yr comment_5455862 The Great Kabuki & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ricky Fuyuki & Genichiro Tenryu (10/22/89) Korakuen is fuckin jazzed up here especially when Tenryu slaps Jumbo in the face. Fuyuki would be the whipping boy early as he gets worked over in between Jumbo & Tenryu going to war on the floor. Kabuki juices here sorta surprisingly and Revolution just takes control of him working over the cut with Kabuki being very effective as the FIP and he would get the hot tag to Jumbo who is fired up bringing Tenryu in the ring so he can whip his ass. This led to a fun exchange with Jumbo trying to fight Revolution by himself as Kabuki recovers on the floor but the numbers game would catch up to him. Jumbo would take some hard forearms by Tenryu and some shots from Fuyuki before finally getting Kabuki back in the ring with him fighting back until the numbers game got him too. Kabuki would sneak in a sunset flip after a double lariat to get the flash pin. I liked this match and I think this moves forward.
