Posted February 27, 200817 yr comment_5428700 Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Giant Baba & Tiger Mask (11/28/96) (21:01) - This is a really hot match when Jumbo and Baba are in. The crowd loves every time they face off. Baba isn’t very mobile and his strikes look weak (he does have a couple of nice ones here) but that isn’t his strength anyway. Baba is one of those few souls like Hogan or Andre or JYD in Mid South who generates true emotions in his fans. Overall, the match is really a case of the subordinates trying to one up each other until the “captains” come in and take control. This has been a formula I have seen in All Japan tags for the last couple of weeks and it is just as effective as the face in peril Southern tags. The end run is worth mentioning. Misawa comes off the ropes in a flying body press but Jumbo rolls through. Baba thought Misawa was going to get the pin so he had his back turned and was keeping Tenryu from interfering but failed to save his partner. This tag is worth a nomination. (AJC 140)
April 27, 201015 yr comment_5450098 You nailed it man. This match worked because of the crowd's connection to Baba. They loved Baba so much that when Jumbo and Tenryu goaded him with shots on the apron, they came off as real dicks. And when Baba laid in the receipt shots, it felt like grandpa had shed 20 years to take some well-deserved vengeance. I didn't think Misawa added a lot, but the Baba stuff was enough to earn a yes from me.
July 5, 201015 yr comment_5452727 Real World Tag League: Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Giant Baba & Tiger Mask II (11/28/86) It was always intriguing to see Baba & Jumbo on opposite sides since they were joined at the hip for so long and now Jumbo & Tenryu have gotten more aggresive. TM II nearly killing himself with a tope con hilo to the floor on Jumbo was quite the opening salvo. They would beat on TM for a while until Baba got the tag and this is where the storytelling begins as the proteges wanted to pound on Baba on the apron and in the ring with the crowd not liking it at all. I love for some reason they mention Mike Tyson being the new heavyweight champion in boxing as TM II has Tenryu in a headscissors. The action was solid in this as everyone was good in their roles plus the finish was well done as well. This moves forward easily.
