Posted December 1, 200915 yr comment_5446094 DVD #17 7/27/85 Ishikawa/Akio Sato vs. Hamaguchi/Teranishi - Damn, I watched this yesterday, and I really can't remember much about it. Baba/Jumbo/Tenryu vs. Race/Kimura/Tsurumi - Race had some nice sequences with Jumbo and Baba, but these teams were not well-balanced. Would you have any doubt looking at the listing that Tsurumi took the fall? Choshu/Khan/Yatsu vs. Hansen/Red/Blackwell - Blackwell remained a barrel of fun, and the crowd was hot to see any Hansen v. Choshu, but this didn't go anywhere satisfying. 8/3/85 Baba vs. Hansen - I'll be interested to see how voters react to Baba. I'm sure some people won't be able to get past how slow and weak some of his stuff looked. But he was such a smart worker with a unique connection to his audience. Paired with an equally smart worker like Stan, who always sold for him, he could still have a damn good match at this stage. I thought his lack of athleticism took away from the takedown-into-armbar spots, but his persistece in attacking the lariat arm worked overall. I always love Stan's desperation offense, and his lariat and dropkick on the outside were great tide-turners in this one. The end came abruptly but as Ditch mentioned in one of the NJ threads, the suplex from apron into ring had magical properties in Japan. Anyway, we'll have to compare all of their matches, but this is a yes for now. Okuma vs. Kimala - Squash. Jumbo/Tenryu vs. Choshu/Khan - Unremarkable until Jumbo hurt his wrapped arm on a lariat to Choshu's noggin. After that, Choshu and Khan beat the hell out of him to a shocking degree. Tenryu delivered a nasty run of offense off a hot tag and a bloodied Jumbo managed one nice run of knees and lariats. But the real story was the totality of the beatdown on the top guy. I mean Jumbo bled a lot and lay there helplessly as Khan destroyed his arm and leg with knees from the top. He took the countout and had to be hauled away by stretcher. Some might see it as an angle more than a great match, but it sure as shit got my attention. So I'll nominate it.
