Posted June 1, 201015 yr comment_5451498 All Japan Pro Wrestling (June 11 1989) 5. Dan Spivey vs Sting - This was great for the first few minutes, with both guys throwing bombs and the crowd going nuts. But they got really sloppy and disjointed after that. Spivey's roll-up win almost felt like an accident, given that Sting popped right up and asecended for a dive that left the fans more confused than excited. No vote for this one. 6. Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu - Hmm, I think this has a chance to make the set. I don't need to waste many words on this one. You had the company's top guys trading huge shots for 25 minutes in front of a supercharged crowd, and they produced a finish that irrevocably established Tenryu as a co-ace. I loved all of the vicious ground-and-pound and Jumbo using a cobra clutch instead of a simple chinlock when he wanted to control Tenryu. I'm not sure I buy the traditional argument that this was the bridge to 1990s All-Japan. Some of the late-decade tags did just as good a job foreshadowing the coming style. But the extended finishing run, with Jumbo failing to put Tenryu away and then kicking out of one powerbomb before succumbing to a second, was the sort of thing we'd later see from Misawa and Kawada. We all know this is likely to finish top 5 with a strong shot at No. 1. And it's one of those sacred cows that doesn't need slaying as we revisit the decade.
