Posted June 5, 201015 yr comment_5451647 All Japan Pro Wrestling (August 20 & August 27 1989) 1. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs Toshiaki Kawada & Fuyuki - They started hot, brawling at ringside and hitting some big moves right off. But Kawada hurt his ribs while trying to bounce off the ropes and that derailed the match for a few minutes. He eventually got back in the mix, but then the match ended abruptly on a Kroffat roll-up. I don't know if that was an adjustment because of the injury or what. This was the weakest match of their series by a fair margin. 2. Johnny Ace vs Abullah the Butcher - Ace tried to take it to Abby with a flying clothesline off the apron and the inevitable monkey flip. But Abby cut him off with a throat thrust and finished him shortly after. I actually think they could've had a fun 10-minute match, but this was more like three. 3. Yoshani Yatsu & Great Kabuki vs Terry Gordy & Todd Champion - Heavily JIP. Champion hit a sweet shoulderblock off the top but succumbed to a Yatsu roll-up moments later. 4. Jumbo Tsuruta & Kenta Kobashi vs Genichiro Tenryu & Yoshanri Ogawa - This started strong with a few minutes of Jumbo vs. Tenryu, and then it was fun to watch the top guys abuse the young folk. Ogawa made a sympathetic character because he was so tiny. Him slapping Jumbo looked like a house cat attacking a grizzly. But he was pretty sloppy as well, clearly a few leagues below Kobashi. I did get a kick out of Tenryu trying to humiliate Jumbo by setting up Ogawa pin attempts on the big guy. Though I enjoyed watching this overall, it lacked the standout moment or sustained intensity that would put it on the set. 5. Yoshakai Yatsu, Great Kabuki & John Tenta vs Abullah the Butcher, Pez Whatley & Tiger Conway Jr. - I always get a chuckle when the Japanese throw Abby into another trio with two random black guys. This featured some fun collisions of fat between Abby and Tenta, but it never built into anything much. 6. Shane Douglas & Johnny Ace vs Kenta Kobashi & Jumbo Tsuruta - Did Ace and Douglas team together for any length of time? They actually did a bunch of nifty double-team spots. This was one of those matches that hummed along at a pleasant pace without anyone really setting up anything memorable. I'm sure you can guess who got the pin and how. 7. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs Terry Gordy & Todd Champion - The Gordy-Tenryu interactions were hot, which I hope augurs well for their singles match on the next disc. Bam Bam actually nailed a powerbomb on Tenryu, who had to be saved by Kawada. Kawada then polished off Champion pretty easily. This definitely felt more like a tease for Tenryu-Gordy than a fully realized match.
