[1991-10-29-SWS] Genichiro Tenryu vs Yoshiaki Yatsu

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Pretty cool match. I loved the UWFI tribute spot where Tenryu was being counted down after getting semi-KO'd and they teased that he wouldn't be able to respond. Yatsu does a great dive from the apron to the floor. There were some things I didn't love about this match (felt unusually my-turn, your-turn in how it was laid out), but I think the things I did like overcame it. Great finish with Tenryu slapping Yatsu into a weakened enough position that he can powerbomb him for the win.

[PeteF3]

Methodically paced but fun hate-fest of a match, with Yatsu going as all-out as he can on offense--a bulldog on the exposed concrete, a dive off the apron, and an attempted diving elbow that Tenryu does a great job of dodging at the last second. Yatsu had something left in the tank after all. Some weird stuff like Tenryu's first power bomb being treated as a routine transition move, but a solid little match.

[Kevin Ridge]

There was a bit too much of the I'll do a move and you do the exact same move to me back. The crowd seemed silent outside of a few vocal fans. But the audio of the strikes sounded great. They were just laying into each other.

[soup23]

This felt like about the best we were getting from Yatsu at this point. He is a clear step below Tenryu with his intensity and stiffness with the striking but the match was fun seeing two old rivals clobber each other.

[El-P]

As good as you'll get from a Yatsu single match at this point. Not pretty, but fun to watch these too throwing bombs at each other. Disjointed though, with some odd pacing at points. Pretty good.

[ohtani's jacket]

I was a bit worried about this when Yatsu came out to a weak Japanese hip hop track and paced about the ring so pensively. Looked like it would be one-way traffic for a while there as Tenryu made his way to the ring w/ his theme music blaring and that awesome Revolution jacket. But Yatsu showed early on that he meant business and my fears were soon dispelled. Having said that, they really only half-delivered on what should have been a pretty heavy physical contest. It was a methodically paced bout that never really settled into a groove. As others have mentioned, the transitions were poor and the flow was slightly off. Yatsu didn't look that great working from the top in large part because he lacked the charisma of his opponent, but to be fair it wasn't one of Tenryu's finer performances. I've noticed that Tenryu doesn't really go in for epic matches. That's rare considering the era he was working in where everyone was trying to be bigger and better. I'm not sure if it's because he was aware of his opponent's limitations, as well as his own, or if it was a deliberate choice because of the style of match he liked to work where you beat the crap out of each other until there's only one left standing. In any event, he often went short. This had a cool finish with Tenryu using sumo style harite slaps to set Yatsu up for the power bomb, but there wasn't a hell of a lot else that had you sit up and take notice. Would have liked to have seen them pummel each other more.

[garretta]

This was simply two old friends and rivals pounding the hell out of each other until they couldn't anymore. Tenryu gave Yatsu more of this than I thought he would, and at least once I thought he'd been legitimately knocked out by Yatsu's assault on his head and neck, which might have looked a little sloppy but proved to be effective. Their strike exchanges were tremendous, and Vince must have sent over some of his surplus sound equipment, because you could hear the chops and kicks echo all over the place. It's a bit odd that Tenryu hit the powerbomb so early, then had to do it again at the finish, but perhaps that was the house style.

 

I didn't know that the types of slaps Tenryu used to set up the finishing powerbomb had a name or a strategic purpose. The things you learn on this board!

[dawho5]

I liked Yatsu's focus on the head and how Tenryu had to battle back from almost being KOed to get the win. I'd agree that Tenryu didn't really care for "epic" match style. He liked giving and taking a beating. But when you really look at it, Tenryu wrestled well into his 50s with that style and those guys putting on the epic matches made it how far? I thought some of this match could have been better executed and question some of the same things as above. But this is a really good match and probably the best you will get from this style with Yatsu as a Tenryu opponent.

[Edwin]

This was heatless and not that good. We get too much Yatsu and not enough Tenryu. I've liked Yatsu in certain instances such as in 1980's AJPW, but here he looked pretty bad. Everything he did here looked really bad. We get some signs of brilliance from Tenryu here, but not enough to save this for me. Pretty forgettable.

[Jetlag]

We get too much Yatsu and not enough Tenryu. I've liked Yatsu in certain instances such as in 1980's AJPW, but here he looked pretty bad. Everything he did here looked really bad. We get some signs of brilliance from Tenryu here, but not enough to save this for me. Pretty forgettable.

 

You're crazy, right? Yatsu has all the really awesome offense in this match. This is one of my all time favourite fights. They just kill eachother.

 

Copy and pasting tomk's review on this match because it has some of my all time favourite lines:

 

 

TKG: So Phil gets this SWS card with a disappointing Orient Express vs. Sano/Orihara match, disappointing Haku/Nakano vs. somebody and Fuyuki, disappointing Takano v. Barbarian, Bestia carrying Asai to a nice juniors match , and I guess a the Hara vs. Warlord match which exceeded expectations. And then there was the main event. And Fuck I need to see every time these two guys match up. What did Tenryu do to Yatsu to deserve this? What did Yatsu do to Tenryu? What in hell are these two guys doing to each other. This starts with Yatsu slapping the dogshit out of Tenryu's ear, and then Yatsu just looks to be going after the ear, forearm right to the ear, stiff enziguri right to ear, etc. Its like he wants to bust his eardrum. Yatsu is sick of the women being drawn to Tenryu on the dance floor and has decided to fuck Tenryu's balance up permanently. Tenryu crawls around the ring and sells. Damnit bitch its my jherri curl that draws the women not my dance steps you ugly fuck. Tenryu chops the fuck out of Yatsu chops him right on the throat, enziguri's him in the back of the head, etc. But this is really the Yatsu show as he goes on these huge runs of offense were you legit believe that Tenryu is concussed or at least been rendered near imobile. I think my favorite spot is the first rope flying battering ram headbutt that Yatsu throws. He follows this up with just a really nasty Terry Taylor type chinbreaker except he executes it with this kind of complete disregard. Like Steve Williams throwing a dangerous suplex, except its a chinbreaker. Chinbreaker 91~!

[Edwin]

You're crazy, right? Yatsu has all the really awesome offense in this match. This is one of my all time favourite fights. They just kill eachother.

If not enjoying something, having my own opinion/view on things and not agreeing with the opinion of the Segunda Caida crew/DVDVR crew/whoever, makes me crazy, then, yes, I am crazy.

 

They also seem to like the Amazing Red and Low Ki Kung Fu sequence, which in my opinion, is one of the most embarrassing things I've ever seen and think it's as over the top, goofy and choreographed as the Ricochet and Ospreay dance routine.

 

As for this match -- I was expecting it to be hate filed, yet I didn't feel it was and for Yatsu, I recall really thinking his standing elbows and mounted punches, for example, looked really bad/weak.

[cactus]

I wasn't too big on this either. They start the match off with some lockups that show that it's clear that these guys do not like each. Yatsu's good at getting in Tenryu's business and he lays him out with some beefy Enziguris. I felt like they were building to a hot finishing stretch that never came to fruition. I liked the finish with Tenryu slapping Yatsu about, but for the most part this wasn't all that exciting to me.

★★½