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Jumbo Tsuruta


Grimmas

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If it was like that Dump vs Chigusa match I saw the other night, they'd work towards a spot where the person with Hep would have an open wound and the entire heel stable would try to force the babyface towards it.

 

In related news, I'm going to tackle the two Brisco vs Jumbo matches next.

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As things stand right now, Jumbo is the only worker who has a real shot at unseating Flair as #1 for me.

 

Jumbo is someone who has a career that you can really stack up against Flair's. In fact, Jumbo starts earlier as a really meaningful worker than Flair does. He has matches on tape going back to 1972-3. Flair in the 78-9 is hurt a bit by lack of footage, but we can see enough of him on the Cornette Garbage tapes, in St. Louis and elsewhere to get a feel for what Flair was like in 78.

 

But it's not that controversial to say that between these two Gods of the 80s, Jumbo's 70s is significantly better than Flair's.

 

I've barely scratched the surface of 70s Jumbo, but he was great in a match tagging with Baba vs. The Funks I reviewed (11/30/79) and equally impressive against Harley Race (6/11/77). I've got both of them rated at ****1/2 / A-.

 

From the 80s, I've got these matches rated at A- or above:

 

A*

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89)

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86)

Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89)

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/83)

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/87)

 

A

Jumbo Tsuruta & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (7/15/89)

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kerry Von Erich (2/3 Falls) (5/22/84)

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/28/88)

 

A-

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/24/87)

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (10/21/86)

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86)

 

And just last night there were four more already from 1990, and I've barely even started on the 90s stuff:

 

A*

Jumbo Tsuruta vs Mitsuharu Misawa (09/01/90)

 

A

Jumbo Tsuruta vs Mitsuharu Misawa (06/08/90)

Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada(09/30/90)

 

A-

Jumbo Tsuruta, Kabuki & Masa Fuchi vs Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue(05/26/90)

 

 

-------

 

To me, Jumbo is just a transcendent worker. When he's on form, I can't think of many better offensive wrestlers. He hits every single move with such velocity and impact that it makes the ground shake. Jumbo might not be the biggest guy ever to step into the ring, but he's certainly one of the most physical. He can make a slight size advantage really count in a way that is special.

 

He is great at selling. He bumps his arse off. He can work the mat. He can trade strikes. He can work hour-long technical broadways. He can work heated sprints. He can brawl. He can be the nice babyface champion who'd shake hands with your mother. He can be a total prick. He has a wonderfully expressive face that registers that unique mixture of disgust and being affronted that only Jumbo can register.

 

I don't want to count out other candidates just yet, but a lot of them will have the problem of both longevity and volume. But right now, it's looking like a straight fight between Flair and Jumbo.

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I will be watching more Lucha, especially the pimped stuff. I have a feeling you'll be right though. The way I already know without watching another three dozen Lawler matches that he's not going to be breaching the top 10. Not completely counting out Lucha guys, I mean I did love MS-1 vs. Chicana (see here). But it's safe to say that I'm not naturally inclined to being a "Lucha guy".

 

Hansen has a real shot. Funk's longevity feels like a bit of a cheat to me because he's not working week in, week out like Flair and Jumbo and so it's easier to drop in and make a splash.

 

In fact, as things stand, Funk and Hansen are probably duking it out for #3. But there's no way I can count out the 90s AJPW guys from being in there either.

 

No one from the 00s has a shot of my top 10 because my criteria doesn't really allow for it. Too early for them.

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I was talking about this with my brother last night, but I really don't think the longevity of the peak of Flair is all that unusual. Jumbo is someone I don't connect with at all as a worker - in fact I'm generally repelled by him to the point where I have no desire to watch him wrestle ever again (something I'm going to have to get over for the purposes of this project). But I do think Jumbo's peak - or at least his run as a consistently very good worker is considerably longer than Flair's at least based on the evidence we have.

 

To me the more interesting comparison to make at least at this stage is Jumbo and Fujinami. I came out of the 80's sets thinking that Fujinami was the best Japanese worker of the 80's over Jumbo and I think his 70's work is better too. And that's despite the fact that I think Jumbo was booked in a much stronger position than Fujinami for the majority of that period. I will grant that most don't agree with that (at least I don't think they do), but I would ask that you not discount Fujinami as another potential top level pick until you go through his run in the 80s

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As things stand right now, Jumbo is the only worker who has a real shot at unseating Flair as #1 for me.

 

Jumbo is someone who has a career that you can really stack up against Flair's. In fact, Jumbo starts earlier as a really meaningful worker than Flair does. He has matches on tape going back to 1972-3. Flair in the 78-9 is hurt a bit by lack of footage, but we can see enough of him on the Cornette Garbage tapes, in St. Louis and elsewhere to get a feel for what Flair was like in 78.

 

But it's not that controversial to say that between these two Gods of the 80s, Jumbo's 70s is significantly better than Flair's.

 

I've barely scratched the surface of 70s Jumbo, but he was great in a match tagging with Baba vs. The Funks I reviewed (11/30/79) and equally impressive against Harley Race (6/11/77). I've got both of them rated at ****1/2 / A-.

 

From the 80s, I've got these matches rated at A- or above:

 

A*

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89)

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86)

Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89)

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/83)

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/87)

 

A

Jumbo Tsuruta & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (7/15/89)

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kerry Von Erich (2/3 Falls) (5/22/84)

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/28/88)

 

A-

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/24/87)

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (10/21/86)

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86)

 

And just last night there were four more already from 1990, and I've barely even started on the 90s stuff:

 

A*

Jumbo Tsuruta vs Mitsuharu Misawa (09/01/90)

 

A

Jumbo Tsuruta vs Mitsuharu Misawa (06/08/90)

Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada(09/30/90)

 

A-

Jumbo Tsuruta, Kabuki & Masa Fuchi vs Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue(05/26/90)

 

 

-------

 

To me, Jumbo is just a transcendent worker. When he's on form, I can't think of many better offensive wrestlers. He hits every single move with such velocity and impact that it makes the ground shake. Jumbo might not be the biggest guy ever to step into the ring, but he's certainly one of the most physical. He can make a slight size advantage really count in a way that is special.

 

He is great at selling. He bumps his arse off. He can work the mat. He can trade strikes. He can work hour-long technical broadways. He can work heated sprints. He can brawl. He can be the nice babyface champion who'd shake hands with your mother. He can be a total prick. He has a wonderfully expressive face that registers that unique mixture of disgust and being affronted that only Jumbo can register.

 

I don't want to count out other candidates just yet, but a lot of them will have the problem of both longevity and volume. But right now, it's looking like a straight fight between Flair and Jumbo.

 

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89)

 

I just watched this match and it was seriously fantastic stuff.

 

I'm gonna love watching all of this older Japan wrestling if they are going to continue to absolutely beat the shit out of each other for the whole match.

 

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Serious contender for #1 here. Think there's a case to be made he had the match of the decade in the 70's, 80's, AND 90's. (Not saying it's definitive or even that I necessarily agree, but it's there and those matches are all so amazing and different either way it's a great mark on his box).

 

For 70's Jumbo, I recommend his two 1977 matches with Billy Robinson (Which also would count in Robinson's favor in his thread), which are two of my favorite "old-school" matches ever. And it also goes to show how excellent both of their wrestling minds were that they were able to change their second match up as much as they did since it was 1 week later. Also had some tags against Pat O'Connor and friends I'm looking forward to viewing earlier in the decade as well.

 

When I first saw Jumbo I thought "Man, how overrated is this guy?" but after seeing more and more of newer guys that wore on me and more and more Jumbo he's really broken through the last year or so. He's a credit to the business for sure.

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the thing about Jumbo is how he was able to grow with the times. Him and Fujinami are similar in how they both adapted to the changing winds. Fujinami went from the best junior to excellent tag machine to top heavyweight throughout the decade, never missing a step. Jumbo worked the style of the times in the 70s, 80s and into the 90s without missing a beat. Matwork and world title matches? Check. Wild bloody brawls? Check? Stiff, violent main events? Check. Great tag wrest;er? Check. He was also great in his role as ace and as Baba's second. Jumbo played the role he needed to play in all phases of his career INCLUDING opening old geezer before he passed.

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I have been filling in lots of early 90s viewing gaps over the last week and I have to say that I really prefer the way Jumbo worked as an ace in tag matches to the way Misawa worked as an ace in tag matches. Jumbo made saves, but I have yet to see him act as heavy-handed as Misawa does when he comes in and does all the work before dragging the guy to his corner and tagging himself in. Jumbo sort of forces Taue to fight his battles, but he's incredibly supportive from the apron. Misawa is almost condescending by comparison.

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I always liked Misawa's approach to those situations. Early in the match, he let his partner feast or famine. But when it came down to winning or losing, he wasn't going to let some other asshole set the scene. Didn't you ever feel that way with less capable co-workers?

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  • 1 month later...

The reason I've always ranked Jumbo over Misawa is in the way Jumbo works with lower-ranked workers. Simply put, Misawa didn't *work* with them. He just let them tee off on him for 9/10 of the match, and then took it home when he was ready. Taiyo Kea in '98, Hiroshi Hase in 2000, Takuma Sano in 2003. Jumbo worked with them and made them look credible. I reviewed a bunch of Jumbo's AWA Title matches, both in Japan and the U.S. and he was going out of his way to make Jim Brunzell look like he was only an eyelash away from winning the title.

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Jumbo was definitely better in the 70s than Misawa was as Tiger Mask, and by some margin. In fact, before he got ill, I'm willing to bet that you could find a ****+ match for every single year that Jumbo was an active member of the roster from 1973 to 1992.

 

Honestly you could probably do that for Misawa too for 1988-2009 minus maybe 1989.

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