[1974-01-30-AJPW] Jack Brisco vs Jumbo Tsuruta

[Superstar Sleeze]

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jack Brisco vs Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW 1/30/74 2 out of 3 Falls

 

Check out those sideburns on Jumbo! This is baby Jumbo Tsuruta who just debuted earlier in 1973 and was only recently dubbed "Jumbo". He does not look out of place one bit against the NWA Champ Jack Brisco. I just love these sports-feel world championship bout: great tie-ups, leg dives and struggle for every move. Basic, fundamentals-oriented layout let the rookie shine with strong holds and coming back to that hold, lose control due to an underhanded tactic, a nice hot run up to the close of the first fall before Brisco puts him away. Jumbo's home base was an armbar. Every time, there was movement Jumbo was able to wrangle it back on using some great armdrags. I loved the Brisco hiptoss into a Jumbo armdrag! Brisco was great at shining Jumbo up with verbal selling and the desperation to not get hit by the butterfly suplex. I am a big mark for tests of strength and there was some great top wristlocks coming out of the armbars. Eventually, Brisco uses the hair to bring him down into a vicious headlock. Jumbo is able to comeback into a crossface chickenwing, which Brisco uses a great drop toehold to transition into a deathlock with great strikes into the ribs. Jumbo was eventually able to catch Jack riding high into a facelock, but Brisco was in the ropes. Tsuruta sees his opening and just unloads bodyslams (not his badass body slams, but still very good), but he misses one elbow drop. Brisco gets a Robinson backbreaker to win the first fall. Brisco 1-0

 

Awesome, awesome second fall. Wow! Just a great barrage of Jumbo Tsuruta offense throughout the fall. Brisco works a tight headlock, but Jumbo grabs a kneecrusher and never looks back. He works a great fucking bridging toehold and Brisco sends him flying. He is hobbling and tries to meet him on apron, but Jumbo gets sunset flip into a drop toehold into a great deathlock. Brisco escapes to the floor and JUMBO IS FIRING UP! He wants Brisco in the ring, BABY! Jumbo applies the Boston Crab and is working the back. Then he just throws Brisco around with a butterly and just an incredibly overhead belly to belly that was just an incredible feat of strength. I loved that suffocating run of offense to finish the fall. Tied 1-1.

 

Third fall was killer. Jumbo stays on the back and is jazzed. Brisco is selling it like he is absolutely done. Jumbo applies a abdominal stretch. You actually buy it as a finish given it is 1974 and Jumbo is so excited. This converted into a hold on the ground into an amazing, amazing Jumbo bridge into a bodyscissors working that back! Bearhug! I have never popped for a bearhug until today. Jumbo is fucking awesome. Brisco looks dead. Brisco is desperate and is just like fuck it. He throws a wicked closed fist. I have been disapointed by Brisco working punch, which misses by a mile, but damn that was good. Brisco throws a nasty knee to head in the corner. He hurls Jumbo in a butterful suplex, damn! Robinson backbreaker KICK OUT! JUMBO BACK DROP DRIVER!!! Head collision. Jumbo dropkick he gets up to Brisco's but kinda wiffs and then he actually misses because Brisco averts it. A reversal of O'Connor Roll with Brisco ends up on top to win.

Wow! That is how you make a rookie a star in one match. Just amazing work. Jumbo ripped it up this match. He was excited and just kicking ass. He never looked out of place. Brisco was totally selfless in this match. It was a bit too lopsided to be a contender for greatest match of all time, but it was an awesome display of both talents. I have it ahead of both the Baba matches because it had more energy. ****1/2

[Jetlag]

Brisco goes one on one with young Jumbo in a 30 minute textbook title match just days after his broadway with Dory Funk, Jr. Really really solid 70s style match. I always enjoy watching these tubby guys going through textbook holds and cutoffs, which in some way oddly foreshadow the 90s Kings Road structure of working extended control segments. Just when Jumbo was really putting the squeeze on Brisco with a chickenwing crossface and Brisco sold his arm and shoulder I thought this was getting really good but then Brisco just stopped acknowledging it. Generally I feel Brisco looks less like a dangerous hooker in AJPW than he did in the Inoki match altough that may be me thinking by association. Still the technical work was solid enough not to get boring. Jumbos slams from armbar is something I'm baffled hasn't been widely stolen. The flash pins in this ruled. Brisco sold for Jumbo in a big way typical of a touring champion. The 3^rd fall wasn't as hot as it could have been indicating from the previous two with the crowd buzzing for Jumbo but they delivered a good finish. This wasn't mindblowing by any means but I probably liked this a little more than Brisco/Dory simply because it's shorter and much livelier.