DGinnetty

The Wajima thing was a mess. Pushed him like crazy, and it never took. Choshu's group was getting ready to jump by late 86 anyway, so Wajima's push just sped up the departure. Perhaps we should thank Baba for pushing Wajima, because the failure may have been the impetus to turn Tenryu in May of 87. Dan

Nishimura has a IWGP tag title match with Manabu Nakanishi against Chono and Tenzan from 6/5/02. 35 minutes of the 60 min (yep) draw aired on Samurai TV, and it was excellent. Nishimura is MUGA-ing it up against his opponents, until Nakanishi gets injured during the match. Nakanishi is taken to the back. What does Nishimura do? He exits the ring and removes his wrestling boots, thereby activating SUPER MUGA-mode!!! Alone and barefooted, he fends off Chono AND Tenzan with his counters and fighting spirit until a bandaged Nakanishi can return to the ring a while later. Worth watching to see how well Nishimura does in that tag match. FWIW, Nakanishi's timing isn't as atrocious as it normally is, so he doesn't drag it down as much as he normally does. Nishimura was def on the fast track, especially after getting the Binta slap from Inoki at Inoki's retirement show. The crowd went nuts when Inoki transferred his fighting spirit to Nishimura. Sadly, 22 matches and 4 months later: testicular cancer sidelines him for 2 years. They push him when he gets back, but Tanahashi, Nakamura, and Makabe appear to be the new direction NJ is moving in. I think Nishimura could have accomplished more, but to me he remains a pleasure to watch. Dan

The only other singles match they had was from the 1982 champion carnival tournament. 4/16/82 15 min of the 30 min draw aired on tv.

Own the book and finished it last week. Tons of stories from other wrestlers thrown in, such as Patera, Slaughter, Iron Sheik, Patterson, Muraco, etc.. The thing that struck me was that Backlund seemed to put more thought into his matches than I recall the wrestling fans giving him credit for. He was pretty young when he got the belt too. He provides details about the title switch with Inoki in 1979, and ANY wrestling book with details about touring in Japan is a must buy for me :-) Kindle it or buy the hardcover; you won't be disappointed. Dan

Love Newsradio! Jimmie James 4 life! Dan

The Jumbo vs. Tenryu kinda starts with the 4/16/82 30 min draw, which is excellent. After Tenryu's turn in May 87, there a few tags with Jumbo on 1 side, Tenryu on the other prior to the 8/31/87 match. 1 tag match turns into a wild 6 man.

Yes, I think we only get 15:30 of the 30 min draw. It would be 5+ years before meeting again, so the first match prob wouldn't tie into the main feud, but I would love to see it. Same goes for any of the "big" matches from the 70s that were clipped for TV. We can only hope that the uncut raw footage still exists, and just needs to be dug up and digitally converted. When NTV launches it's All Japan/NOAH World monthly service, all that stuff will probably be there ;-) Dan

Here are the listings for the Tenryu specials on G+: Bell to bell times for all 6 matches wouldn't even run 2 hours. With before and after stuff included, there is still plenty of room for more Tenryu stuff. Dan Genichiro Tenryu retirement specials countdown to revolution end(1) - professional wrestler Tenryu Genichiro birth ~ Domestic debut June 11, 1977 Setagaya gymnasium Giant Baba & Tenryu vs Mario Milano & Mexico Grande First entrance theme song Thunder Storm February 4, 1982 Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium IWA World Heavyweight Championship bout (champion) Mil Máscaras vs Genichiro Tenryu (challenger) More October 9 (Fri) 23:30 to 1:30 　 October 31 (Sat) 19:00 to 21:00 Genichiro Tenryu retirement specials countdown to revolution end(2) - organizations tournament Choshu Metropolitan encounter ~ Obstinacy of the Hariai! Battle of destiny June 21, 1985 Nippon Budokan special game Genichiro Tenryu vs Choshu force Japan vs Japan summit showdown February 5, 1987, Sapporo Nakajima Sports Center International Tag Team Championship match (champion set) Choshu force & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu other October 31 (Sat) 21:00 to 23:00 Genichiro Tenryu retirement specials countdown to revolution end(3) - Tenryu Revolution ~ TsuruRyu confrontation best fights June 5, 1989 Nippon Budokan Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship bout (champion) Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu (challenger) G Baba beyond November 29, 1989 Sapporo Nakajima Sports Center '89 World's Strongest Tag Determination League official game Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura vs Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen More

Rejoice! The listings for G+ AJC #120, airing November 2nd, lists 3 matches: Jumbo vs. Tenryu 10/28/88 !!!!! Jumbo vs. Tenryu 4/20/89 (powerbomb match) Jumbo vs. Tenryu 4/19/90 (last matchup) There is room for more, but the 1988 match is great news. Here is to hoping the 3 120 minute Tenryu specials G+ is airing in October might cover the 8/31/87 and 10/3/87 matches. I have given up hop to get the complete 4/16/82 match... Dan

I think it was, but they would later air a 2 hour Tenryu special AND a Choshu Special in 2003 or 2004. Tenryu has shown up regularly on the G+ AJ Classics shows, so I was hoping to get the 3 Jumbo matches that did not show up on the Samurai run. They can still do it in the form of a Tenryu Special AJC show, like they have for many other wrestlers. They also can include the 10/28/88 match when they hit late 88, but I don't like out chances, since they alreasy skipped 8/31 and 10/3/87 Dan