[1990-01-25-AJPW-New Year Giant Series] Jumbo Tsuruta & Kabuki & Mighty Inoue vs Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[FLIK]

Conflicting match for me. Coming off the heels of the 1/20 tag I was exspecting a really angry hate filled match but instead this was mostly a really hard hitting work rate tag. As a work rate tag it's actually really good but yeah, even Tenryu was kinda low key during most of this, by his standards atleast so I couldn't help but be a little disapointed. Finally during the last minute or 2 the heat gets turned up with as Jumbo & Tenryu go at it on the outside leading to a screwy anti climactic ending with Inoue winning by count out after he knocks Tenryu out with a diving attack as he was trying to get back in the ring. Post match makes up for everything with Tenryu going nuts on everyone and chairs & tables flying all over.

[Loss]

Just the finish of Tenryu snapping. This was put on to show that he was clearly being phased out as early as January, as a match involving these guys would not have ended this way a few months earlier. Sounds like we just included the good part, but I'm interested in checking out the match in full sometime based on what we see here. I want to see it for myself.

 

That Inoue shoulderblock on Tenryu that sent him to the floor was spectacular. Genuine rewind moment.

[FLIK]

Sounds like we just included the good part, but I'm interested in checking out the match in full sometime based on what we see here.

It's on youtube, as a stand alone match it's actually a really good and def worth watching. It's just that after seeing Tenryu get beat down 2 on 1 & bloodied you exspect him to come back with more then a few stiff chops as revenge.

[PeteF3]

A weird, sort of low-rent venue I've never seen before and the lack of lighting combine with the chaotic frenzy of the match to make for something that looks like a high-end Japanese indy more than All-Japan. Mighty is in peril while everyone else brawls around ringside until he manages to ward off a Kawada attack and fire a leaping headbutt at Tenryu on the apron, pretty much knocking him cold. And Tenryu gets counted out! Tenryu loses it after the match and chairs and tables are thrown all over the place. I don't know if this was a punishment for Tenryu or an attempt at duplicating the awesome Umanosuke Ueda/Akira Maeda moment from the NJPW/UWF elimination tag a few years earlier, or what, but that was a pleasantly unexpected result especially by AJPW standards. This seemed like a '70s match for the promotion (in terms of atmosphere at least) complete with a non-pinfall finish, that makes for a fun little anachronism in the increasingly conservative world of All-Japan.

[Kevin Ridge]

Hard to really gouge AJPW when it's just the finish. The count out finish was probably a first for the yearbooks from this promotion. Tenryu is not very pleased with the result. He's been a really angry man from all his matches.

[soup23]

All Japan so far this year has been kind of funky and not really hitting the mark with me. Tenryu/Jumbo hate each other and ringside gets cleared out with every match. This was a weird venue.

[Childs]

This stuff does a nice job of setting up the coming transition, though, which as Loss and Will have said, is the theme of 1990.

[Cox]

Have to say, I did not expect to see this much crazy brawling and the general out of control vibe that has been present so far out of AJPW on these yearbooks, as the reputation I've always had of All Japan is the stodgy, conservative group, but I guess that's what it's transitioning to at this point. Kind of a shame, as I am really digging all of the Tenryu and Tsuruta I've seen on the yearbooks thus far, but I say that as somebody who is new to this, so that might be why I'm viewing it differently.

[JerryvonKramer]

As this started I just assumed this was from some indy show until I noticed who it was in there. Odd venue, "low rent" being the right phrase.

 

This is just progressing a storyline in my mind. Tenryu is a man who has just snapped at this point. The relationship Jumbo is actually quite complex and interesting for wrestling. I don't think this feud has an equivalent in US wrestling at all.

[Laney]

Some crazy brawling and a count out finish here which is not the norm for All Japan. The purpose of this match seemed primarily to continue the Jumbo/Tenryu rivalry, but it looked like some good in-ring action from what we see here. This may be one that search for in full.

[garretta]

Hard to tell a lot from what little there is here, although I agree that Inoue's shoulderblock on Tenryu and Tenryu's reaction to being counted out make it worth including on their own. Can't wait for more.

[drew wardlaw]

This feels very gritty for All Japan. Very odd. I'd like to see the full match, as I've been a fan of Fuyuki so far as a weasel and seeing Tenryu get pissed off never gets old. This feels much older than 1990.

[ThomasFromIowa]

I love this Jumbo/Tenryu feud. The out of control vibe is just great to watch play out. I literally squealed when I realized Tenyru was laying out young boys with chairs again.

[dawho5]

Tenryu is really the only reason to watch this. He seems like he's finally finding that "Tenryu" character and beginning to explore it where in 89 he was still just "the guy chasing Jumbo who is slightly angry about it".

[Stiva]

Hot finish in which Tenryu continues to inflict otherworldly punishment on whoever appears to have wronged him but this time, he gets a taste of his own medicine from Inoue. Right before getting those goddamn ring boys back for their indiscretions last time around.

[cactus]

We only get the finish, so I'm not going to rate this, but what we saw here was good. This six man tag descends into a fiery brawl and eventually Tenryu snaps after getting counted out. Angry Tenryu is the best Tenryu. I was quite impressed with Mighty Inoue here too. He was building up to a nice comeback before the match abruptly ends.

[Calvin]

It's another continuation of Jumbo vs. Tenryu, so naturally this rules. And again, the match devolves into another chaotic mess with Tenryu going absolutely buckwild.

***