[1990-04-19-AJPW-Championship Carnival] Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Hansen gets himself a piece of Tenryu before the match even starts, tying him up in the corner and then hitting him with a lariat. Jumbo ends up chasing Hansen off with the belt. It's a little weird seeing All Japan run an angle like this before the match.

 

Jumbo tries to check on Tenryu before the match starts and Tenryu slaps him in the face. Jumbo then insists that they start the match and starts unloading on him. I would safely call this a Tenryu burial. He gets in some offense, but not a lot, and this is all very much designed to make Jumbo (and Hansen) look good.

 

I think the timing of his departure was good, because even though I haven't watched the All Japan 80s set yet, the first few months of the year do feel stale. Tenryu's departure forced the promotion to go in a new direction, and it's one that paid off.

 

I guess you could call this the real end of the 80s for All Japan.

[PeteF3]

Hansen, apparently upset that Tenryu's getting this title shot and not him, unloads on Tenryu before the match, hanging him against the turnbuckle and knocking him silly with a Lariat. Jumbo runs off Hansen, but when he checks on Tenryu and gets slapped, he decides, "Fuck this sportsmanship shit" and instantly tries to put Tenryu away. Tenryu weathers that storm but it's pretty much Jumbo's match, as Tenryu sort of shoots his wad by hitting the power bomb early and seemingly the tide turns in the opening minutes when that fails to put him away.

 

Totally agreed on Tenryu's departure being timed right in retrospect. Knowing how slowly AJPW liked to elevate people, they needed something to force their hand and get behind the future Four Corners. Tenryu is already becoming a forgotten man as he's quickly ushered to the locker room after his defeat and Hansen and Jumbo mix it up again after the match. There would still be occasions to come in this decade of Hansen going nuts on people before and after the bell, but this is is about the last time we'll see a prolonged, extended pre- or post-match angle in an All-Japan ring.

[Childs]

It wasn't much fun to revisit this in the wake of the '80s set, which showed the Jumbo-Tenryu rivalry in all its glory. It's not a bad match. Tenryu got to hit his flash power bomb early, and they did a few nice counter sequences down the stretch. But yeah, Tenryu never felt like anything but a spent force, which is crazy considering the TC match they had 10 months earlier or even the 12/6/89 tag match. I get why Baba booked it that way; it's just a bummer to watch.

[soup23]

The final nail in the coffin for 1980's AJPW. 1989 was a really great year for the promotion but it is amazing how stale those characterstics have felt in the beginning of 1990 in the wake of 1989. Footloose seems tired. Jumbo/Tenryu brawling and battling each other barely raises and eyebrow for me and Hansen interacting with both seems tired and repetitive. This match is not that bad although the amount of offense that Tenryu got was shocking to me in its scarcity. Still Jumbo wins cleanly and the ushering in of a new era is right around the corner.

[Kevin Ridge]

Chaos early as Hansen attacked Jumbo and knocks down the ref. Lariat for Tenryu who is out cold. Jumbo hits the ring. Hansen gets on the mic and says he should be number on contender. I’m not reading the match listing on this so looks like Hansen was just hanging out ringside before all this and not official involved in match.

 

Tenryu is ready go and both men start with the big moves early. Jumbo takes over the match until Tenryu gets the enziguri. A fan on the crowd spun his jacket in the air after this. Sloppy reversal on a These press into stungun. Jumbo ends up putting Tenryu away pretty convincingly. Match was one sided but Tenryu was always playing from behind due to the Hansen prematch attack. Jumbo calls out Hansen and they brawl along with Hansen beating up the ring boys.

 

When I finally go through the 80's AJPW set, be interesting to view this one again.

[Cox]

Peace out, Tenryu. You're not going out with a classic, but this is perfectly fine pro wrestling. At least he came back to do the job before he went to be the top dog for SWS.

[Zenjo]

The match was ruined by horrible booking before it even started. There was nowhere they could go after the prematch. I look forward to seeing Tenryu back in All Japan 10 years down the line when they needed him again.

[TravJ1979]

So was it known that Tenryu was leaving at this point? I always thought it was a blindside that he was leaving as a "spokesman", but it was only a cover to form SWS. Also, was this the last day of the tour and 5/14 the first day of the next?

[garretta]

Not as much of a squash as I thought it was going to be based on the comments here. Tenryu got his offense in, and Jumbo sold it like it was any other bout. Still, you kind of knew Tenryu was working from behind after being knocked cold by Hansen right off the bat. Stan does his usual number on everything that moves, and we get quite the postmatch brawl to set up the new era. This was as well done as could be expected under the circumstances, and it's nice to know that Tenryu will land on his feet, as evidenced by his big win over Savage.

[BigBadMick]

Not great, but under the circumstances it was a very hot and heavy 15 minutes or so. I enjoyed it.

[drew wardlaw]

The tone of this is very strange, with Jumbo feeling very much like a notch or two above Tenryu. So is this Tenryu's final match before leaving?

[Jetlag]

Really? The booking made this interesting. Hansen blitzes Tenryu, but Tenryu can still slap Jumbo like a bitch. Tenryu is blitzed and hanging by a thread while Jumbo puts a huge beating on him. All the desperation comebacks were great: Tenryu makes use of his athleticism! A basic leglock is actually of importance! Even a half-spent Tenryu can still kick the dogshit out of Jumbo! Fun match.

[dawho5]

Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out, Tenryu. Baba, for all his nice guy routine, was not a guy you wanted to piss off.

[Superstar Sleeze]

All Japan Triple Crown Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 4/19/90

Man I thought I conjured up the bitchin' angle of Stan Hansen jumping Tenryu in the aisleway, beating the shit out of him and Lariating him in a fever dream! I kept thinking I would run across it in one of these Jumbo vs Tenryu matches but I never did. I thought I just made it up! Here it is. That means the first Jumbo vs Tenryu match I ever watched was actually their last because that opening angle left a real mark on me. I really think thats one of the best angles ever and should be stolen done every 5 years or so by a promotion so cool. I checked Hansen & Tenryu dropped their tag titles back in March to the Miracle Violence Connection. Jumbo makes the save swinging the Championship belt. Hansen cuts a promo at ringside calling himself the #1 contender before storming off. Jumbo goes to help Tenryu up and Tenryu SLAPS him! IT IS ON~!

This match is usually described as underwhelming but I thought this rocked! I loved the sprint beginning with Jumbo hitting the High Knee, blocking the rebound Lariat and going for the Dangerous Back Drop Driver only for Tenryu to shift his weight and instead Tenryu nails his finish, the Powerbomb for a three count. Starts like that will always be over with me. With the adrenaline levels lowering, Tenryu clamps on a headlock, Jumbo elbows out but sells the Powerbomb. I like the dynamic that Tenryu has absorbed a Lariat and Jumbo a powerbomb, it makes the match feel even. Jumbo hits the Death Lariat in the corner. Jumbo control segment with some Tenryu hope spots sprinkled in is very good. We get a Jumbo Death Bodyslam which I always love and the Jumbo flying knee. On second attempt, Tenryu nails an Enziguiri and Jumbo sells it like he was been KO'd. Tenryu attacks the leg with his legbar and a wicked Inverted Indian Deathlock but relinquishes due to his own pain. They kinda fuck up Jumbo getting Hotshotted on the Thesz Press and then they go into the big All Japan finish run. It becomes the Powerbomb vs The Dangerous Backdrop Driver. Tenryu absorbs one Back Drop Driver but cant hit his powerbomb and the second one polishes him off. 

Coming in at a brisk 12 minutes and change, with that kickass Hansen angle at the beginning, plus the hot sprint, and a great finish, this is easily an awesome match. It is too bad Tenryu left, I would have liked to seen more Hansen vs Tenryu match, but ultimately it was for the best, if Tenryu's doesnt leave than Four Corners would have never arisen! The only reason I can surmise why this is rated so low is due to the lofty expectations set by 6/5/89 because otherwise this was a ton of fun! ****1/4