[1991-01-19-AJPW-New Year Giant Series] Jumbo Tsuruta vs Stan Hansen

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

I'm not sure what it is about facing each other that makes these two get so stoic, but it's what happened here. It's a very good match, but it's still a disappointing match. They mostly work holds and work them well, which is fine, but it doesn't seem like anything big is at stake here, which is a weird thing to say about a match where the Triple Crown changed hands. I don't want to oversell this. It's not a bad match, and it's something just about any two other wrestlers could be very proud of. I just don't know where the big personalities go when these two lock up.

[shoe]

I thought the 1st 10 minutes dragged. They told a story in the ring and worked the holds well the work just wasn't dynamic.

[soup23]

I thought this was really good and gritty in the beginning and they got sort of lost their way by the end. However, while watching this match it made me realize how stringent I am on wrestlers of this caliber. I agree with Loss that if Dibiase and Boss Man worked essentially this same match, it would be heralded. Hell this match probably is not to far off from the Barb/Boss Man match that gets talked up. Jumbo smiling while lifting the triple crown trophy at the end was a satisfying moment.

[PeteF3]

Pretty good closing stretch based around reversals and counters more than giant bombs, with Jumbo finding a way to withstand the Lariat in a cool moment. Hansen goes for a second one but Jumbo takes a page out of Baba's book with the jumping neckbreaker to regain the Triple Crown. These guys were always better off against each other in heated brawls. I get AJPW just ran one of those and that their big title matches were generally worked on the level, but that could have provided a nice change of pace at least for the pretty staid opening portion.

[Childs]

This was boring, inexcusably so for guys this good. But it continued a pattern from 1990 of fairly lackluster Triple Crown matches. The crowd's reaction confirmed it. They were more excited to see the young natives vs. veteran natives than they were to see the more traditional Jumbo vs. top American.

[Kevin Ridge]

Jumbo uses a bunch of arm moves early including a variation of Satanico’s running bulldog/armbar but not as smoothly. Hansen responds but whipping Jumbo’s back with forearms. Hansen springs off the ropes and drops a couple elbow drops that look good. Slow overall though. Wild lariat connects with Jumbo’s face but his foot is under the ropes. Little sloppy at times towards the end. Seems like both guys are tired. Post match and Jumbo gets another lariat to the face. Figured his nose would be broken by now. Average match which didn't help for TC challenge.

[soup23]

Echo most of my thoughts on this one as well. This felt like a good beginning and end to a match but had no middle section and neither the beginning or finish were spectacular enough to counteract the lack of transition so the match is merely good for these two.

[Zenjo]

Watchable and solid enough action. It was all a bit subdued and didn't have a big match atmosphere. Jumbo wins the titles in low key fashion.

[garretta]

I don't know where all this talk about low-key and lackluster is coming from, because I thought this was superb. Did they throw chairs and bust each other open? No, but as Pete said, these matches tended to adhere more strictly to the rules than most. I liked Jumbo targeting Stan's lariat arm, which most guys either fail to do or do ineffectively. Eventually, Stan connects, however, and it's all Jumbo can do to stay alive. Jumbo beating Stan with a slightly more impactful version of the lariat was a sweet bit of irony, and it pisses Stan off so badly that he kills Jumbo with a second lariat after the match, and plasters Taue (I think) with a chair when he tries to protect his partner. At the end, Taue is helped back to the locker room, and Jumbo looks like he should be, so it's a normal night's work for the Badman from Borger.

 

I agree that the Misawa feud is definitely fresher at this point and arguably has a more compelling story, but every once in a while it's nice to see a change of pace for Jumbo. The fans certainly got behind it, especially when he was presented with the belts at the end.

 

Now that Jumbo rules the roost again, his feud with Misawa and company is bound to take on a new dimension. Can Misawa pull off another victory over Jumbo, this time with everything at stake? We'll find out in the months ahead!

[BigBadMick]

Really enjoyed this. Perhaps a bit old fashioned by Jan '91 in All Japan as suggested above, but I liked it.

[drew wardlaw]

Jumbo's music always makes me a bit emotional. It really represents the shift in focus and the generation after him, like when compared with the more hard-driving Misawa theme or something. Anyway, we get a Dan Spivy staring from the back spot about half way through the match, which kind of took me by surprise. I agree with everyone else here, pretty dull match, I liked the work, but by this point it feels dated compared to what else was going on in the company. It feels like a deliberate decision to work an older style here. Again, everything makes sense and the work is good, it's just not what everyone wants it to be. I guess it's a victim of expectations in that way. I'm sure it's been discussed at length, but I'd really like to hear some insight as to why Hansen's matches with Jumbo and Misawa never lived up to expectations.

[Jetlag]

This was a solid match built around some clobbering and tight holds, leading to some smart tease and switch spots in the finishing stretch. Not much more to say really.

[dawho5]

Nothing special, but still worth watching if you ask me. Both are all-time greats, they just rarely seem to come up big against the other.

[Makai Club #1]

Not the bomb fest the typical triple crown matches would become but a good match filled with smart wrestling. ***1/2

[cactus]

I can totally understand why some would find the opening ten minutes dry, but I liked it. Seeing two bulls clash and trying to escape each other's headlock made for up the lack of flare with pure spectacle. It was all logical, with Jumbo trying to disable the Lariat from Hansen's arsenal. I went in expecting a brawl, but I got a neat 1970s AJPW heavyweight wrestling clinic instead.  

★★★½