Genichiro Tenryu

[ohtani's jacket]

Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Atsushi Onita & Tarzan Goto (3/2/94)

 

This was a hell of a match. Interesting contrast at the start with the FMW team coming to the ring with feudal era flags and a huge entourage while the WAR boys arrived with a minimum of fanfare. Really wild, chaotic opening to the bout with some big men flying about trying to knock each other out. Things dipped a bit during the Onita face in peril segment, but picked up again when Tenryu chased after Goto for interfering in the bout. He dished out his harite attack as Goto was crumpled against the guard rail and that set off a chain reaction that ended up costing the WAR team the bout as Goto attacked Tenryu with a chair leaving Hara to fend for himself in a two-on-one situation. Hara's not really great at any one thing, but he always puts in a solid shift and his selling was decent enough to keep things ticking over. However, the glue that held this together was Goto. I thought he was immense in this both in dishing out the revenge spots against Tenryu and keeping the crowd hooked when Hara in peril was the main focus. As for Tenryu, well what more can be said about his selling. I think he may be entering the upper echelon of sellers for mine. I was really impressed when Hara made the hot-ish tag and Tenryu launched into a high tempo attack then staggered backwards against the turnbuckle selling both his cut and his wooziness. The stretch run was full of great images and a bucket load of passion, which is what you want from these interpromotional matches. Goto worked overtime to ensure his team got the win, Hara was out of action with taped ribs, and Tenryu was fighting on guts alone. This had so much going for it that even Tenryu's abdominal stretch hold felt like a huge moment. I absolutely adored the finish with Goto hitting the enzuigiri and then Tenryu fighting desperately against the Fire Thunder Powerbomb. That first counter to the powerbomb where Tenryu made it impossible for Onita to lift him despite the fact he was hanging upside down in a compromised position is one of the coolest powerbomb counters I can remember seeing. Onita nailing the second attempt sent shock waves through the crowd and the commentary put over what a shock win it was. Great match. I was even excited watching the highlights afterwards.

[ohtani's jacket]

Well, according to the Yearbook thread it was a botched lift from Onita and not an amazing counter from Tenryu, but it worked for me regardless. I also didn't pick up on Tenryu brushing aside then ducking Goto's final two enzuigiri attempts while I was caught up in the moment.

[ohtani's jacket]

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ashura Hara (11/10/91)

 

Wasn't really feeling this. Tenryu works from underneath too much in SWS and against a guy as immobile as Hara it's really not that interesting. I kept wanting Tenryu to switch back on offence where he was dishing out one mother of a beating on Hara's shoulder. Hara being forced to sell that more would have been a hell of a lot more compelling than him staying in the same spot all the time and delivering clotheslines. This really wasn't all that dissimilar from the Yatsu match. The strikes were arguably better, but again there was a my turn/your turn feel to it and the transitions left a lot to be desired. Nothing makes a pro-wrestling match more ordinary than dull transitions. And as for the finish... if yesterday I thought Onita botching the powerbomb was some amazing Tenryu counter then today I'm not sure that you can actually classify what Tenryu executed as a 'powerbomb'. It looked more like a folding press. Aside from that Tenryu looked awesome on offence; we just didn't see enough of it.

 

On the whole, his SWS work has to be regarded as a failure in terms of both match layouts and the way he carried himself in the bouts. He was much more effective as the ace of WAR and the outsider in the New Japan feud than he was as the top guy in SWS. The promotion was plagued by troubles from day one, which was no doubt disruptive, but we can only really judge him by the in-ring product and that wasn't up to scratch regardless of the quality of his opponents. I don't know if I'd call it a strike or a black mark against him. Perhaps he learnt from it and that's why his WAR stuff was so much better. But I believe in a warts and all approach to wrestling and this was a big chunk of the early 90s that was third rate by Tenryu standards. And then there was '94-95, which were also wasted years in terms of output. I think I'll turn to his 80s work next as I can't see much merit in watching him work in the 00s unless someone can convince me otherwise.

[El-P]

On the whole, his SWS work has to be regarded as a failure in terms of both match layouts and the way he carried himself in the bouts.

 

Disagree. He didn't had the great matches (although the Hara one is the closest to be legit great to me), but he had a shitty opposition, working against guys like Takano and washed up Yatsu. I don't see the issue with him giving a lot to his opponents as he's great at taking a beating too. His SWS work is definitely a plus to me, as all the tag matches against Yatsu & Haku were all good/very good, and he had a bunch of good singles match against not so good opponents. What more can you ask, really ? Of course the NJ stuff is much better, but hewas working against a much better opposition in a different setting where he got heel heat, which gave matches a different dynamic to begin with.

 

His work in the 00's, at the very least the early 00's, is also a big plus, considering how old he was (compared to say… gasp… Flair doing shit at the same age).

[ohtani's jacket]

If he was facing such limited opposition he should have taken over on offence more as Tenryu dishing out a beating is far more compelling than Tenryu selling for plodders like Hara or Yatsu. Tenryu is excellent at selling and good at working from underneath, but he's not a naturally sympathetic babyface and that's kind of a weird position for a Japanese ace to be in anyway. He was much more effective working as a heel outsider in New Japan regardless of the level of opposition, and later as a Terry Funk-esque vet. The SWS stuff represents a phase in his career that doesn't strike a chord with me. You watched more of it than me so perhaps I'm not giving him a fair shake, but then again I thought the Takano match was clearly the best of the lot so we're not really on the same page. .

[Jetlag]

There's some 2000s Tenryu stuff where he works as a heel outsider. Couple tags in AJPW and his work in NOAH in particular, especially a tag with Akiyama against Kobashi and Shiozaki. I could see that being worth checking out for you if you are into him working as a prick.

[ohtani's jacket]

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/9/88)

 

Man, it's weird seeing Tenryu in his thirties. This is going to come across as a strange observation but his complexion was so much whiter. In Japan, white skin has traditionally been considered the height of beauty, and as strange as it may sound, for men nowhere is that truer than in sumo. I used to know a woman that went to the same gym as Genichiro Tenryu, but I wonder if he also hit some sort of tanning clinic because I can't believe he went on vacation enough to get the darker skin tone he had throughout the 90s. Oh well, I told you it would be weird. This was awesome when they were beating on each other -- as in 'everything you want from a Tenryu match' awesome -- and not so awesome when Hansen did his "ask him!" submission holds. I understand the rationale behind taking a break, but they were restholds pure and simple. I guess it makes sense now why Tenryu worked from underneath so often in SWS as that was his modus operandi here, but it's a bit more compelling when it's Stan Hansen beating you up. I hated the small package finish here, though, and the post-match rampage from Hansen bordered on parody. Going apeshit with the cowbell, beating up the ref and shit might be cool for some but it's a cop out finish in my book and didn't make Tenryu look strong. On the contrary, he looked like the Bret Hart of Japanese wrestling and not in a good way. Still, this was a decent appetiser for more Tenryu/Hansen matches. .

[ohtani's jacket]

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/27/88)

 

This was awesome when they were beating on each other and slow and meandering when they weren't. Fortunately, there was more beating than meandering, but it still didn't hit the spot. The finish didn't make Hansen look like a GOAT contender at all. He just looked like an idiot. But it's the match layouts that stop me from taking Hansen seriously as an elite guy. Tenryu was quite clearly SWS Tenryu here, which isn't as good as WAR Tenryu. That meant he was going to sell, work from underneath and make fiery comebacks. Not great, but that's where Tenryu was at both in terms of his development and his career. The onus was on Hansen to deliver an awesome performance and all he delivered was a match; nothing more and nothing less. And to me that's sort of lazy; but also indicative of this period in Hansen's career. You want to see earlier incarnations of Hansen vs. Kawada or Hansen vs. Kobashi and they're just not there. He didn't slap on as many restholds here, but it wasn't a particularly dramatic bout, and he didn't go all out with the stiffness. Of course, if it had been something special it would have been part of All Japan folklore already, but it did finish pretty high on the DVDVR set, so I was a tad bit disappointed. Not sure 80s Tenryu is the direction to be heading in.

[ohtani's jacket]

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (7/27/88)

 

This was arguably the best of the Hansen/Tenryu matches, which is damning it with faint praise as they were all subpar. I mean they're good matches, but you don't sit down to watch Tenryu vs. Hansen on the off chance it'll be good. These are meant to be two of the top 25 workers ever. They made the top 25 of the Smarkschoice GWE list, and they'll do the same on the PWO one, possibly even top 10 on a number of people's ballots. I don't expect that to translate into an all-time classic, but I do expect them to have at least one four star match. The thing is, they weren't even close. This had more of a focused narrative with Hansen busting Tenryu open before the bell and working him over for the most of the bout. The cut was nastier than the usual Tenryu colour, so he really had something to sell this time. The sacrifice there was that we didn't get to see much offence from him. Fortunately, Hansen utilised his elbow and knee strikes instead of slapping on a submission, which at least gave the impression that he was stalking his prey, but it did veer off into "slow and methodical" territory at times. The Japanese commentator called his performance "my pace," which is Japanese English for doing things at your own pace or in your own way. Tenryu's comeback wasn't all that exciting as he didn't transition into it in a dramatic way and the crowd weren't hooked on what they were doing, and the finish was lame. I didn't like Tenryu's sell on the western lariat. Falling out of the ring like that and jumping over the guardrail was stupid. I don't think an older Tenryu would have done that. Didn't get the belt changing hands on a "ring out" either. I really need to revisit some 90s Hansen matches to see what changed in either his ring-work or the match layouts, or if his opponent were simply better than Tenryu at this stage.

[WingedEagle]

OJ, watching the 80s AJ set this was the one matchup that disappointed more than any other. As you noted the expectations were so high and yet they never clicked on even a four star level. Definitely kicked it into gear in tags against and with each other, but one on one always left you underwhelmed. Both can sell, but I'm not sure either was willing to fully take on that role and perhaps as as a result the matches fell into a clash of the titans type of struggle, only missing the epic clash. Really odd dynamic.

[Childs]

All three matches drew unanimous support from the nominating crew, and they finished between 24 and 36 in the voting. So that wasn't the consensus view.

[BillThompson]

I thought their 07-27-1988 match was fabulous, match of the decade material.

[Matt D]

The Tenryu/Jumbo vs Mil/Dos Caras match that just dropped from 82 is actually a super amount of fun for a ten minute match with no real finish (but you know, in a logical way). People should check it out. It has some very good individual spots.

[DR Ackermann]

Really confused by Winged Eagle's comments about these matches suffering from a lack of selling because from my memory and OJ's reviews, Tenryu was selling a ton.

[soup23]

The Tenryu/Jumbo vs Mil/Dos Caras match that just dropped from 82 is actually a super amount of fun for a ten minute match with no real finish (but you know, in a logical way). People should check it out. It has some very good individual spots.

 

I was marking out for this too with Parv after we finished WTBBP. Was surprised to see Mil be so giving and he does a great bump off of Jumbo's high knee.

[ohtani's jacket]

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/29/89)

 

This had a more orthodox build than their previous matches. Hansen looked to dominate Tenryu physically and clobber him into submission while each of Tenryu's comeback attempts where snuffed out before they could really begin. Finally, Tenryu got some momentum going until Hansen stopped him dead in his tracks with the finish from Nagano; only this time Tenryu wasn't losing copious amounts of blood, and wasn't going to lose the same way twice because he'd learned from that experience, done his soul searching and gone bone deep, blahdy blah blah. He survived the count out this time, rolled back into the ring, and hit a bunch of his big stuff. Momentum was on his side, and it seemed like the match would go in his favour, but Hansen kicked out of a few too many pinning predicaments and nagging doubts turned into painful reality when he reversed a power bomb attempt into a pin. Orthodox stuff -- a little bread and butter maybe -- but Hansen was better in this. Even his mat work had a sense of purpose to it. The highlight of the bout was a short arm version of the western lariat that knocked Tenryu's block off. Tenryu's performance here wasn't great, though. At first it seemed like he'd grown into his role more than in 1988, but his weak transitions and uninspired counter attack were pockmarks on an otherwise solid bout. At one point he reached for a chair for no reason whatsoever. Hansen had done nothing to instigate the act and the commentators had been going on and on about how he was wrestling a clean fight. Tenryu seemed bereft of ideas. I'm slowly shifting my mindset to not expect the soccer kicks or the Funk like punches, but pre-WAR Tenryu has yet to win me over.

[ohtani's jacket]

OJ, watching the 80s AJ set this was the one matchup that disappointed more than any other. As you noted the expectations were so high and yet they never clicked on even a four star level. Definitely kicked it into gear in tags against and with each other, but one on one always left you underwhelmed. Both can sell, but I'm not sure either was willing to fully take on that role and perhaps as as a result the matches fell into a clash of the titans type of struggle, only missing the epic clash. Really odd dynamic.

 

I'm not really sure what the problem was. My instant reaction would be that Hansen is overrated and Tenryu wasn't that good yet, but that's probably too simplistic. Baba wanted them to square off, but also protect them as the number one gaijin and the number two native (or thereabouts) and so booked some bullshit finishes. Working backwards from the schmozzes, they couldn't find a way to really ignite the crowd. Neither guy really lifted the intensity and they just didn't ratchet things up to the extent that you'd expect from this match-up. Then again, it's only really a dream match-up on paper. In '88-89 it doesn't feel that earth shattering. Perhaps if it had occurred in the Triple Crown era it may have had more gravity to it. I don't think they were really clear in their roles during their feud whereas Hansen as the aging vet in '93-94 was clearly defined. It may also have something to do with the fact that Hansen couldn't have a recognised classic with Jumbo either, but as Childs said, people who are partial to both Tenryu and Hansen seemed to be satisfied with the series. I don't think selling was the issue. The match layouts and the lack of intensity would be my two biggest criticisms.

[Jetlag]

OJ, you should check out: Tenryu vs. Isao Takagi and Tenryu/Kawada vs. Kabuki/Mighty Inoue. He doesn't have the punches and toe kicks at all in AJPW but these are probably his most WAR-like performances in AJ. In fact, I have the theory he took that style from Kabuki.

[Jingus]

here's some 2000s Tenryu stuff where he works as a heel outsider. Couple tags in AJPW and his work in NOAH in particular, especially a tag with Akiyama against Kobashi and Shiozaki. I could see that being worth checking out for you if you are into him working as a prick.

I particularly liked his NOAH match against KENTA from 8-10-2005. It's the sort of super-stiff performance where you're simultaneously cringing in horror while also laughing your ass off at Tenryu's awesome surliness. Every time KENTA starts to do some of his flashy shit or get on a roll of momentum, Tenryu just punches him right in the fucking mouth. Like, with a Necro Butcher-ish "this is technically a work" sort of punch that probably would've caused a locker room fight if one guy hit another guy like that back in the WWWF. KENTA's mouth is a bloody mess by the end, because no matter what he does Tenryu just keeps punching him in the face and the young kid can't figure out how to put up an effective defense against such a straightforward and downright mean strategy.

 

I'm slowly shifting my mindset to not expect the soccer kicks or the Funk like punches, but pre-WAR Tenryu has yet to win me over.

Agreed that the 1989 matches with Hansen suck. Which is weird, because the early-80s tag stuff that both guys did has aged pretty well. I know that nowadays it's easier to find an abortion clinic in Mississippi than it is to find kind words on this board for Bruiser Brody's work, but those Brody/Hansen vs Jumbo/Tenryu matches still look like pretty cool brawls to me. And Genichiro was also one of the few people who could drag Mil Mascaras to something worth watching. Hell, I even saw him and Jumbo have a shockingly watchable match against the what-the-hell-bro team of Tiger Jeet Singh and Bobby Heenan.

 

Mind you, I totally agree that Tenryu didn't get great until the 90s. But aside from off nights like those Hansen title matches, he was already a perfectly good wrestler even before then.

[ohtani's jacket]

Jumbo Tsuruta & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (7/15/89)

 

This was a solid TV main event. Everyone had clear roles, which I think helps in Japanese bouts. Kobashi was stepping up into a main event role and Jumbo had pre-existing rivalries with both Hansen and Tenryu. This was shortly after the Budokan match between Jumbo and Tenryu, but they didn't let that dominate proceedings. In fact, there was more emphasis on Hansen and Tenryu's team work and Kobashi finding himself in the main. I liked Tenryu's attitude here. He was much more vicious than during the Hansen feud, and the look on his face whenever Kobashi dared press the attack spoke a thousand words. This was a teaser for what Tenryu vs. the Young Generation Army might have look like and it as pretty cool. The match lost steam towards the end as they went around the bend too many times, and the submissions were awful all match long w/ "Jumbo pace" being no bloody good, but those were the only weak points. Jumbo sometimes comes across as a bit ungainly to me, but he was awesome whenever he focused his attack on Tenryu. Kobashi also went hell for leather whenever he was paired w/ Tenryu. I loved the slaps he rattled off. They were ill-advised, but drew Tenryu's ire. Tenryu delivering a kick to the ribs at the end was classic Tenryu. I need to back track to the point where he no longer gave a fuck. The low blow in the 10/88 match against Jumbo was the walk off home run of not giving a shit and and he worked this in the same vein. Consider me satisfied.

[ohtani's jacket]

Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (2/26/89 TV)

 

What the hell happened to Yatsu? I know something happened to Yatsu as people always talk about it, but surely he wasn't that physically shot between this and his SWS run. Must have been one fat paycheck. It doesn't take a genius to figure out the dynamic here. A side from Kawada looking to get noticed, there were some important teases for the next Jumbo vs. Tenryu match. At one point, I was a pretty big Jumbo fan; not so much anymore, but he was excellent at nailing the big spots that send a roar through the crowd. Tenryu as challenger is glorious and a thing to be savoured. Pretty much note perfect.

 

I thought this was a notch or two tighter than the previous bout. It's always tough when you have to stretch out a bout to fill in the allotted time like this, but the stretch run was a step above the Kobashi bout, and they dreamed up a better finish than Hansen and Jumbo buggering about on the outside . Good match. I even heard "soccer kicks" dropped so Tenryu wasn't far from his WAR-self.

[JerryvonKramer]

What the hell happened to Yatsu?

 

fat

[ohtani's jacket]

Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89)

 

Different dynamic here with the big boys squaring off. It was the final night of the tag team tournament If I'm not mistaken w/ a winner takes all scenario, so they set about creating a showpiece. We often talk about wrestlers who make a lot out of a little. I sometimes feel like Japanese wrestlers make a lot out of plenty. This was a really dense match. There were so many moves, so much action, so many passages of play that I almost felt like I needed to watch it two or three times to catch all the details. Case in point, I was "rewinding" to catch a transition I'd missed and went too far. Before I knew it, I was re-watching the previous 10 minutes and picking up on a ton of details I'd missed. That type of match is rewarding, but it requires a huge amount of concentration and if you're looking for a quick and easy match that grabs your attention it's a bit like watching a difficult foreign movie when you'e really in the mood for Laurel and Hardy. With so many moves happening, it's easy to zone out and forget who's attacking whom. It didn't really settle into a rhythm until Hansen ripped off Yatsu's head gear and they began working him over and even then it wasn't super compelling. I kind of question the logic of Yatsu throwing a bunch of headbutts when he had a head injury. I know Baba tried to explain it away on commentary, but still. What was really good about this was the stretch run. That was kind of the whole point since they built the entire thing to a grandstand finish, but it was still cool. You had Hansen bleeding, Yatsu with his head all taped up, and Jumbo and Tenryu's personal vendetta spilling over into the battle for the yusho. Again, the Jumbo/Tenryu dynamic was outstanding, and I wonder if what was missing from the Tenryu/Hansen series was the heelish, nonchalant attitude of Tenryu's when he went up against Jumbo. With Hansen he more or less played the native underdog against the big, bad foreigner, but with Jumbo it was a mix of disrespect and spite. Far more layered and much more compelling. Match was long and demanded repeat viewings. Full of All Japan tropes, which aren't so exciting the millionth time around, but in fairness they delivered on their showpiece.

 

Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (11/29/89)

 

This was a fun match, but at the end of the day it was still Tenryu and Hansen beating on a pair of geriatrics. Baba stayed down for a long time after Tenryu's tope, which was more like a flying forearm smash in execution. For some reason, the ring boys worked on Baba's chest and stomach instead of his head, but with Baba's minimal selling it didn't make much difference anyway. He looked pretty bad in this. You could kind of suspend disbelief because of how beloved he was, but I've never seen Hansen or Tenryu pull their shit as much as they did here. When Hansen bodyslammed Baba, he pretty much laid him down on a bed of feathers. The Baba vs. Hansen and Tenryu segments were cluttered and the whole thing dragged on for too long. You'd have to really be into the storyline to think this was one of the best All Japan matches of the 80s.

[ohtani's jacket]

Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (9/3/89 TV)

 

Highly enjoyable bout. It was full of just about every All Japan trope you could imagine, but they were well executed, and in essence I suppose the reason they became tropes is because they worked so well. Tenryu vs. Jumbo really is one of the all-time great in-ring feuds. I'm leaning toward it being Tenryu's best rivalry, even better than his work with Hashimoto. This is the perfect bout to watch if you want something easily digestible as opposed to that all-out effort at an epic I watched the other day.

 

Giant Baba, Rusher Kimura & Masa Fuchi vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (9/24/89 TV)

 

This was part of month long celebrations for Baba's 30th anniversary. I believe it was commemorated at the 9/2 Budokan show and again at this Korakuen Hall show. Then they celebrated it again the following year. Baba made his debut on 9/30/60, so at first I thought they were using the Asian custom of counting the first year as 1, but Inoki made his debut on the same day and held his anniversary celebrations in 1990. Baba held an anniversary show on the same day as Inoki, so either he was trying to save face, fucked up the previous year, or was milking it for more money. Anyway, since it was his anniversary, the commentary was dominated by useless facts about Baba -- favourite foods, favourite drinks, etc. Seventeen minutes had gone by without much excitement then Tenryu picked up a chair and attacked Fuchi for no real reason. I guess he thought he needed to make something happen, but the random chair spot was a bad habit of his. The stretch run had its moments, but wasn't worth sitting through the full match for. Would have been better as a clipped TV match. Baba looked better than in the tag match, but I can't take Rusher Kimura seriously when he looks like a dude who should be preparing my dinner. Tenryu worked hard, but Footloose didn't look great and Fuchi was underwhelming.

[ohtani's jacket]

Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/29/88)

 

The first half of this seemed pointless to me. There was no direction, no narrative, and no real flow to it. Neither side seized the momentum, there was no discernible strategy, and no hook. It wasn't until Jumbo injured his knee that the match took any shape and that was almost 20 minutes into the bout. The stretch run was a mess as well. Guys kept tagging in and out instead of the obvious trope of Jumbo being cut off from Yatsu. They ran with it at first, then Jumbo tagged in Yatsu, and he had an incredibly awkward exchange with Hara. That killed the momentum so they switched back to Jumbo in jeopardy with Yatsu taken out on the outside with a power bomb Tenryu was unable to execute properly. Jumbo couldn't find his partner when he crawled back to his corner, but instead of a pay off, he went on the offensive for the remainder of the finishing stretch. Tenryu clipped Jumbo's knee to finish the bout, but they went with a small package reversal which is an ugly visual for guys as cumbersome as this. It worked in the sense that both guys were desperate and had thrown everything they had at each other, but wasn't a satisfactory pay off for the only point of story the bout had. This had the heat you'd expect from an All Japan tag, but not the crescendo. Hara's hair was amazing, though, and he it was weird seeing him mobile and actually trying to wrestle. Yatsu was weak, though. Often it felt like he and Jumbo were wrestling different matches given the contrast each time they tagged in. Tenryu wasn't really clear in what he was doing either. Long tags have never been this style's forte, IMO.