[1989-09-02-AJPW] Genichiro Tenryu vs Terry Gordy

[KB8]

Maybe a little disappointing given who they are, but they never really went for epic. It was a wee bit more understated than that and in some ways it actually felt more like WAR Tenryu than All Japan Tenryu, where they laid it in and it was built around that laying it in more than the bomb-throwing. The powerbomb was the one bomb that was thrown and they certainly made use of it. Just after the intros while they're still in the process of clearing the streamers out the ring, Tenryu, totally unprompted, powerbombs one of Gordy's crew. I don't know who it was, but there didn't seem to be any reason for it. There was a person there to be powerbombed and so he powerbombed him and we one and all marvel at the man that is Tenryu. Gordy naturally took exception and powerbombed Tenryu right back, and Tenryu basically sold this powerbomb for the rest of the match. It was awesome, sometimes subtle, but you never got the sense he recovered from that move at any point forward. He'd try and fire back, maybe hit a lariat or a gamengiri, but then he'd grab the back of his head and sort of stumble, clearly groggy, and that would let Gordy regain the advantage. Gordy was mostly punch-kick on offence, but he threw in some big corner lariats and Tenryu sold them like the clobberings they were. Good match, but it feels like they've got something bigger in them.

[tcg91]

A good match, not a masterpiece, but did wonders for Gordy's status. The gaijin attacked Tenryu before the bell and kept focusing on the champion's neck, dominating him for most of the match. Tenryu was a good seller and, despite the crowd not always being very vocal, Gordy stayed on the neck for the whole time. Decent finish in Tenryu's favour that finally got a reaction out of the fans, this was good for a 12/13 minutes match, but it was clear Tenryu shouldn't be the one to carry Gordy for 20+ minutes. Not in 1989, at least.
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