[1980-05-28-AJPW] Harley Race vs Jumbo Tsuruta

[fxnj]

 

This is my favorite Race match. In recent years, he has come under a lot of criticism (which I agree with) for often not living up to his reputation as a rugged champion. He would cut these utterly badass promos, but when the bell rung he'd just wrestle pretty much the same way as Flair By the Numbers, giving his opponent most of the match and taking these cartoony bumps. In this, he actually lives up to his hype.

 

A few things that set this apart for me

 

-Race is rocking an awesome beard reminiscent of Brock Lesnar.

 

-The match is worked as more of a evenly matched contest between two of the best in the world, rather than the usual NWA defensive champ style. Race actually looks like a really good offensive wrestler in this, taking it to the underdog challenger

 

-There is a sense of struggle behind every move. Both guys are so awesome at working holds in this with constant attempts to move into a better position and making it look like they're really trying to hurt their opponent.

 

-Everything looks snug and is sold to feel meaningful. The characterization of Race as a mindless action guy doesn't apply here at all. They make good usage of progressive wear down selling throughout, giving it a similar feel to 90's TC matches.

 

-As a match that steps outside of the usual NWA style, it's also a good showing of Jumbo's growth when compared to his 70's NWA title matches that see him basically being through the usual NWA style.

 

The match is JIP 24 minutes in so I can't really be sure, but the 36 minutes shown makes me think it would probably be remembered as one of the best matches from the early 80's if it was shown on Classics in full. Based on what's available, I'd put it in the ****1/4 neighborhood.

 

For whatever reason, this seems like a really obscure match. I have heard absolutely no pimping for it outside of Punq calling it the best match from 1980, which was what got me interested in tracking it down in the first place. Even a proper date seems difficult to find. I would be interested in hearing from anyone else who's watched this.

[paul sosnowski]

I think this is actually the match from May 28, 1980.

 

AJPW Super Power Series 1980 - Tag 5 28.05.1980 All Japan Pro Wrestling Event Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan Nakajima Sports Center

ca. 6.300

 

NWA World Heavyweight Title Two Out Of Three Falls Match

Harley Race © vs. Jumbo Tsuruta - Draw [1:1] (60:00)

- Tsuruta besiegt Race (30:05)
- Race besiegt Tsuruta (47:15)
- Das Zeitlimit läuft aus (60:00)

[tcg91]

Unfortunately this match has been savagely clipped, because what we got absolutely rules. It's hard to judge a 60 minutes time draw when you only see 36 minutes. Race sold big time for Jumbo, but was also very aggressive when he targeted the challenger's neck and gets in control, they took their turns and wrestled a compelling match that never got boring. Tsuruta hit one of the best german suplex I have ever seen and almost won the match with a few bombs during the exciting finishing run; he didn't defeat Race, but the time limit helped the champion retaining and so they both ended up looking strong. I really wish we had the whole thing!
***3/4