[1976-03-10-AJPW] Jumbo Tsuruta vs Verne Gagne

[KinchStalker]

This is the first of the ten-match trial series that Jumbo would have from 1976 through 1979. (All but the fifth, against Bobo Brazil, and the ninth, against Kintaro Oki, survive in some form, though with the fifth against Billy Robinson that form is heavily clipped.) It's also one of only five Verne matches in AJPW, according to Cagematch. First, I'd like to note that if the copy I saw was from a contemporaneous broadcast, then it very well might be the earliest VHS (or maybe Betamax?) All Japan footage in circulation, and it looks a hell of a lot better than a lot of others in the coming years. Whatever, I thought that was cool. Verne has become a poster child of his era for staying in the ring past his prime, but even at 50 I thought he was really good here: definitely better than he was in the 1981 Baba match. After introductions, we cut to the ten-minute mark of the first fall, and a lengthy Jumbo arm control segment is underway. This lasts until near the very end of the first fall as, when Jumbo lets it go to run for (presumably) a jumping knee, Gagne counters with a hip toss, two (nice) dropkicks, and a sleeper for the first fall. Nice second fall, where Jumbo switches his focus to legwork, and pulls out a Muta lock in 1976! He eventually evens the score by countering a sleeper attempt into a bridging German. At the end of a quite good third fall, we end in double knockout after a Verne backdrop. I wouldn't put this in the top tier of Wakadaisho-era Jumbo matches, but it's definitely worth seeing for fans of the period. ***3/4