[1988-08-29-AJPW] Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara

[Superstar Sleeze]

AJPW World Tag Team Champions Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara - AJPW 8/29/88

Jumbo & Yatsu unified the Double Cup (PWF & NWA International Championships) earlier in the year against the Road Warriors. He dropped it and won it back against the formidable combination of Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy. The commentators bring up Bruiser Brody who died about a month ago tragically in Puerto Rico and this must have been some sort of memorial show for him. 

First Twenty Minutes: First fifteen minutes are solid if uneventful. The most interesting elements are of course the Jumbo & Tenryu interactions. Tenryu gets his tag early and makes a beeline for Jumbo hitting him with a dropkick as he tries to enter the ring. Jumbo retaliates with his signature high knee. Jumbo is feeling it as he engages the crowd. I thought this was the best Hara performance I have seen so far. He was very rough & tumble. Throwing stiff, close-quartered shots. When Jumbo had taken over on him, it was a Hara clubbing lariat that broke him free and then nice double shouldertackle from Revolution. Jumbo & Yatsu came back with a high knee sandwich on Hara. They worked an abdominal stretch on Hara coming crashing down on him. The Jumbo & Tenryu stuff was peppered in there and keeps the energy up. Nice Tenryu Enziguiri at one point. Finally around the 15 minute mark things pick up when Tenryu & Hara target the leg of Jumbo with kicks and holds. Jumbo sells it really well. Jumbo eats a Lariat sandwich at one point. Yatsu, who I dont think I have seen before (I still need to watch the Choshu & Yatsu vs Jumbo & Tenryu matches), is a great workrate spark plug. Jumbo breaks free at one point and Yatsu came in throw some powerslams and such. Jumbo came back in and threw some High Knees. He was revving the crowd up. The High Knees given based on his leg injury doesnt seem too wise. On the third one, he charges the Knee in the corner and eats the buckles. Big bump! Hara drops down from the apron and immediately slams his knee into a hard metal object. Hara tags in and drops down into a kneebar. We have our hook, folks, lets see what the big finish looks like.    

Last Ten Minutes: As I was watching, my memory was jogged and neglected to mention there was a spike piledrive done by Jumbo & Yatsu's team that got a two count and didnt lead to much. That is kind of a microcosm of the first fifteen minutes of this match. Hara tags out to Tenryu who lays the badmouth on Jumbo. He smacks Jumbo around and wants a lariat, but Jumbo evades and out of instinct throws a high knee but Tenryu catches it and turns it into a single leg crab. Yatsu does a great diving save. I forgot to mention that Tenryu & Yatsu had traded saves earlier in the match. CrIss cross again and Tenryu is sandbagging on these. I think he is selling, but what. I dont know it was weird. Jumbo breaks free and tags Yatsu. Tenryu collapses into the corner again it is kinda lame. Yatsu beats up Hara but tags in Jumbo. Why? So weird. Jumbo throws another High Knee connects but he is in too much pain to capitalize. Hara attacks the leg. BIG MEATY CLOTHESLINE! Hara is wrestling great. AWESOME POWEROMB BY HARA! Hara dumps Yatsu out. Tenryu and Hara throw Yatsu in the railing. Hara Mack Truck Lariat on Yatsu. Fucking Tenryu hits the world's shittiest powerbomb on Yatsu on the outside and basically just drops him on his head. Hara CRUSHES Jumbo with a Lariat. Jumbo gets knee up when Tenryu charge. He crawls over to the corner but there is no Yatsu. That spot is always over with me! They whip Jumbo back into their corner. Jumbo hits another high knee to tag out to Yatsu. So weird because it is so repetitive and it is injured. There's no heat to it. Yatsu dropkick to Tenryu. Yatsu pounds on Hara. Nice Yatsu Belly To Belly on Tenryu. Jumbo Flying Knee to Tenryu and Yatsu Germans him. Hara saves by kicking the bridging Yatsu. Yatsu another German for two. TV credits roll and I think the end is nigh. Tenryu does a powerslam rollup on Jumbo who perched on the top. Jumbo Thesz Press! 1-2-NO! Jumbo Baba style Lariat but Hara saves. JUMBO BACK DROP DRIVER! Yatsu slaps Hara around and throws him out. Jumbo back up top. He jumps into nothing and Tenryu slaps Jumbo's leg. Running small package by Jumbo that Tenryu counters for the win and NEW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS!

The finish was very All Japan and those who love workrate will love the finish. It was not really a classic finish because they lost the plot. They took their sweet time setting the hook. Then the hook really didnt mean much. It was weird because Jumbo who usually hits one High Knee a match all of sudden the only move he knew was a High Knee. His selling was good as was his crowd interactions. Yatsu was a good workrate wrestler. Tenryu didnt really click with me in this match. Hara was awesome big meaty goon wrestling. Kinda shocked this finished at #34 for the DVDVR voting. Above average but not much more than that. ***1/2