Throwback Match Reviews: Jumbo Tsuruta vs Jack Brisco II

Jumbo Tsuruta vs Jack Brisco (AJPW) 8/28/1976

The match is a 2 out of 3 falls match. The first thing I noticed with this match that was an improvement of their previous was Jumbo Tsuruta’s technical skills. They are way better than the last match between the two in ‘74. The last two matches I reviewed from Jumbo (Funk and Brisco) saw him failing to be the number one guy. He felt like the less experienced and skilled wrestler in both matches. Here he looks like he has put it all together. He looks like the top guy in the promotion. He dominates the first fall with a very impressive looking belly-to-belly suplex. This first fall establishes that Jumbo has grown since his last couple of defeats. It also established a new dynamic between Jumbo and Brisco. Whereas before it felt that Brisco was more mentally mature and experienced now they were both on equal footing. Brisco’s defensive approach also reinforces this new dynamic. He now is more cautious of Jumbo where before he was a little more cocky and confident. In the time between the first and second fall we see Brisco looking very worried and thrown off guard as Jumbo has really improved and is not anything like he was before. This reinforces the growth of Jumbo Tsuruta. 

The second fall saw Brisco take some offense back to Jumbo. Jumbo did not make any mistakes. Brisco was just the superior wrestler in this fall. This was needed to show that it wasn’t that Brisco had lost his step in the first fall more that Jumbo had improved. Brisco finished the second fall with a figure four leg lock on Jumbo. It was a great finish because it made the first fall victory by Jumbo more important and it preserves Brisco’s status as a top wrestler. After the second fall Brisco walks over to Jumbo’s corner while Jumbo is still on his back recovering, points down at him and gives him a few words. What Brisco said cannot be heard but just from his body language and facial expressions we can derive it was something along the lines of “I’m still better than you, that first fall was a mistake” as he walks back confidently to his corner. This was great because it just furthers their new dynamic established with the first two falls. The down time between the second and third falls was very important here. Jumbo recovers from the figure four but does so in a calm and collected manner. This exemplifies his development. At the same time Brisco is in his corner looking confident and eager for the third fall to begin. These are the things that need to be done during these in-between-falls time. It makes perfect use of down time that can hurt the flow of the match. 

Brisco comes out very aggressively in the third fall. The loss in the first fall and the confidence from winning the second fall put Brisco in an aggressive mood. The action here was viscous and hot. Brisco hit some great suplexes and Jumbo had some great offense as well. Jumbo starts to reverse Brisco’s move and even kind of hits a double arm suplex which was teased earlier in the match. Brisco becomes a bit desperate and goes for the figure four leg lock again. This time Jumbo has it scouted and rolls him up for the win. This was the perfect ending for the match. Jumbo demonstrates his new skill and development. He shows that unlike before he can correct his mistakes and stay calm enough to find a way to win. Jumbo comes out the better wrestler and also a better man than he was before.

Another excellent use of the 2 out of 3 falls format. The first fall established Jumbo at a new level, the second fall reinforced Brisco’s status as a champion and the third fall gave us a definitive winner and conclusion to this character arc for Jumbo. The pacing was great. The action was great. The drama in the third fall was outstanding especially for the Jumbo win. The little nuances in between each fall were instrumental to the story of the match.

Final Rating - *****

Throwback Match Reviews: Jack Brisco vs Jumbo Tsuruta

Jack Brisco vs Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW) 1/30/1974

The match starts with some great defensive wrestling from each man. Jumbo had some great comeback spots. Brisco’s control periods were pretty good and did not feel slow at all. The finish to the first fall was a little anticlimactic but it was supposed to be since Brisco dominated that first fall. In the second fall Jumbo took more control of the match. His offense looked very good here and Brisco did a great job of selling. Here we see what made Jumbo so great. His energy on offense was so captivating. Every move he hit on Brisco looked like it could finish the match. Jumbo wins the second fall. The third fall picks up where they left off in the second fall. This match happened 22 years before I was born so I did not live through Jumbo’s career but this felt like his big coming out performance. The crowd was right there with Jumbo’s every move. Their exchanges on the mat were pretty good. The third fall had Brisco defeating Jumbo with a counter to a roll-up validating the work from the first fall and Brisco’s world champion class skill.

I always felt that 2 out of 3 falls matches were generally formulaic and uninspiring, until I started to watch these classic puro matches. Each fall plays into the other. The first fall was to set up all of Jumbo’s comeback spots in the second fall. The second fall gave people a reason to stay invested in the match because it made Jumbo into a credible threat to the world champion and showed his potential. The third fall validated all the work done by Brisco in the first fall. The third fall also reminded us that Brisco is still a world champion and his skill and experience defeated the hungry challenger. It also showed us the struggles Jumbo would have to overcome to reach that top level. All of that mixed with some really good comebacks by both wrestlers, a hot crowd and finishes that were perfect for the story of the overall match. One thing that I will criticize this match for that was persistent throughout the entire bout was the moves. Some of the moves, mostly Jumbo’s, looked a little off. With the exception of the second fall, Jumbo did not look like a top wrestler. I feel like that is counterproductive to what they were trying to do with the match. Its nitpicky but it stopped it from being a 5 star classic. Still a classic though.

Final Rating - ****3/4

Throwback Match Reviews: Jumbo Tsuruta vs Terry Funk

Jumbo Tsuruta vs Terry Funk (AJPW) 6/11/1976

This was a 2 out of 3 falls match for the NWA World Championship. It started out very slow with glimpses of fast action sprinkled in. The mat grappling was pretty good. The first fall established dynamic between the two wrestlers as being equals. Jumbo’s comeback spots were well done and gained a lot of heat. The closing stretch of the first fall was fast-paced and very fun to watch. The finish of the first fall saw Jumbo getting a quick pin with a sunset flip over Funk. While it did feel like forever, the finish paid off all the mat work leading up to it. Shortening that period a little bit might have made it more bearable to sit through. 

The mat work in the first fall continues to pay off in the second fall, this time in favor of Funk. He is able to power Tsuruta into some bigger moves. We get some teases of bigger moves that will pay off later. The finish of the second fall saw Funk and Jumbo doing the back-and-forth rolling pinning combination thing (I don’t know what it’s called) until Funk was able to keep his pin and pinned Tsuruta. This finish is similar to the finish of the first fall and both are used to advance the overarching story of the match as well as revealing the flaw that would ultimately lead to Jumbo losing.

In the third fall they start hitting bigger moves and they move away from their strategies from earlier in the match. Jumbo gets more and more erratic and Funk is able to capitalize on it when he hits the flapjack to the rope on Jumbo and Jumbo gets it on the throat. This finish 

accomplishes two things. It gives you a decisive winner and shows Funk’s cleverness. It also makes Jumbo looked flaw but with room for growth and improvement. This match was brilliantly laid out with each fall playing into each other. We see Jumbo’s frustration grow as the match progresses which played into the finish of the third fall. The holds were well done and some of the moves looked very impactful. Funk was sloppy a couple of times but overall did great. The slow start and some of the control periods dragged on a bit too long at times. Overall this was a great match.

Final Rating - ****1/2