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 - *****
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