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