Yoshiaki Yatsu and Riki Choshu vs Genichiro Tenryu and Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW) 01/28/1986
Yoshiaki Yatsu and Riki Choshu vs Genichiro Tenryu and Jumbo Tsuruta is one of the greatest tag team matches I have ever seen. In this match we had four distinct but outstanding performances from each wrestler. They all played their role to perfection. The structure of the match was sound. The action was intense and stiff. The crowd remained hot throughout the entire match. Yatsu and Choshu were outsiders in this match. They played great heels but as the match progressed the dynamic naturally changed. The hate between both teams was clearly on display. There were points when one wrestler would break a fall or a hold and the illegal wrestler on the apron on the opposing team wouldn’t go after the other illegal man but would just beat down on the legal man instead. It happened a few times with both teams and it was awesome.
Yoshiaki Yatsu was my favorite part of this match. His performance here is what I’d call a star-making one for that All Japan crowd. I’ll get into more of his AJPW career but he obviously did not make much of a lasting impact, at least in the West. He was fiery and intense from the start. As the match progressed he gained sympathy and support from the crowd. Apart from his great offense you can accredit that to his selling. He took a great beating from Jumbo and Tenryu. His comebacks were great and he returned some of that brutality to the home team.
Riki Choshu had a similar performance to Yatsu. It differs slightly whereas Yatsu was a level lower than everyone so the heat came from beating him down, Choshu was indisposed because of his rib injury. He masterfully sold those ribs throughout the entire match. The best example of it was when he had Jumbo in the Scorpion Death Lock and he broke the hold because he simply did not have the stamina or breath to maintain it. The rib injury came into play there and he immediately went to sell the ribs as he tagged out to Yatsu. His attacks, especially on Jumbo, were hateful and brutal. You could really buy into the hate there.
Jumbo Tsuruta was a great figurehead for All Japan. To these outsiders he was a means to make a name for themselves in this promotion. By taking out the top guy they wanted to prove themselves. Jumbo did a great job defending his spot. He was just as nasty and vicious with his offense, especially with his knee lifts. They stopped all momentum and they looked great.
Genichiro Tenryu was a proper dickhead in this match. I like that Jumbo remained more of a pure babyface in this match while Tenryu was the one that had to be more of an asshole to the outsiders. It not only gets the heat on Yatsu and Choshu but it also demonstrates the relationship between him and Jumbo. He is aggressive and brutal with his lariats. The exchanges between him and Choshu makes you clamor for a singles match between the two.
I almost can’t find anything that is wrong with this match but it felt like it was missing a little bit of something. Maybe a more elaborate finishing stretch, maybe a little bit more heat on the outsider team. I’m not saying it’s those things. I don’t really know what it would be but if it had it I’d go a quarter star higher but it’s still a classic.
Final Rating - ****¾
No comments:
Post a Comment