NWA World Title In Japan DVD Set Disk One
Nov 1, 2016 19:58:37 GMT -5
TheShowJordanRichards likes this
Post by Shatter Machine on Nov 1, 2016 19:58:37 GMT -5
Got this one recently, and it's got some really good stuff on it. Also, this disk. Holy shit are the first two matches boring.
1957.10.13 JWA at Korakuen Stadium, Tokyo
Lou Thesz (Champion)
Vs
Rikidozan
Thesz was on the downside of his prime here, but still in it. He was in his second reign as Alliance champion, having dropped it and regained it from Whipper Billy Watson about a year or so earlier. He was quite the competitor, and was the last man on earth that anyone would ever want to try to shoot on. He was unbelievably strong, and his skill on the mat was unparalleled. He also innovated several moves that didn’t become popular for years, including the STF and the powerbomb. I’ve never seen Rikidozan in the ring before this match, but he’s not nearly as large as I had pictured him in my mind’s eye. (Having been in Sumo, I had someone along the lines of Jumbo Tsuruta in mind.) Thesz basically made wrestling in Japan by coming there and having these matches with Rikidozan, who was seen as a national hero in defending Japan against the American aggressors after the occupation had ended. It set the formula for years to come: the natives were the heroes, the gaijin, or foreigners, were the heels. They work a pretty good pace early on, but there’s no way they can keep it up. They go to the mat for a bit, and Thesz works a short-arm scissors. This being the 1950’s, they spend a LOT of time on the mat. Rikidozan works a leg lock in the middle of the ring, but Thesz won’t give up. Thesz eventually makes the ropes for the break, but he’s in a bad way. He does a great job of playing the heel, constantly backing away from Rikidozan, wrestling very defensively. Rikidozan takes him down with a hammerlock and works that on the mat. Thesz eventually escapes that, but Rikidozan takes him back down with a body scissor. They work some spots around that, including a near-fall. Thesz takes a shoulderblock and goes down for a four-count, but they come back to neutral. Rikidozan takes him down with a headlock, and that’s the hold they work around for little while. Thesz attempts to murder him with a STIFF AS HELL backdrop suplex, then he gets a full body ride for a couple of near-falls. Thesz tries like mad to hold his shoulders down, and Rikidozan uses a damn near superhuman effort to keep them up, eventually reversing. They go to neutral again, and Rikidozan takes him over with a headlock again. Thesz tries the backdropper again, but Rikidozan blocks it and takes him down again. Very nice callback to earlier. Lather, rinse, repeat. They go to standing, and Rikidozan just NAILS him with an elbow and a chop. More headlockery, but Thesz gets a rollover into a cradle for 2. And again. When Rikidozan counters back to sitting, Thesz lifts him and drops him on his spine and rolls him back over. Rikidozan manages to escape and he gets an Indian Deathlock. Thesz reverses into a press, which Rikidozan reverses into a press. This has a very amateur feel to it, like if pro wrestling was a legitimate contest, this is what it would look like. Riki takes him over with the headlock, which gets a big pop. I swear to god, this match is about 37 minutes in, and it has been about 30 minutes of Rikidozan having Thesz in a headlock. Thesz takes him down and gets a keylock, so at least they’re changing things up, I guess. Rikidozan reverses that into a keylock of his own, and he’s got Thesz on the mat. Thesz is almost to the ropes, and the film jumps a bit (WTF, it’s almost 60 years old, I can live with a few seconds missing). Thesz worms his way to the ropes, then begs off. He’s great, yelling at the officials at ringside. I always thought of him as such a gentleman and awesome technical wrestler that I never realized how awesome of a heel he was. He was never the best heel, mostly because he was around at the same time as Buddy Rogers (who he wrestled circles around), but he certainly held his own. Rikidozan goes back to the keylock and holy shit this is going to a time-limit draw with no falls on either side. Thesz makes the ropes again, we break again. Back to standing, and Rikidozan shoots him off the ropes and hits a press slam (!) for 2, but Thesz is in the ropes. Chops back and forth, and Thesz is down in the corner. And then along the ropes. He runs, and gets in some cheap shots. Rikidozan fires back, and they start trading forearms and chops. Rikidozan slams him for 2, and Thesz apparently has to answer the 10-count. What a bullshit rule. The bell rings, and we have a time-limit draw. It was mind-tinglingly boring, but cool to see Thesz in his prime (although I’m thinking this was definitely on the downside at least of that) and way cool to see Rikidozan at all. I’m thinking the date I have is incorrect, because Cagematch.net has the time limit draw with no falls as 10/7/57. I will leave it labeled as-is, because that’s what it is on the DVD. (*** ½ 60:00)
There’s a huge gap in time between matches on this set, and I’m fairly certain it’s because whoever put the set together just didn’t have access to the various NWA Title defenses that happened in JWA throughout the late-50’s, 60’s, and the early 70’s. I’ve compiled a list:
12/2/1969 Dory Funk, Jr. (Champion) TLD Antonio Inoki (60:00) (Osaka)
12/3/1969 Dory Funk, Jr. (Champion) TLD Giant Baba (60:00) (Tokyo)
12/9/1972 Dory Funk, Jr. def Seiji Sakaguchi 2 falls to 1 (23:53) (Osaka)
1/23/1974 Jack Brisco Draw Giant Baba (24:01, DCOR in Third Fall) (Nagasaki)
1/24/1974 Jack Brisco TLD Harley Race (60:00) (Nagasaki)
That’s literally it. No title matches in Japan from 1957 until 1969. No wonder there’s no film of them, and no wonder they always try to position their titles above the world title. We treated them like shit for a decade when they were building the sport in their country.
1974.01.27 AJPW in Higashiyodogawa Gymnasium, Osaka, Japan
Jack Brisco (Champion)
Vs
Dory Funk, Jr.
This tour wasn’t the first time since the collapse of JPW into AJPW and NJPW that the NWA Title was defended in Japan, but it was a big deal, as AJPW had gotten the dates for Brisco defending the belt with matches against Giant Baba, Harley Race, Dory, the Destroyer, and Jumbo Tsuruta. I’d always assumed that they’d had about 200 matches against each other in the previous five years, and I can imagine that they had many more than that. (I have 38 results of title matches between the two while Dory was champion, with the first being Dory defending it successfully on 12/1/69, then 12 matches in 1970, followed by 7 in 1971, 17 in 1972, then 1 time in 1973 for a total of 37. It seems like there should have been many more than that. Once Jack became champion, they had 7 more matches in 1973, a whopping 21 times in 1974, then 17 more times in 1975 until Jack dropped the title to Terry Funk, for a Grand Total of 82 NWA World Title matches between the two from December 1, 1969 until late-November 1975 (there’s no date on the last match.) That works out to just under once a month that they were fighting each other for the title, and almost exactly so if you take out the two or so months that Harley Race held the title in 1973.) Dory takes him down with a headlock, and this is not starting out with a blistering pace, to say the least. This match was actually on the undercard of a Giant Baba – Harley Race PWF 2 of 3 falls match, because heaven fucking forbid that Baba ever go on second to last.) Jack reverses into an overhand wristlock, then into an armbar. They trade holds for a good long time, as Dory takes him down with a leg sweep and gets a knee lock. He converts that into an STF, but releases that, trying for a half nelson. He stretches Jack, but this is, while technically sound, boring as hell. Dory gets a sleeper, so Jack backs him into the corner for the break, selling the back the whole time. They go back to neutral, and Jack gets a headlock and holds on. He works that for a few minutes, then transitions to a body scissors. Dory fights that pretty actively, trying for a hammerlock. Dory finally counters and tries to turn it into a Boston Crab, but Jack twists out of it. Dory gets a double – leg and turns him over, but Jack spins out again. Dory grabs a bearhug, concentrating on the back, but Jack makes the ropes. Dory takes him down and starts working a hammerlock, taking him over for a couple of 2 counts. Surfboard now, but Jack starts the sloooow process of reversing it. He eventually does, then he starts pounding on the spine. Dory gets a double – underhook, but Jack goes dead weight on a suplex. Dory takes him over on a headlock, but Jack fights out. Jack hits a dropkick, then gets a gorgeous armdrag into an armbar. He starts working on the biceps, just grinding his knee into it. He takes too long, though, and Dory gets a body scissors. He turns that into an insane submission, but Jack won’t give up. Jack counters into an abdominal stretch, and after a stretch in that, Dory hip tosses him out of it. Jack gets a chinlock, but Dory shoots him to the buckle. Jack gets a leg sweep for 2, then a neckbreaker for 2, and that pops the crowd. He starts laying in forearms, then works the injured back more by putting Dory in a Boston Crab. Dory powers out, but Jack gets an atomic drop for 2. Dory reverses a whip to the corner and gets a sick splash to the back of Jack’s neck (Jack was sitting up.) and a butterfly suplex for the pin and the first fall at 43:10. The second fall begins, and Jack gets a headlock right away, they turn it into an overhand wristlock, but Jack punches, then grabs the headlock again. There’s an irate Japanese lady yelling at them, and the fans all look embarrassed more than anything. They start trading forearms in the corner, and Jack takes a walk. Back in, and Dory nails him with a back elbow. Slam, and an elbow follows. Dory controls, getting a backbreaker for 2. He hits more forearms in the corner, but Jack blocks the butterfly suplex with a backslide for 2. Dory takes him over with a headlock. They go back to standing, Jack still in a headlock, and he forces Dory back to the ropes. Dueling Oklahoma rolls get near-falls for each guy, then Jack gets an armdrag into an armbar. They butt heads and do a double – down, and there’s about 8 minutes left to time limit. Dory gets a piledriver, but Jack gets a foot on the ropes at 2. Jack gets a dropkick, and sinks in the Figure – Four with about 6 minutes to go. Dory tries rolling over, but Jack uses the ropes to force it back and Dory submits at 54:26. Fall are even at 1 – 1. Third fall starts with them duking it out, and Dory pulls Jack over the top to the floor. Jack with a sunset flip in for 2, and he goes after the knee, but Dory counters and hits a back suplex. Both guys are down again, but Dory gets 2. Dory hits that insane splash to the back of the neck, but it only gets 2. He gets a stretch, but Jack breaks it. Bad, bad dropkick by Dory, and Jack avoids a second one. Inside cradle is reversed around the ring by both men, resulting in a 2 – count. They reverse an abdominal stretch, but are tangled in the ropes. Dory suplexes Jack in from apron for 2. Dory starts working the knee, getting a spinning toe – hold, but Jack won’t give, and the bell rings for the time – limit draw. Another one of those rivalries that I’ve read about on some of the old-school message boards that has reached legendary status to some, and maybe it was just this match, but I’m not sold. This was pretty dull. (*** 60:00)
1974.01.30 AJPW at Nippon University Public Hall, Tokyo
Jack Brisco (Champion)
Vs
Jumbo Tsuruta
This was on the last day of the same tour as the previous match, and these two matches are the ones that were taped for TV. Jumbo had been a pro for about a year at this point, so I’m kind of puzzled as to how he rated an NWA World Title shot. He was kind of a big deal as an amateur, having been an Olympian, so I can imagine that he was pushed to the moon right away as a pro. (There was some idiot on Cagematch.net that said that he was very overrated as a pro, and another that said that he died too young and didn’t live up to his potential. Um, he was 49, and had wrestled for 25 years, was AWA World Champion, when that meant something; was PWF Champion, was the first Triple Crown champion, and is widely considered to be one of the five or so best wrestlers of the 80’s and 90’s, so I’d say that commenter is probably Skip Bayless trying to be edgy.) In the first fall, Jumbo works an armbar early on, and good lord is he skinny. I’d say he’s got to be 250 at most. He goes for a butterfly suplex, but Brisco backs into the corner. Jack is giving him a ton of offense early, making him look good. It’s all armbar, but Jack sells it like death. Jumbo shoulderblocks him down, but counters an armdrag and goes right back to the armbar. Jack bleeds hardway from his mouth, probably from when Jumbo picks him up and drops him on the armbar. Jack muscles him over in a top wristlock, but Jumbo powers back out of it, so Jack takes him down by the hair and grabs a choke. Back to the wristlock, and Jumbo takes him over, but Jack bridges. Holy shit he’s got some neck strength. Jumbo gets the armbar again, then transitions into a crossface/chickenwing. Jack takes him down and starts working a leg grapevine. He turns that into an Indian Deathlock, and every time Jumbo tries to lift out of it, he punches him in the stomach. It’s so weird to see someone tapping the mat to sell like Jumbo does. Jack gets flipped over, so they break in the ropes. Jumbo gets a backslide, then they trade slams and elbows, with each getting a near fall. Jack gets a backbreaker, and that’s enough for the pin and the first fall at 12:55. They start the second fall with Jack grabbing a headlock. He buries a series of elbows to Jumbo’s head, then holds the headlock again. Jumbo gets a shinbreaker out of nowhere and starts working the knee like mad, and suddenly, the crowd wakes up. Jumbo gets the bridging Indian Deathlock, and Jack is just yelling in pain. Jack kicks him off, and Jumbo goes flying over the top rope to the floor. Sunset flip back in gets 2 for Jumbo. He gets a leglock, but they wind up tangled in the ropes for the break. Jumbo nails his knee in the corner, and Jack starts backing off and bails out to the floor. Back in, and Jumbo continues his onslaught, turning him over into the Boston Crab. Jack gets the ropes immediately, so Jumbo starts working the back and gets a reverse chinlock. In the ropes, again, but Jack fires back. Jumbo buries a forearm, then a butterfly suplex, then a spectacular belly – to -belly suplex gets the second fall at 20:27. Jumbo is hot early in the third fall, with Jack begging off. He pounds his back, hitting a slam for 2. Jumbo goes into a rear chinlock, this time right in the middle of the ring. Jack comes to his knees, but Jumbo won’t let him go. He gets a half – nelson, but Jack won’t go to his back. He finally gets to standing with Jumbo on his back and dumps him in the corner. Jumbo gets an abdominal stretch, and Jack looks like he’s ready to pass out. Jumbo takes him over backwards, but Jack has the presence of mind raise his shoulders after several 2 – counts. Jack comes out of it and winds up on top, but Jumbo has such insanely strong neck muscles that Jack can’t drive him down from a bridge with knees. Jumbo gets a body scissors, then adds a chinlock to it. Monkeyflip by Jumbo, then a bearhug, but Jack won’t give up. He rings Jumbo’s bell, but Jumbo goes right back to the bearhug. Shoulderblocks in the corner, but Jack gets a kneelift in, staggering him. He just starts punching away and gets a butterfly suplex for 2. Backbreaker gets 2. Jack gets a headlock, but Jumbo turns it into a backdropper for 2. They do a double – down, then Jumbo hits a dropkick, he misses a second, and Jack reverses an Oklahoma Roll for the pin. The third fall was non-stop action. This match was a testament to how good Jumbo was, because Jack had a watchable match with Dory, but this was spectacular. (**** 29:22)
This disk was a necessary evil for the set, but HOLY SHIT was it a slog to get through. If you ever get this set, skip this disk unless you REALLY love headlocks. And headlock related things.
1957.10.13 JWA at Korakuen Stadium, Tokyo
Lou Thesz (Champion)
Vs
Rikidozan
Thesz was on the downside of his prime here, but still in it. He was in his second reign as Alliance champion, having dropped it and regained it from Whipper Billy Watson about a year or so earlier. He was quite the competitor, and was the last man on earth that anyone would ever want to try to shoot on. He was unbelievably strong, and his skill on the mat was unparalleled. He also innovated several moves that didn’t become popular for years, including the STF and the powerbomb. I’ve never seen Rikidozan in the ring before this match, but he’s not nearly as large as I had pictured him in my mind’s eye. (Having been in Sumo, I had someone along the lines of Jumbo Tsuruta in mind.) Thesz basically made wrestling in Japan by coming there and having these matches with Rikidozan, who was seen as a national hero in defending Japan against the American aggressors after the occupation had ended. It set the formula for years to come: the natives were the heroes, the gaijin, or foreigners, were the heels. They work a pretty good pace early on, but there’s no way they can keep it up. They go to the mat for a bit, and Thesz works a short-arm scissors. This being the 1950’s, they spend a LOT of time on the mat. Rikidozan works a leg lock in the middle of the ring, but Thesz won’t give up. Thesz eventually makes the ropes for the break, but he’s in a bad way. He does a great job of playing the heel, constantly backing away from Rikidozan, wrestling very defensively. Rikidozan takes him down with a hammerlock and works that on the mat. Thesz eventually escapes that, but Rikidozan takes him back down with a body scissor. They work some spots around that, including a near-fall. Thesz takes a shoulderblock and goes down for a four-count, but they come back to neutral. Rikidozan takes him down with a headlock, and that’s the hold they work around for little while. Thesz attempts to murder him with a STIFF AS HELL backdrop suplex, then he gets a full body ride for a couple of near-falls. Thesz tries like mad to hold his shoulders down, and Rikidozan uses a damn near superhuman effort to keep them up, eventually reversing. They go to neutral again, and Rikidozan takes him over with a headlock again. Thesz tries the backdropper again, but Rikidozan blocks it and takes him down again. Very nice callback to earlier. Lather, rinse, repeat. They go to standing, and Rikidozan just NAILS him with an elbow and a chop. More headlockery, but Thesz gets a rollover into a cradle for 2. And again. When Rikidozan counters back to sitting, Thesz lifts him and drops him on his spine and rolls him back over. Rikidozan manages to escape and he gets an Indian Deathlock. Thesz reverses into a press, which Rikidozan reverses into a press. This has a very amateur feel to it, like if pro wrestling was a legitimate contest, this is what it would look like. Riki takes him over with the headlock, which gets a big pop. I swear to god, this match is about 37 minutes in, and it has been about 30 minutes of Rikidozan having Thesz in a headlock. Thesz takes him down and gets a keylock, so at least they’re changing things up, I guess. Rikidozan reverses that into a keylock of his own, and he’s got Thesz on the mat. Thesz is almost to the ropes, and the film jumps a bit (WTF, it’s almost 60 years old, I can live with a few seconds missing). Thesz worms his way to the ropes, then begs off. He’s great, yelling at the officials at ringside. I always thought of him as such a gentleman and awesome technical wrestler that I never realized how awesome of a heel he was. He was never the best heel, mostly because he was around at the same time as Buddy Rogers (who he wrestled circles around), but he certainly held his own. Rikidozan goes back to the keylock and holy shit this is going to a time-limit draw with no falls on either side. Thesz makes the ropes again, we break again. Back to standing, and Rikidozan shoots him off the ropes and hits a press slam (!) for 2, but Thesz is in the ropes. Chops back and forth, and Thesz is down in the corner. And then along the ropes. He runs, and gets in some cheap shots. Rikidozan fires back, and they start trading forearms and chops. Rikidozan slams him for 2, and Thesz apparently has to answer the 10-count. What a bullshit rule. The bell rings, and we have a time-limit draw. It was mind-tinglingly boring, but cool to see Thesz in his prime (although I’m thinking this was definitely on the downside at least of that) and way cool to see Rikidozan at all. I’m thinking the date I have is incorrect, because Cagematch.net has the time limit draw with no falls as 10/7/57. I will leave it labeled as-is, because that’s what it is on the DVD. (*** ½ 60:00)
There’s a huge gap in time between matches on this set, and I’m fairly certain it’s because whoever put the set together just didn’t have access to the various NWA Title defenses that happened in JWA throughout the late-50’s, 60’s, and the early 70’s. I’ve compiled a list:
12/2/1969 Dory Funk, Jr. (Champion) TLD Antonio Inoki (60:00) (Osaka)
12/3/1969 Dory Funk, Jr. (Champion) TLD Giant Baba (60:00) (Tokyo)
12/9/1972 Dory Funk, Jr. def Seiji Sakaguchi 2 falls to 1 (23:53) (Osaka)
1/23/1974 Jack Brisco Draw Giant Baba (24:01, DCOR in Third Fall) (Nagasaki)
1/24/1974 Jack Brisco TLD Harley Race (60:00) (Nagasaki)
That’s literally it. No title matches in Japan from 1957 until 1969. No wonder there’s no film of them, and no wonder they always try to position their titles above the world title. We treated them like shit for a decade when they were building the sport in their country.
1974.01.27 AJPW in Higashiyodogawa Gymnasium, Osaka, Japan
Jack Brisco (Champion)
Vs
Dory Funk, Jr.
This tour wasn’t the first time since the collapse of JPW into AJPW and NJPW that the NWA Title was defended in Japan, but it was a big deal, as AJPW had gotten the dates for Brisco defending the belt with matches against Giant Baba, Harley Race, Dory, the Destroyer, and Jumbo Tsuruta. I’d always assumed that they’d had about 200 matches against each other in the previous five years, and I can imagine that they had many more than that. (I have 38 results of title matches between the two while Dory was champion, with the first being Dory defending it successfully on 12/1/69, then 12 matches in 1970, followed by 7 in 1971, 17 in 1972, then 1 time in 1973 for a total of 37. It seems like there should have been many more than that. Once Jack became champion, they had 7 more matches in 1973, a whopping 21 times in 1974, then 17 more times in 1975 until Jack dropped the title to Terry Funk, for a Grand Total of 82 NWA World Title matches between the two from December 1, 1969 until late-November 1975 (there’s no date on the last match.) That works out to just under once a month that they were fighting each other for the title, and almost exactly so if you take out the two or so months that Harley Race held the title in 1973.) Dory takes him down with a headlock, and this is not starting out with a blistering pace, to say the least. This match was actually on the undercard of a Giant Baba – Harley Race PWF 2 of 3 falls match, because heaven fucking forbid that Baba ever go on second to last.) Jack reverses into an overhand wristlock, then into an armbar. They trade holds for a good long time, as Dory takes him down with a leg sweep and gets a knee lock. He converts that into an STF, but releases that, trying for a half nelson. He stretches Jack, but this is, while technically sound, boring as hell. Dory gets a sleeper, so Jack backs him into the corner for the break, selling the back the whole time. They go back to neutral, and Jack gets a headlock and holds on. He works that for a few minutes, then transitions to a body scissors. Dory fights that pretty actively, trying for a hammerlock. Dory finally counters and tries to turn it into a Boston Crab, but Jack twists out of it. Dory gets a double – leg and turns him over, but Jack spins out again. Dory grabs a bearhug, concentrating on the back, but Jack makes the ropes. Dory takes him down and starts working a hammerlock, taking him over for a couple of 2 counts. Surfboard now, but Jack starts the sloooow process of reversing it. He eventually does, then he starts pounding on the spine. Dory gets a double – underhook, but Jack goes dead weight on a suplex. Dory takes him over on a headlock, but Jack fights out. Jack hits a dropkick, then gets a gorgeous armdrag into an armbar. He starts working on the biceps, just grinding his knee into it. He takes too long, though, and Dory gets a body scissors. He turns that into an insane submission, but Jack won’t give up. Jack counters into an abdominal stretch, and after a stretch in that, Dory hip tosses him out of it. Jack gets a chinlock, but Dory shoots him to the buckle. Jack gets a leg sweep for 2, then a neckbreaker for 2, and that pops the crowd. He starts laying in forearms, then works the injured back more by putting Dory in a Boston Crab. Dory powers out, but Jack gets an atomic drop for 2. Dory reverses a whip to the corner and gets a sick splash to the back of Jack’s neck (Jack was sitting up.) and a butterfly suplex for the pin and the first fall at 43:10. The second fall begins, and Jack gets a headlock right away, they turn it into an overhand wristlock, but Jack punches, then grabs the headlock again. There’s an irate Japanese lady yelling at them, and the fans all look embarrassed more than anything. They start trading forearms in the corner, and Jack takes a walk. Back in, and Dory nails him with a back elbow. Slam, and an elbow follows. Dory controls, getting a backbreaker for 2. He hits more forearms in the corner, but Jack blocks the butterfly suplex with a backslide for 2. Dory takes him over with a headlock. They go back to standing, Jack still in a headlock, and he forces Dory back to the ropes. Dueling Oklahoma rolls get near-falls for each guy, then Jack gets an armdrag into an armbar. They butt heads and do a double – down, and there’s about 8 minutes left to time limit. Dory gets a piledriver, but Jack gets a foot on the ropes at 2. Jack gets a dropkick, and sinks in the Figure – Four with about 6 minutes to go. Dory tries rolling over, but Jack uses the ropes to force it back and Dory submits at 54:26. Fall are even at 1 – 1. Third fall starts with them duking it out, and Dory pulls Jack over the top to the floor. Jack with a sunset flip in for 2, and he goes after the knee, but Dory counters and hits a back suplex. Both guys are down again, but Dory gets 2. Dory hits that insane splash to the back of the neck, but it only gets 2. He gets a stretch, but Jack breaks it. Bad, bad dropkick by Dory, and Jack avoids a second one. Inside cradle is reversed around the ring by both men, resulting in a 2 – count. They reverse an abdominal stretch, but are tangled in the ropes. Dory suplexes Jack in from apron for 2. Dory starts working the knee, getting a spinning toe – hold, but Jack won’t give, and the bell rings for the time – limit draw. Another one of those rivalries that I’ve read about on some of the old-school message boards that has reached legendary status to some, and maybe it was just this match, but I’m not sold. This was pretty dull. (*** 60:00)
1974.01.30 AJPW at Nippon University Public Hall, Tokyo
Jack Brisco (Champion)
Vs
Jumbo Tsuruta
This was on the last day of the same tour as the previous match, and these two matches are the ones that were taped for TV. Jumbo had been a pro for about a year at this point, so I’m kind of puzzled as to how he rated an NWA World Title shot. He was kind of a big deal as an amateur, having been an Olympian, so I can imagine that he was pushed to the moon right away as a pro. (There was some idiot on Cagematch.net that said that he was very overrated as a pro, and another that said that he died too young and didn’t live up to his potential. Um, he was 49, and had wrestled for 25 years, was AWA World Champion, when that meant something; was PWF Champion, was the first Triple Crown champion, and is widely considered to be one of the five or so best wrestlers of the 80’s and 90’s, so I’d say that commenter is probably Skip Bayless trying to be edgy.) In the first fall, Jumbo works an armbar early on, and good lord is he skinny. I’d say he’s got to be 250 at most. He goes for a butterfly suplex, but Brisco backs into the corner. Jack is giving him a ton of offense early, making him look good. It’s all armbar, but Jack sells it like death. Jumbo shoulderblocks him down, but counters an armdrag and goes right back to the armbar. Jack bleeds hardway from his mouth, probably from when Jumbo picks him up and drops him on the armbar. Jack muscles him over in a top wristlock, but Jumbo powers back out of it, so Jack takes him down by the hair and grabs a choke. Back to the wristlock, and Jumbo takes him over, but Jack bridges. Holy shit he’s got some neck strength. Jumbo gets the armbar again, then transitions into a crossface/chickenwing. Jack takes him down and starts working a leg grapevine. He turns that into an Indian Deathlock, and every time Jumbo tries to lift out of it, he punches him in the stomach. It’s so weird to see someone tapping the mat to sell like Jumbo does. Jack gets flipped over, so they break in the ropes. Jumbo gets a backslide, then they trade slams and elbows, with each getting a near fall. Jack gets a backbreaker, and that’s enough for the pin and the first fall at 12:55. They start the second fall with Jack grabbing a headlock. He buries a series of elbows to Jumbo’s head, then holds the headlock again. Jumbo gets a shinbreaker out of nowhere and starts working the knee like mad, and suddenly, the crowd wakes up. Jumbo gets the bridging Indian Deathlock, and Jack is just yelling in pain. Jack kicks him off, and Jumbo goes flying over the top rope to the floor. Sunset flip back in gets 2 for Jumbo. He gets a leglock, but they wind up tangled in the ropes for the break. Jumbo nails his knee in the corner, and Jack starts backing off and bails out to the floor. Back in, and Jumbo continues his onslaught, turning him over into the Boston Crab. Jack gets the ropes immediately, so Jumbo starts working the back and gets a reverse chinlock. In the ropes, again, but Jack fires back. Jumbo buries a forearm, then a butterfly suplex, then a spectacular belly – to -belly suplex gets the second fall at 20:27. Jumbo is hot early in the third fall, with Jack begging off. He pounds his back, hitting a slam for 2. Jumbo goes into a rear chinlock, this time right in the middle of the ring. Jack comes to his knees, but Jumbo won’t let him go. He gets a half – nelson, but Jack won’t go to his back. He finally gets to standing with Jumbo on his back and dumps him in the corner. Jumbo gets an abdominal stretch, and Jack looks like he’s ready to pass out. Jumbo takes him over backwards, but Jack has the presence of mind raise his shoulders after several 2 – counts. Jack comes out of it and winds up on top, but Jumbo has such insanely strong neck muscles that Jack can’t drive him down from a bridge with knees. Jumbo gets a body scissors, then adds a chinlock to it. Monkeyflip by Jumbo, then a bearhug, but Jack won’t give up. He rings Jumbo’s bell, but Jumbo goes right back to the bearhug. Shoulderblocks in the corner, but Jack gets a kneelift in, staggering him. He just starts punching away and gets a butterfly suplex for 2. Backbreaker gets 2. Jack gets a headlock, but Jumbo turns it into a backdropper for 2. They do a double – down, then Jumbo hits a dropkick, he misses a second, and Jack reverses an Oklahoma Roll for the pin. The third fall was non-stop action. This match was a testament to how good Jumbo was, because Jack had a watchable match with Dory, but this was spectacular. (**** 29:22)
This disk was a necessary evil for the set, but HOLY SHIT was it a slog to get through. If you ever get this set, skip this disk unless you REALLY love headlocks. And headlock related things.