Jumbo/misawa 6/90

[Guest wolverine]

A post over at tOA about the history of the Misawa-Jumbo feud got me thinking and I decided to put the 6/90 match in my VCR again.  It had been awhile since I saw it last and I was curious to see if my views had changed.

 

Short answer is no.  It's so fun to watch how great AJ was back in the early 90's, in particular Jumbo Tsuruta.  He's, IMO, one of the three or four greatest wrestlers of all-time--just the complete package when it comes to selling, timing, making your opponent look great, etc, etc.  Anyway, from a moves standpoint, the match doesn't hold up to later AJ, but it's superior to most because of awesome story it tells.  This is the type of match that reminds me why I'm a wrestling fan--something so simple, yet something so fresh.

 

I'll have to rewatch 9/90, because I recall liking that match more the first time around, but I have a feeling it won't be able to top the first match because of the "specialness" attached to it, which is often hard to duplicate, in this case even more so.  *****

[Guest]

Yep, this has always been and always will be one of my top 10 favorite matches. I love the hell out of the story, the cranky old-school bastard vs. the spunky young gun. They both play they're roles to perfection, with Misawa busting out some of his TM offense, and Jumbo saying "screw that shit" and bringing his old Jumboy goodness (aka stiffing the hell out of Misawa). A big part of the story of the match is when Misawa SLAPS Jumbo, really painting out they're roles in black and white. A feeling of desperation comes over Misawa in the last few minutes, and he does more high-impact stuff to stop Jumbo from gradually turning him into mincemeat. The crowd is obviously real into this one as well, climaxing, as with most classic  AJ matches, with the near falls. This match proves once and for all that one does not have to drop one on one's head to have a sheer classic.

 

This is also considered the match in which Misawa crossed the bridge to superstardom, as it was all uphill for him from there. One more thing: Jumbo is the freaking man when it comes to working with young talent. This, is 9/90 match with Misawa, his 5/91 match with Kobashi, and his 10/91 match with Kawada are perfect examples. If you have not seen this match, see it. NOW. It was my first AJ match ever, and I didn't look back after that.  *****

[Guest Tim Cooke]

"He's, IMO, one of the three or four greatest wrestlers of all-time--just the complete package when it comes to selling, timing, making your opponent look great, etc, etc."

 

Jumbo is probably number two for me personally right now for male wrestlers.  Kawada is number one but Jumbo is not far behind.  Watching Jumbo carrry Tenyru through those tags matches against Choshu's Army and seeing an early tag match with him and Destroyer from the 70's is just further indication that Jumbo was not just awesome, but almost god like.

 

Jumbo and Co v Misawa and Co is probably my favorite feud of the moment as I go through it piece by piece.  

 

Tim

[Guest MrDanger]

Jumbo is probably number two for me personally right now for male wrestlers.  Kawada is number one but Jumbo is not far behind.  Watching Jumbo carrry Tenyru through those tags matches against Choshu's Army and seeing an early tag match with him and Destroyer from the 70's is just further indication that Jumbo was not just awesome, but almost god like.

I actually agree (Gasp!)

 

Over the last year or so I've been trying to get as much early 90's All Japan footage as possible. The job Jumbo did with Misawa and co is simply incredible, he always had the aura of being top dog but he was so unselfish when working with the younger stars.

 

For me it's the little things he did that most impressed me, like keeping Kobashi's moonsault credible by putting his foot across the ropes instead of kicking out or bumping on a double clothesline spot with Kawada in 92 when he would always out power Kawada in the same position earlier in the feud.  

 

Quite simply, Jumbo was the man

[Guest Tim Cooke]

"For me it's the little things he did that most impressed me, like keeping Kobashi's moonsault credible by putting his foot across the ropes instead of kicking out or bumping on a double clothesline spot with Kawada in 92 when he would always out power Kawada in the same position earlier in the feud."

 

Agreed.  In 6 man tags, Jumbo would come in and run the ropes to break up a submission attempt.  Early on, he would be successful.  Later, Kobashi or whoever would get up and clothesline him and he would sell it perfectly, not falling dead but playing it how it should be done.

 

Another thing I am amazed about Jumbo is his effect on crowd control.  Watch the 9/1/90 match v Misawa, 9:30 in.  The crowd is chanting for Misawa and all Jumbo has to do is look up and give them a one second stare and they are chanting his name.  And I love the whole arm raise thing that is met with an "OHH" from the crowd.

 

And his entrance music rules as well.

 

Tim

[Guest wolverine]

 

"Jumbo is probably number two for me personally right now for male wrestlers.  Kawada is number one but Jumbo is not far behind."

 

For me, the best male wrestlers I've ever seen:

 

1.  Kobashi/Kawada tied

3.  Jumbo

4.  Misawa

 

(The only reason Kobashi gets a tie for #1 is because of '93.  Otherwise, I'd put him below Kawada and Jumbo).

[Guest Tim Cooke]

"For me, the best male wrestlers I've ever seen:

 

1.  Kobashi/Kawada tied

3.  Jumbo

4.  Misawa

 

(The only reason Kobashi gets a tie for #1 is because of '93.  Otherwise, I'd put him below Kawada and Jumbo)."

 

I wouldn't argue that.  I still haven't seent the complete year of TV for 1993 and until I do, Kobashi is #4.  But #4 is nothing to be insulted about.

 

Tim, wondering if the best male wrestlers question were asked at the WWF board, who would win, HHH or Flair.

[Guest JohnSkins]

I just watched the 6/90 match for the first time last night and it just completely blew me away.  My next question is, where do I go from here?  Please keep in mind I'm a poor ass college student.

[Guest wolverine]

I just watched the 6/90 match for the first time last night and it just completely blew me away.  My next question is, where do I go from here?  Please keep in mind I'm a poor ass college student.

If you liked what you saw, you should get as many Jumbo matches as you can.  Early 90's AJPW rocks, so anything from that era is going to be worth watching.

 

I'd recommend taking a look at this site:

 

http://www.rasman.com/ajpw.html

 

It has star ratings (Meltzer's) for AJPW matches from 1990-1999.  It can be helpful in trying to decide which TV shows or commercial tapes to get.

 

Also, I'd recommend checking out this site:

 

http://hometown.aol.com/puroresu1king/myhomepage/index.html

 

He has a Top 100 matches for the 90's list that's really awesome.  I ***HIGHLY*** RECOMMEND getting his #1 match at some point if you haven't seen it....

[Guest MrDanger]

I just watched the 6/90 match for the first time last night and it just completely blew me away.  My next question is, where do I go from here?  Please keep in mind I'm a poor ass college student.

Okay what you should do is look for a tape called "Japanese Classics 1990-1992, it's a tape featuring the best of All Japan and Ajw during the said time period. The All Japan footage starts off just prior to the first Jumbo/Misawa match and carries through right to the summer of 1992, which I think is around the time that Jumbo fell ill. It's not a definite comp but features the majority of the awesome tag and six man matches in the feud.

 

Unfortunately I only found a PAL copy a couple of weeks ago, this after I've spent a small fortune on buying tons of All Japan 90-92 TV.

[Guest The Mighty Damaramu]

"Tim, wondering if the best male wrestlers question were asked at the WWF board, who would win, HHH or Flair."

 

I can understand Flair but who the hell would think HHH? And when can I bitch slap them!?

[Guest]

"For me, the best male wrestlers I've ever seen:

 

1.  Kobashi/Kawada tied

3.  Jumbo

4.  Misawa

 

(The only reason Kobashi gets a tie for #1 is because of '93.  Otherwise, I'd put him below Kawada and Jumbo)."

 

I wouldn't argue that.  I still haven't seent the complete year of TV for 1993 and until I do, Kobashi is #4.  But #4 is nothing to be insulted about.

 

Tim, wondering if the best male wrestlers question were asked at the WWF board, who would win, HHH or Flair.

I guess you dont pay attentino the WWF baord too much, as Damaramu said. And so what if they like HHH? Just because they prefer American wrestling doesnt mean youre better than them.

[Guest wolverine]

"I guess you dont pay attentino the WWF baord too much, as Damaramu said. And so what if they like HHH? Just because they prefer American wrestling doesnt mean youre better than them."

 

I would venture to guess that the vast majority don't "prefer" American wrestling, it's the only thing they know/have seen.

 

Also, the point is not whether posters are better than other posters, it's whether wrestlers are better than other wrestlers, which was the point of the list.  There's no need to divert the issue.

[Guest Jubuki]

This is Divert the Issue Heaven, though, Wolv; that's gonna happen.  And I think Hart & Michaels would get quite a lot of play in a question like that.  Frankly, seeing Bob Backlund wrestle Takada in '88 was enough to show me he was a whole Hell of a lot better than most anyone's given him credit for being.  I like that versatility, which played itself out against the likes of Inoki during Bob's reign, over Hart, Michaels, and HHH, who either couldn't wrestle any other way or practically refused to as Hart did.  Austin and Flair are the only two sure-fire 'better' picks for my money, but then you get into the issue of where each man's best work happened.