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WRESTLER OF THE DAY: JUMBO TSURUTA


RIPPA

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I again mention that I started this "Rippa's Faves" thing a year ago today with Andre

 

I bring this up again because up until that moment - whenever I asked who my favorite wrestler was I would respond with "Jumbo Tsuruta". Looking back - I realize this was mainly due some unseen hipster-ish quality where I was like "God - who else says there two favorite wrestlers are Jumbo and Joe Malenko."

 

Again - I still FUCKING LOVE Jumbo. I mean I had a Jumbo tribute page up on the site forever (I wonder how many of those pics are still up). I just found it more amusing how my thinking changed over the last 20 years.

 

Anyway - on to the goodness. And picking stuff for Jumbo is gonna take me forever.

 

For Dean

 

 

God if this match had been 10 years earlier. So many broken down bodies...

 

http://youtu.be/GRGsYtRzo0w

 

And THE Definitive Jumbo clip for this board

 

http://youtu.be/5VDk3CEnzUs

 

 

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Jumbo is proof of a bizarre genetic experiment conducted in the 70s to construct the perfect combination of an NWA touring champion and a strong style wrestler. This was achieved by putting him in the ring with all the greats of the period and their unique styles and psychology being absorbed via sweat.

 

If I was to choose my favourite wrestler solely off their ring work he would be it. He is the architypal pro wrestler to me

 

EDIT:

One of my all time fave matches

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObnHNfMQR-0

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Jumbo was one of those guys that was four different wrestlers in one career. Eager rookie, strong #2 to Baba, ace, and finally grumpy old prick and he was entertaining as hell in all phases. His killer matches against arguable the best string or world champs ever (the Funks, Jack Brisco, Harley Race, Ric Flair, Rick Martel, Nick Bockwinkel) defined him internationally and then his wars against Hansen, Tenryu, Choshu, and Misawa made him THE man in Japan. But he wasn't just the guys he worked against. I'd say he created the punishing, methodical pace that became the AJPW-in-the-90's style. One of my favorite spots in all of wrestling is (and I can't find it anywhere) is a young Jumbo lifting Dory Funk Jr. off his feet, holding him for a second and then suplexing him over his head. Zero assistance, just power and technique to get him over and on his back.

 

Yes, Rippa, your week should be celebrated with a parade.

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2:50 seconds... what the hell?  And Mick is probably reconsidering that apron bump off the clothesline.

 

 

When starting these Youtube journeys (which means I just go from match to match based on the suggested videos), the hardest part might be selecting what wrestler to start with. So with that said - I have no fucking clue if I used Jumbo or Cactus as my starting point. Jumbo is my favorite wrestler (well at least at the time of this writing) so it is possible I was feeling misty water colored memories and used him but it is more likely that I used Cactus because of the variety of areas and matches he had. And I really can't pass up young bump freak Cactus versus Jumbo Fucking Tsuruta in Japan. This was during the 91 Championship Carnival aka that period after World Class and Global and the cup of coffee WCW run or aka the Eddie Gilbert feud time. Anyway - I always remember in Have A Nice Day where Foley relates a story about how when he started working with Sting, the first time Cactus took a crazy ass bump and Sting basically had glee in his eyes because he realized "Holy Shit - I can work with this." I mention this because that look sure as hell seems to be in Jumbo's eyes as early on as Cactus goes into fucking orbit taking his bump over the guardrail. Jumbo lets Cactus do the hip buster on him as a precursor to the then ubiquitous Cactus back bump to the floor - which the crowd goes insane for. This is five minutes of fun. I think you joyless fucks can spare that.

- Rippa - DVDVR #171

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the 2:50 is a time reference to the guy in the crowd after Mick goes over the rail.

 

Oh I know - I was just posting the review and didn't want to link to the match a third time

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2:50 seconds... what the hell?  And Mick is probably reconsidering that apron bump off the clothesline.

 

Jumbo vs. Cactus Jack sounds like oil and water, but this works perfectly.  For a quick sprint between two guys that probably worked together once, they seem to know exactly what to do to set up each others big spots.  These are just two guys who understand how wrestling works.

 

I watched my first Jumbo match less than a year ago, and he is already in my top 5 best workers of all time.  The attention to detail that he puts into everything is insane.  The more Jumbo matches I watch the more I notice some small thing he does that set him apart from everyone else.  He is the best seller of all time.  Most wrestlers do a pretty good job of selling their opponents offense, but he sells everything.  He sells the relief he feels when he hooks the ropes and avoids a dropkick.  He sells the sense of danger that accompanies Kawada whenever they come in contact.  The crowd buys into everything he does, because he sells it to them so realistically.  He is a masterful pro wrestler, and I have only scratched the surface of his matches. 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Fxr6boQQqc

 

This match is beyond aces. I know a lot of people prefer the Kobashi match because of the fire, but man alive, Jumbo gives Kawada a ton and then DESTROYS HIM at the end with the backdrop. The rear naked choke submission spot made me think Kawada actually could tap him out the first time I saw it. THIS is the best right here.

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Speaking of six man matches, I have a Highspots comp of the Jumbo Co. vs. Misawa Co. feud. I may have to bust that out this weekend. The six man matches in that war were goddamn amazing. The dynamic that Jumbo added as the grumpy old captain of his team was just awesome. You knew every time he tagged in he was just going to clobber whoever he was facing and he never disappointed  in that aspect. Plus anytime he and Misawa were in the ring at the same time, the sparks would fly again like it was the first time again. Jumbo was the man.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi5vKwgkxBY

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66lYalouh9k

 

 

In case you want to compare Von Erichs in the ring with Jumbo. Sadly the latter is the only David footage I could find.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5hSkq9wRxk

 

Also here's this, I remember it being pretty good and DEAN gave a huge-ass review to it. 

 

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Rusher Kimura - 3/28/76 (UN Title)- Jumbo Legend Vol. 2 Commercial tape-(DEAN RASMUSSEN):
Rusher Kimura styles like an absolute motherfucker in his flowing white robe- looking like 1977 Ken Patera if Patera was absolutely soaked in coolness in his robe and didn't need Eddy the Brain Creechman to get him over. Jumbo looks like the piker chump at belltime as he can only meet the robe challenge with his white silk jacket and gawky look of Steamboat being eternally smoked by the innate coolness of Flair at every Ring Introduction they ever had to share. Rusher has the mutton chops and bags under his eyes that would make you think he was the veteran in the match even if the old school vertical scar tissue placed neatly and directly under the cool ass widow's peak didn't make it obvious. It's two out of three and they take it to the mat like two TOTAL dicks- forearms across the back of the head and smacks to the face and shitty comments as they work back to a vertical base and it all reminds the viewer that the Seventies were about heat first, then Psychology, then bumps, then matwork, then stiffness, then blood, then any bullshit thrown in to undo the rest. Jumbo spends the first fall powering out of the Greco-Roman knucklelocks- a motif that he used all the way up to his classics with Misawa when Misawa was the young bastard and Jumbo assumed the role of Greatest Rusher Kimura Ever. jumbo does a headlock like they did back in the 70s when it was sold like it was the hold that Ed The Strangler Lewis won 5,000 matches with- as opposed to now where it is forgotten, unutilized or is the most trite resthold other than the chinlock. Jumbo crushes Rusher's neck with fat ass elbows to reapply his headlock- damaging the neck and shoulder until Rusher can power out into a modified Greco-Roman knucklelock-into-a bridging power sequence that still totally rocks in the 2k- so I can imagine how cool it looked back in The Day- when I was a lad of 11. Rusher finally grounds Jumbo and procures the primitive, Pat O'Conner Pressure Hold version of the Cross-Armbreaker and Jumbo sells it with five times the urgency that anyone in Modern day New Japan would sell it, makes the ropes and they work back from the Knucklelock base. The structure of the first fall is simple and beautiful. It all starts from a neutral position- either a Knucklelock or variation of a knucklelock- and then they explore every cool way the hold can go: into a pinning predicament, into a bridge with Jumbo showing his overwhelming edge in power, into Rusher counteracting Jumbo's power by taking him to the mat with a hold that Jumbo can't power out of, into the the final interpretation- Rusher kicking Jumbo in the stomach (just like Johnny Valentine would) Jumbo kicking back, Rusher chopping Jumbo and Jumbo getting the High VERTICAL BASE on the Old School as Melle Mel Arm Bar. Rusher escapes to the ropes and slaps and shitty things to say are said, tempers flare and the audience is suddenly molten as Jumbo settles the fracas by shooting Rusher into the ropes and kills him with a Flying High Knee. Rusher recovers as Jumbo untangles himself from the ropes and Rusher smacks the sassiness out of young Jumbo so Jumbo smacks Rusher upside the head and they start teeing off on each other until Rusher shoots Jumbo into the ropes and hits him with a Rolling Elbow to crush Jumbo's young punk skull to further set up a very unMurdockian-in-gentleness Brainbuster for the first fall. 13 minutes and 27 seconds of building the story of the match (they hate each other. Jumbo is stronger. Rusher is smarter.) all to set up a high impact pin to allow the rest of the match unfold in a more conventional, logical manner. The second fall starts with Rusher getting Jumbo in a headlock and Jumbo attempting to power out of it. The weird realization of lost psychology like this is that I don't think even modern JAPANESE audiences would have the patience for this- which is a shame because when Jumbo powers out of it by picking up Rusher and hitting a shin-breaker, it draws the crowd deeply into the match and is a PERFECT transition to the story of the second fall- Jumbo mangling Rusher's leg beyond all recognition. He starts with a thousand toehold variations hitting the pinnacle with a cool as fuck Bridging Toehold Front Facelock combo that is the King Of Rock in any era. After having his leg ravaged by Jumbo, Rusher makes the ropes and gets thoroughly pissed when the young punk doesn't give him a clean break and they start smacking the fuck out of each other again. Jumbo ends it by hitting a BEAUTIFUL Standing Dropkick that follows-up with a fabulous Butterfly Suplex that he holds up and takes over slowly -just like Dick Murdock would- and gets the two count. Jumbo crushes his back with a backbreaker and then hits another Butterfly for the second fall. The depth of this match is pretty awe-inspiring and the third fall builds on the first two by Rusher smacking the fuck out of Jumbo en lieu of a clean break and Jumbo doing the same a few moments later. The cool thing is that they have built up this match to go many different paths: the knee of Rusher, Jumbo outsmarted by Rusher, Jumbo overpowers Rusher, Jumbo and rusher hate each other's motherfucking guts and they want to kill each other. Call me an old softy that loves Old School psychology but I'm so stoked that they chose the final choice and start beating the holy fuck out of each other. There is a total chaos that 70s Puroresu could attain if the brawl has enough heat and this motherfucker gets molten. Rusher is posted twice then Jumbo is posted and I'm looking for the blade that for some reason never appears. Jumbo drags Rusher into the ring and hits two Standing Side Suplexes for two. rusher hits a desperation Butterfly suplex for two. Jumbo gets the Boston Crab that Rusher powers out of to set up Rusher kicking off from the top rope when Jumbo is going for a German, thus crushing Jumbo's head and we get the DOUBLE PIN?! Schneider calls the double pin the least irritating of screwjobs. This was executed really well so this was the least irritating of the least irritating screwjobs because it was the end of a really great wrestling match. I'm actually pretty partial to the Double Knockout ending so I'll think of it as such. I wanna see the rematch. This fucking rocked on a thousand levels. Rusher was God. jumbo was God. Pre-dessicated Rusher had a vast array of innate coolness.

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