(Almost) 5-Star Match Reviews: Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa – AJPW, September 1, 1990

When wrestling fans see or hear the names “Jumbo Tsuruta” and “Mitsuharu Misawa” together, one of two things comes to mind: the collection of top-tier tag matches they had between 1990 and 1992; or their historic singles match from June 8, 1990 that changed the course of wrestling. What often gets forgotten is that these two had another big singles match only a few months after that more iconic encounter, and it’s safe to say that this match is the better of the two.

The 1990s was filled with many outstanding matches, many of which are still hailed as the best of the best to this day. As such, it’s expected that some big matches that got lots of praise at the time became forgotten simply because they lacked something special in comparison to whatever else was around them. That’s where this match reviews series comes in: we look back at top matches from the past and see how well they hold up to time. With that, let’s jump into one of the biggest matches involving two of the biggest names in AJPW history.

Previously I was writing for a site called TJR Wrestling and now this series is coming to Blog of Doom. For now you can check out the series in its entirety here.

The story

On June 8th, Misawa scored a gigantic win over Tsuruta, which setup a feud that would last the better part of two years. That win silenced all doubters that Misawa was a future star in AJPW, but he wasn’t the ace yet. He needed more than just one win, a win that some perceived to be a fluke. A rematch between the two was inevitable, but going into this match, things weren’t all that clear-cut.

On the surface Tsuruta looked to be the man that risked losing his spot as Misawa continued to rise. However, Tsuruta was still firmly established as a star while Misawa wasn’t. After beating Tsuruta in June, Misawa received a shot at the Triple Crown later in July, only to come up short. In some ways that was to be expected; Misawa was taking on Stan Hansen to crown a new champion after Terry Gordy vacated it due to severe illness. And while Misawa was the hot new star that was quickly getting over with the fans, Baba wasn’t one to hotshot a new star without giving them credibility first. As such, Misawa lost the title match and was forced to regroup.

A month or so later, Misawa found himself facing Tsuruta again, this time for the #1 contender’s spot. The crowd was split once again, but this time Misawa was no junior heavyweight getting a much-desired yet still unexpected win over an established star. Here the field was much more even in terms of booking significance, though Tsuruta was still very much the #1 native star. Yet he was no longer infallible; Misawa had won and he had also spent the months since then improving his repertoire of moves.

Given all of that, it was anyone’s guess who would win. Both men went into this match with plenty of credibility. Both were beloved by the audience. Both were tough as nails. But while Tsuruta had size, experience, and history as a champion on his side, Misawa had youth, speed, dynamism, and a recent win over Tsuruta on his. So which of them would win in the end?

The match

This match originally took place on September 1, 1990. It was rated ****1/2 out of five by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer.

Extremely loud chants for both wrestlers as the match begins. Tsuruta gets a clean break and blocks a Misawa elbow. The roles are reversed on the next lock-up and this time Misawa blocks Tsuruta’s elbow. They lock-up a third time, Tsuruta hits a quick forearm, Misawa dodges a jumping knee, and Tsuruta hits a kneelift to Misawa’s gut. Tsuruta follows with more gut punches and knees to the gut as the crowd rallies behind Misawa. Misawa fires off a single elbow but Tsuruta shuts him down and sends him into another corner. Tsuruta charges but Misawa boots Tsuruta first and hits a springboard back elbow.

Misawa follows with a scoop slam/standing senton combo but only gets a two-count. Tsuruta fights to his feet to escape a rear chinlock so Misawa switches to a front chancery. Tsuruta lands more kneelifts as the crowd chants his name and goes for another kneelift but this time Misawa jumps over and counters with a schoolboy cover for a two-count. The crowd switches to Misawa as Tsuruta locks him in a double-arm stretch with his boot in the small of Misawa’s back. Misawa reverses that move onto Tsuruta and then blocks Tsuruta’s attempts at another reversal. Tsuruta tries again and manages to reverse the hold but Misawa hits first with a backwards mule kick to send Tsuruta into the ropes at the five-minute mark.

Misawa wrestles his way into a seated double-arm stretch but this time Tsuruta easily gets him to the ropes to force a break. Tsuruta dumps Misawa to the floor but Misawa rolls back in before Tsuruta can do anything ringside. Once Tsuruta returns Misawa fires off more stiff and Tsuruta sells like his bell has been rung. Misawa continues the pressure with elbows but Tsuruta hits back with a big boot and a jumping knee for a two-count of his own.

The crowd chants turn a bit neutral as Tsuruta slams Misawa and locks him in a Boston crab. Misawa gets a ropebreak so Tsuruta follows with a cobra twist which turns into a modified cradle that yields Tsuruta a two-count and then switches to some kind of double leg lock. That move then becomes a heel hook of sorts but Misawa gets to the ropes forcing Tsuruta to let go.

Tsuruta hits elbows of his own followed by a swinging neckbreaker for a two-count. That turns into a short strike exchange which ends with Misawa locking in a Figure-4 neck lock that goes on for a while until Tsuruta escapes and clubs Misawa’s injured back. Misawa retaliates with lucha-inspired kicks and gets another two-count. He fires off more kicks but Tsuruta hits back with more elbows for yet another two-count. A piledriver yields Tsuruta two once again, as does a butterfly suplex. Misawa takes advantage of the distance with a quick kick and a crossbody press for another close two-count. Tsuruta sends Misawa into a corner and Misawa goes for the springboard back elbow again but this time Tsuruta counters and drives Misawa head-first into the canvas. One, two, Misawa kicks out.

The crowd roars as Tsuruta lands a running Thesz press cover for another two-count. He tries a Backdrop suplex but Misawa counters into a press cover. One, two, Tsuruta kicks out and reverses the press onto Misawa. It’s a reversal of their June 8th match finish. One, two, Misawa narrowly escapes. Tsuruta hammers Misawa and attempts a Backdrop but Misawa holds onto the ropes. Misawa fires off more elbows but Tsuruta fires up and hits back. And by “hits back” I mean “he loses his composure, stops ‘wrestling’, and beats the shit out of Misawa like he owes him money”.

Misawa rolls to ringside but finds no safety there as Tsuruta sends him into the steel barricade. Tsuruta tosses him onto the ringside announce table and then whacks him with a chair. All Japan didn’t really do disqualifications during the 1990s so all of this was fair (presumably as long as it was outside the ring). The crowd rallies behind Misawa and then start booing Tsuruta (a rare thing at the time) when he sends Misawa back to the floor. Misawa meets Tsuruta at the ropes and knocks him down with elbows. He follows with a diving elbow, a basement dropkick and a running plancha to the floor. He snapmares Tsuruta over the top rope, slams him, and lands another diving elbow. One, two, Tsuruta kicks out.

Misawa lands another flurry of elbow smashes and keeps hammering Tsuruta until the referee makes him back off. Misawa keeps hitting until Tsuruta starts firing back with head-butts and a dropkick out of nowhere for a two-count. Tsuruta follows with a powerslam and covers but Misawa gets his foot on the ropes. Misawa resists one powerbomb attempt and then counters a second one with a Frankensteiner for a two-count. Tsuruta elbows out of a German suplex attempt and charges for a lariat. Misawa ducks, elbows, and lands a bridging German for a 2.8-count. Misawa tries a Tiger Driver but Tsuruta drives him forward into a corner. Tsuruta turns around and Misawa goes for some kind of headscissor but exhaustion sits in and he crumples forward, allowing Tsuruta to cover for another two-count. Tsuruta sends Misawa into the ropes and lands a jumping knee. Tsuruta charges again and Misawa attempts a flapjack/hotshot into the ropes but exhaustion hits again and the move looks botched, but intentionally so. Misawa goes to the top rope but Tsuruta cuts him off with a superplex and a Backdrop suplex. One, two, and thr – no, Misawa survives. Misawa creates some separation with a desperation elbow to Tsuruta’s face. Both men trade strikes until Tsuruta drops Misawa with another boot to the face. Tsuruta follows that with a massive lariat and another Backdrop suplex and gets the pin and the #1 contender’s spot!

Winner after 24:50: Jumbo Tsuruta

Review

While this wasn’t as historically important as the June 1990 match it was a better contest overall. It was more intense, better paced, and more exciting. It didn’t have a low point or any lulls that slowed it down. The crowd was at more or less the same level from start to finish and exploded several times, to the point that, if you watch this match with headphones, it will sound like there’s a stampede going on. The action told a deeper story, one that made it clear that this was more than just a professional contest. Tsuruta losing his composure and demolishing Misawa with ugly forearms was the cherry on top to a story that had been building since the match began. Simply put, there’s little to criticize or nitpick about in this match. It’s as close to flawless as it gets under the banner of professional wrestling.

The match saw a tonal shift in Misawa’s wrestling. He began relying less on his lucha-inspired technique and speed and instead began trading bombs with Tsuruta. He put more emphasis on his elbow strikes which would go on to become his trademark weapons. And Tsuruta did a terrific job of selling them in this match: the way he slowed down to shake the cobwebs out of his head showed how much effect those strikes had on him compared to Misawa’s other wrestling moves.

Those strikes allowed Misawa to keep pace with Tsuruta and actually overtake him on a few occasions, but they weren’t enough for Misawa to maintain control for long. Misawa hit hard but Tsuruta hit harder. Neither he nor Misawa needed to go overboard with strikes, throws, or convoluted sequences; they did more with less and were able to get their point across without having to go into overkill territory.

That simplicity is something that has largely been forgotten in today’s wrestling landscape; there’s this expectation where the “best” workers needed to do thirty or more different moves in complicated chains to show what they can do instead of getting the same result out of half of those moves. It’s the old adage of comparing a pro-wrestling match with a musical composition: it’s not just the notes but also the space between notes that allows the story to be told clearly and effectively. Here, Misawa and Tsuruta balanced hitting few key moves with selling those big moves a certain way to tell their story. Had either man gone further than necessary, such as by adding more head drops and no-selling at inappropriate times, then the match would’ve lacked believability and the action wouldn’t fit the story being told at this particular point in their rivalry.

Then, of course, there was something important towards the end: two clearly blown spots involving Misawa. Whether they were intentional or not they actually improved the match. Misawa was so exhausted from fighting Tsuruta’s onslaught that he started losing the ability to hit his moves completely. This isn’t something you’re likely to see in more recent times because the overwhelming majority of wrestlers are focused on pinpoint execution and perfection for the camera. Even the craziest head-spike-heavy wrestlers like Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega, and Okada will all still hit their biggest and riskiest moves perfectly no matter how far or deep they’re into the match. That’s something of a flaw in how more recent matches are laid out: too many present-day wrestlers are still focused on executing a move perfectly, despite the exhaustion and intentional sloppiness underscoring the intensity with which the wrestlers fought and how little they both had left in the tank. Real fights – or at least, realistic ones – aren’t filled with finesse and perfectly executed maneuvers, but instead have an ugliness and randomness to them that make them wilder. Tsuruta and Misawa took advantage of this random and unexpected error and used it to their advantage. The result was perfect: Misawa wasn’t able to rally back from that point and Tsuruta had an easier time overtaking him and winning the match cleanly, decisively, and in a way that didn’t harm Misawa in any way. If anything, considering how the story unfolded after this, it actually helped him.

Final rating: *****

This was a classic back then and it’s a classic now. This is one of the smoothest, fastest, and most exciting brawls in the past four decades. You’re not likely to find another match that features such an easy to understand story while also having commentary in another language. But that commentary isn’t needed; in fact, it’s a complete non-issue here as this match is carried by the strength of its action, the simplicity and relatability of its story, and the incredible noise of the crowd who were overjoyed with this match from start to finish.

And while much of the conversation on Jumbo Tsuruta versus Mitsuharu Misawa centers on the historic significance of their June 8th match, this one had its own historic impact as well. This was Misawa’s second big singles loss in a row. It was the catalyst that caused Akira Taue to split from Misawa’s stable align with Tsuruta instead. Just like that, Misawa’s vision of a new Four Horsemen of All Japan was dead before it could really get off the ground. With Taue aligned with his bitter enemy Tsuruta, Misawa took a still-green Kenta Kobashi and elevated him to the position of third man in his heavyweight tag matches.

That in turn set in motion the war that would define All Japan for two-three years: Misawa and either Kawada or Kobashi versus Tsuruta, Fuchi, and Taue. These six men in some combination or another would go on to have countless outstanding matches together, and odds are they would’ve extended that war even further had Tsuruta not been diagnosed with Hepatitis in the summer of 1992.

If there was one hidden match for you to find as we enter 2024, it’s this one.

Thanks for reading. You can email me with any questions or comments, and be sure to check out my 5-Star and Almost 5-Star Match Reviews series here.