Going into this I can't say I know much about either man, obviously they are both legends of wrestling but I've only seen a handful of matches from each wrestler so I don't have any strong opinions but hey, open minds are always good, here we go
The match opens slower than I expected, it's a few minutes of Jumbo being dominant and he does a great job of it, his selling is top notch and his offence looks painful but it just doesn't capture me in the way a truly great match can.
The transition for Tenryu comes when he hits a running so lariat so hard Jumbo falls out of the ring, then cartwheels over the top rope and hits a cross body. This *rules* and really got me into the match but then it's straight back to the two transitioning holds. And I don't want to sound like an uncultured swine but this is a match that intellectually I know is great, everything they do is crisp and clean and logical, there's not really any actual flaws with the match but it just never ignites the passion in my heart that truly great wrestling can do.
And that's not to say I didn't enjoy this match, because I did, it's just not the style of match that I can truly love, which is a shame but that's how these things go.
The last few minutes do really heat up though and it's where the match truly shines. They start pulling out bigger and bigger moves, a personal highlight being Jumbo jumping over Tenryu from the corner, rolling through, then hitting a lariat, as well as a Tenryu reverse top rope elbow, and Tenryu just grabbing Jumbo and running him throat first into the ropes, a move I've somehow never seen before but need to see again.
The finishing sequence is also just great, Tenryu hits a powerbomb for a really close nearfall, and rather than switching up his gameplan, he just catches his breath and hits the same powerbomb again and that's all it takes. I think a lot of matches overthink these big final sequences, trying to milk every finisher kickout but actually this is all it needs, someone knowing his move can win and relying on it.
This is a great match, I really enjoyed it, I just never felt the fire that I need to push it any higher than that.
****
- Chester
The match opens slower than I expected, it's a few minutes of Jumbo being dominant and he does a great job of it, his selling is top notch and his offence looks painful but it just doesn't capture me in the way a truly great match can.
The transition for Tenryu comes when he hits a running so lariat so hard Jumbo falls out of the ring, then cartwheels over the top rope and hits a cross body. This *rules* and really got me into the match but then it's straight back to the two transitioning holds. And I don't want to sound like an uncultured swine but this is a match that intellectually I know is great, everything they do is crisp and clean and logical, there's not really any actual flaws with the match but it just never ignites the passion in my heart that truly great wrestling can do.
And that's not to say I didn't enjoy this match, because I did, it's just not the style of match that I can truly love, which is a shame but that's how these things go.
The last few minutes do really heat up though and it's where the match truly shines. They start pulling out bigger and bigger moves, a personal highlight being Jumbo jumping over Tenryu from the corner, rolling through, then hitting a lariat, as well as a Tenryu reverse top rope elbow, and Tenryu just grabbing Jumbo and running him throat first into the ropes, a move I've somehow never seen before but need to see again.
The finishing sequence is also just great, Tenryu hits a powerbomb for a really close nearfall, and rather than switching up his gameplan, he just catches his breath and hits the same powerbomb again and that's all it takes. I think a lot of matches overthink these big final sequences, trying to milk every finisher kickout but actually this is all it needs, someone knowing his move can win and relying on it.
This is a great match, I really enjoyed it, I just never felt the fire that I need to push it any higher than that.
****
- Chester