This review is dedicated to the memories of Tomomi "Jumbo" Tsuruta and John Tenta. R.I.P.
Block B: Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Cactus Jack, AJPW Champion Carnival 1991 - Night 3, Chichibu City Cultural and Physical Education Center, Chichibu, Saitama, Japan, March 26, 1991
No real backstory here, just Mick working wherever he could before he returned to WCW later in the year.
Cactus kicks a streamer out to the floor. They circle a bit. They tie up and Jumbo walks Cactus into the corner. Clean break. They tie up again and Cactus hits Jumbo with a forearm and a kick. Cactus punches Jumbo a few times and drags Jumbo by the head to the corner and smashes Jumbo's face into the turnbuckle. Cactus follows with more kicks, punches and headbutts. Jumbo retaliates with some shots of his own. Jumbo whips Cactus into the ropes and hits him with a jumping knee. Cactus shakes the cobwebs loose and they tie up again. Cactus pushes Jumbo into the corner and kicks him in the gut. More shots and Cactus sends Jumbo through the ropes to the floor. Cactus follows and tries to send Jumbo to the guardrail but Jumbo reverses and Cactus takes a big bump over the rail into the crowd. Cactus gets up, pushes some fans away, looks around and grabs a chair. The camera shows that Jumbo had returned to the ring while Cactus was in the crowd. Jumbo gives the universal "Bring it on" signal. Cactus drops the chair as Jumbo climbs up to the second turnbuckle on the inside (Bless you Gorilla Monsoon). Jumbo steps back into the ring and Cactus follows. Cactus gets his bearings and they tie up again. Jumbo locks on an Abdominal Stretch. After some grunting, Cactus hiptosses Jumbo to escape. Cactus kicks and headbutts Jumbo and whips Jumbo into the ropes and hits Jumbo with a back elbow. It gets 2. Cactus sends Jumbo out to the floor again and follows. Cactus grabs Jumbo's head and sends him into the ringpost. Cactus grabs Jumbo and gives him an over-the-knee backbreaker on the floor. Cactus follows that with the elbow on the concrete and a "Bang bang!" Jumbo gets up and Cactus grabs a side-headlock but Jumbo turns it into a Backdrop Suplex on the floor! Jumbo gets back in the ring and adjusts his elbow pad to the cheers of the crowd. Cactus gets back on the apron and Jumbo runs over and hits Cactus with a big forearm smash, with Cactus taking a HUGE bump! Jumbo goes out the floor and rolls Jack back into the ring. Both guys up, and Jumbo hits a big Jumping Knee. Jumbo then hits a Belly-To-Back Suplex for 3! ***
Jumbo was in his third reign as All Japan Triple Crown Champion at the time, meaning he was on top of the world here. Mick obviously had bigger and better things waiting for him down the road, but, as he wrote in Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks, this was the time that he had stopped doing comedy and "would leave a high school gym looking like a tornado had gone through it." Definitely worth watching, and you can watch it here.
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Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. John Tenta, AJPW Summer Action Series 1989 - Night 10, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan, August 2, 1989 (taped July 15, 1989)
This was Tenta wrapping up his final Japanese commitments before going to WWE as Earthquake, and he's now the big fat guy you'd recognize.
Yatsu attacks with kicks in the corner right away and goes for a slam, which, of course, doesn't work and the commentators even question it. Tenta pushes Yatsu down and drops an elbow for 2. Tenta gets up but Yatsu grabs Tenta's leg and takes him down. Yatsu holds on to the leg and Tenta tries to break the hold with no luck. Tenta rolls Yatsu over and goes for a pin but Yatsu kicks out at 2. Tenta stands up and tries to choke Yatsu with his boot, drawing a good heel reaction. Tenta stomps Yatsu and picks him up and powers him into the corner. Tenta does a cross-corner whip and charges in but Yatsu stops him with his boot. Yatsu charges but Tenta shoulderblocks him. Tenta pulls Yatsu up and slams him and goes for another elbow drop, which misses. Yatsu gets up, kicks Tenta, then dropkicks Tenta into the corner. Then another dropkick. Then another. Yatsu chops Tenta and does a cross-corner whip and charges in and ducks Tenta's clothesline. Tenta charges in with an elbow smash but Yatsu gets out of the way. Yatsu grabs a headlock and goes for a bulldog but Tenta pushes him away. Tenta pulls up Yatsu and hits a Belly to Belly Suplex for 2. With Yatsu still down, Tenta runs off the ropes and goes for a big splash but Yatsu gets his legs up to block it. Yatsu pulls Tenta up and grabs a front facelock and goes for a Vertical Suplex...and HITS IT! It only gets 2. Yatsu climbs up top and hits a Flying Elbow for 2. Yatsu ties up Tenta's legs for a submission hold but Tenta grabs the ropes. Yatsu kicks Tenta's legs and drags him into the middle of the ring. He locks on the hold again...and Tenta SUBMITS at 5:04! (Full length was 10:43) ****
Really strong match and so far the only time I've ever seen John Tenta submit. You can watch it here.