The Real World Tag League sure threw out some of the cooler match ups in wrestling. Maybe less so in the 90s as the promotion became more insular, but throughout the 80s you'd get all sorts of guys rolling through for a tour. I never knew this existed, yet on paper there's at least some low key dream match potential I hadn't considered before. Every match up here is at least interesting, whether that be a new one or the revisiting of an old one. Jumbo v Bockwinkel going another few rounds? Could be decent. Bockwinkel and Tenryu squaring off? Sign me up! How about Tenryu vs a young mutton-chopped Curt Hennig? Sure, why the hell not! I figured we'd get Hennig being worked over as young foreigner in a strange land, but they flip my expectations and he and Bock work as subtle heels. Bock is great from the apron, using his foot to push Hennig's head for extra leverage on a Boston crab, and a couple times he pulled Hennig to the ropes by his trunks when it looked like he was in trouble. Maybe that started to rub off on Curt a little because he was getting in on it more as the match went on. They weren't taking shortcuts as such, not like they would have if they were working actual heel in America, where they'd have milked those spots until someone maybe threw a battery them, but as a tempered version of that it was pretty fun and gave the bout a bit of an edge. Rather than a young Curt going face in peril it was mostly Tenryu being worked over. It was split over two semi-lengthy spells and for the second run it was his leg that was the focus. And Bockwinkel going after a body part will always be worth the price of admission.
Genichiro Tenryu, Ashura Hara & Toshiaki Kawada v Jumbo Tsuruta, Great Kabuki & Samson Fuyuki (All Japan, 8/21/87) - GREAT
This is the lead-in to the first big Jumbo v Tenryu singles match in the wake of their SCHISM after Choshu's exit. It was supposed to be a regular tag until Kabuki decided to mist Tenryu before the bell, and I guess selling being misted in the face is another thing Tenryu might be the GOAT at. He took this like it was acid and sold the shock of it in a way that's hard to describe beyond "that's about exactly how I'd imagine someone would react to unexpectedly having goo spat in their eyes and face." After that Kawada jumps in for a fight and a young barefoot Fuyuki does the same, so the regular tag becomes a six-man. This was a crazy fun eight minutes, super spirited with tons of intensity and everyone bringing the hate. Fuyuki was fearless here and ran around taking it to his elders, even planting Tenryu with a huge German suplex. Kawada was all over the place but in a good way (prolly) and also fought with the vigour of youth, sometimes foolishly so but in a good way (prolly). His exchanges with Jumbo were great. There was one moment where he whipped Jumbo into the ropes and went for a spin kick, but Jumbo held on and Kawada did about three pirouettes like a man who did not think he was missing that spin kick. Then Jumbo clobbered him, which he did a lot of during this. Hara was sensational as a pissed off lariat-throwing bastard. All of those lariats were first class and landed like a canoe paddle across the chest. Tenryu sold that initial misting for the first few minutes like he wasn't quite right, giving Fuyuki a bunch and making him look like a prodigy. He also ate one AMAZING Kabuki thrust kick and that pairing is right up there with the best. It was a really unselfish Tenryu performance, one where he let some of the other participants shine, but the exchanges with Jumbo still made you want to buy a ticket for their singles match in 10 days. The double teams with Hara looked great, even the front-back double lariat that can sometimes be ropey, and only one double enziguri came off whiffed. Loved the bit where Hara had Jumbo set for the backdrop but Jumbo wasn't budging, so Tenryu hit an enziguri to the back of the head and next thing Jumbo knew he was getting spiked. Impromptu matches is a pro wrestling trope the stodgy All Japan didn't use very often. Maybe they should have because this was a great segment overall.
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