AJPW 07/29/1988

Terry Gordy & Stan Hansen def. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yokihashi Yatsu (C) in 16:54

We’re continuing our history of AJPW Triple Crown/Double Crown title matches from the start, so we get another match between these two teams. Hansen had his ribs taped up from all the work Jumbo and Yatsu did on them last match, and the Olympics working said ribs over was the first half of the match. The psychology was very good there, and Hansen was still wincing well after they had worked him over for a nice touch. Gordy came in, got the heat back for his team, and allowed Hansen to literally walk it off on the floor. The match was all action, hard-hitting, with not a lot of rest holds, and it was a good “fight” overall, but it probably lacked some believable false finishes to reach the next level. I also would have liked the psychology more if Hansen had been selling later in the match. Gordy and Hansen won the titles with the backdrop/powerbomb combo. I liked this better than their first match, but neither was at the level of the future King’s Road style. ***1/2