#117: Harley Race vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, AJPW/NWA Champion Series (6/11/1977).
This is a 2 Out of 3 Falls Match for Harley's NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.
The last Harley Race match I watched - another 2 Out of 3 Falls Match with Terry Funk - was one of the most enjoyable matches I've ever seen. I expect about the same here. I've not seen much Jumbo Tsuruta, but I'm curious as to what the Ace spot of All Japan looked like before the rise of Mitsuharu Misawa.
Tsuruta shoots for a takedown early, and Harley avoids it. They lock up, and Tsuruta pops off an arm drag and a powerslam. Tsuruta with an arm lock on the mat. He applies extra pressure to the shoulder.
Harley fights it off with a back breaker. The two stare at one another, knowing that they are each in for a fight. Harley with a powerslam, and Tsuruta with one of his own, followed by an arm drag. Tsuruta maintains control of the arm.
Tsuruta drives his knee into the arm. Harley is back to his feet, but Tsuruta flips him back to the mat, maintaining arm control as well. Harley knees him in the ribs, then hits a gut wrench Suplex for 2. Tsuruta with another arm drag, and arm control again.
Tsuruta with a leg drop on the arm of Harley, as he looks to continue his assault. Harley is up and forces Tsuruta to the ropes. Tsuruta with a shoulder tackle, but Harley catches him with a backbreaker for 2. Another powerslam by Tsuruta, who hooks both arms of Harley.
It took me a second, but I just realized that Tsuruta was doing some kind of submission here. Nice! Snap mare by Harley, who applies a front face lock to Tsuruta. Harley drops all his weight to the mat to add pressure, and Tsuruta convulses in response.
Tsuruta fights back up and slams Harley. Running knee to the face by Tsuruta, and another! Double arm Suplex to Harley, and that's enough for the first fall. We get a brief rest period, as both men look to recover fast.
The second fall begins, and Tsuruta rushes to Harley, who smartly hides in the ropes. Big knee to the gut by Harley, and then he drops Tsuruta shoulder first on his knee. Harley lifts Tsuruta up and hits the piledriver, but Tsuruta kicks out at 1!
Gut wrench Suplex by Tsuruta follows. He gets Harley in the ropes and uppercuts him repeatedly. Harley avoids an elbow to the chest, then drives his knee into the head multiple times. He covers, but Tsuruta kicks out.
Harley with a front face lock next. Tsuruta tries to stand, and Harley applies more pressure. Tsuruta counters with a small package for a quick nearfall. Harley with a knee to the face, and a few hard knuckles to the face. Harley with a standing headbutt, and another. Tsuruta kicks out of that pin.
Tsuruta fights back by hammerlocking the injured arm of Harley on the mat. Tsuruta turns it into a pin, and Harley kicks out. Tsuruta hammerlocks the arm again, and drives his knee into it repeatedly. Harley is up to one knee, and Tsuruta takes the other arm and hyperextends it behind his back. Tsuruta digs his knee into Harley's spine next.
Tsuruta with forearms against the ropes, and Harley with some hard strikes to the head, followed by an elbow drop. Harley with a forearm to the chest, and he avoids a Tsuruta spear in the corner. Harley with a big Suplex, followed by an Indian Death Lock, and though he fights it, Tsuruta submits. We are now tied. Next fall wins.
After the rest period, the third fall begins. Both are tentative to start. They lock up, and Tsuruta takes the side headlock. Harley grabs the knee and drops it on his own. Tsuruta blocks the Figure Four attempt. Harley is right there to drop an elbow on the now injured limb.
They exchange chops, and Tsuruta hits a gut wrench Suplex for 2. Nice dropkick to Harley, who avoids a second. Harley goes back to the front face lock. Tsuruta gets back to his feet, and pops off a Suplex for a nearfall.
A shoulder tackle by Tsuruta knocks both men to the mat. Both are up, and Tsuruta applies the abdominal stretch. Harley reverses it and hits a standing headbutt. He goes to the top rope, but Tsuruta grabs him and sends him flying.
Tsuruta looks for a splash, but Harley gets his knees up. Harley goes to dive on Tsuruta, but he catches him. The momentum sends both crashing to the floor. They quickly return to the Ring, and Harley powerslams Tsuruta for a 2 count.
Tsuruta with one of his own for 2. Harley avoids a running knee, and gets Tsuruta in a small package for the 3 to win and retain.
As I predicted, that was a lot of fun. Just clean, basic, scientific wrestling. Harley Race is a fucking awesome wrestler. How anyone from the 1970s could call him phony is crazy to me. This guy made this feel like a legitimate athletic contest, and I love when wrestling has that feel to it. He was the crafty veteran here, and that's why he took the win by the end.
Credit to Tsuruta in this. He reminded me so much of Ricky Steamboat, and I mean that in a good way. He's great at the fundamentals, and he has great bursts of offense late in the match. It's no surprise that this man was one of the pillars of All Japan later down the road. Pretty great watch if you love technical wizardry.