I would love to tell you that this match is an all time classic. I would love to tell you that Hansen and Tsuruta, two of the all time greats, put on a match for the ages. I would love to tell you that this is a match you must see. Alas, I can not. If anything, this match is highly forgettable. Hansen and Tsurata work hard, wrestle some, brawl some and eventually end up out of the ring after a wild Hansen lariat. But as was the style then, both are counted out and nothing is settled in the way of the titles.
I can accept the count out as Baba was building the drama towards the match with true ending. And as noted, count outs were the norm at the time to protect the huge stars. But even though there is nothing wrong with this match in ring, it does only last 15 minutes and you never get the sense that you witnessed anything great. For AJPW, who for most of the 80's had incredible main events, this main event seems somewhat of a let down. The first match in the series with Brody and Tenyru was much better, longer and just felt better.
