The match between Jumbo and Terry Gordy takes place on June 5, 1990 and is perhaps the start of the most famous week in AJPW history. This match essentially takes place because Jumbo needs to loose the belt before his upcoming match in three days with Mitsuharu Misawa. As we noted on our last post, Tenryu has recently left to form Super World Sports, and Giant Baba is elevating Misawa to main event status. On the previous tour, Misawa, then wrestling as Tiger Mask II, ripped off his mask mid match, and challenged Tsuruta. That match will take place at Budokan Hall on June 8, and Baba does not want it to be a title match. So he needs to get the title off of Jumbo and decides to give Gordy the rub with a short term title run. I am not sure the exact reasoning why all of the events of the week take place, but I will go into them more over the next post or so.
Also kind of cool is we get a few short snippets of Misawa watching this match from afar.
Back to the match at hand, it is our second look at Gordy. I like Gordy, but of all the wrestlers who compete for the Triple Crown during the 90s, he is one of my least favorites. I loved him as a Freebird, and I think the Miracle Violence Connection with Steve Williams is a great AJPW tag team. But as a single, Gordy just isn't my favorite. And that is odd, because he is a good worker, moves well for a big man and works stiff as hell. His style is one I like too, wearing your opponent down and then throwing big bombs. I suspect it is more personality based, as on his own, I think Gordy tends to be rather bland. Teamed with the personable Michael Hays or the imposing Williams, then it is an act I can dig. On his own, not so much.
This match is kind of what you expect from Gordy. Hot start with each trying to hit big moves. It then moves into Gordy on top controlling the mid portion of the match trying to keep Jumbo down. Once Jumbo takes control back, they move into trading big moves with Jumbo hitting a piledrive, his power bomb and his backdrop driver. Meanwhile Gordy hits a big lariat, a nasty power bomb of his own and eventually a DDT for the win. When he hits the move and gets the three count, the announcer goes absolutely insane and Freebird starts to blast through the arena. Jumbo beats a hasty retreat and Gordy celebrates with Williams, his tag team partner.
A fun short match. More important historically than being a super match. But one you should check out.
