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21. Jumbo Tsuruta
Score: 119
# of Lists: 7
First Place Votes: 1, Semi

"Jumbo Tsuruta is the greatest wrestler of all time. Now fuck off and watch some Jumbo matches, you fucking nerds." Semi
Were going to talk a lot about the Four Pillars of Heaven, the four men who symbolized the golden era of All Japan Pro Wrestling in the 90s. But while the 90s ushered in a new dominant style in the Kings Road, and freshened up the booking of AJPW by sticking to strict clean finishes (a departure from the 80s booking, which would often feature matches between major stars end without a satisfying finish), it all has to start from the man who was on top for the transition Jumbo Tsuruta.

To me there are two men synonymous with the Triple Crown championship Misawa would hold it through most of the era it held the most prestige, but the man who brought that prestige was Jumbo, who unified the PWF Heavyweight, NWA United National and NWA International Heavyweight championships, creating the Triple Crown Championship in April of 1989. Within 2 months of the Championship being born, one of the most iconic and important matches in history was contested over the belt as Jumbo Tsuruta would lock horns with Genichiro Tenryu in the match most historians point to as the first step on the Kings Road.

I chose to start this story in 1989 as thats what Im most familiar with but, as you can guess by the fact he unified their championships, Jumbo was already definitively the top Japanese wrestler in All Japan at this point (It could also be argued he was the top Japanese wrestler in North America, as his time in America saw him become one of the first Japanese wrestlers to be cheered by American crowds, as well as picking up an AWA World Heavyweight Championship). Jumbo was established as the company Ace and my possibly controversial take here is that Jumbo is the greatest Ace of all time. He perfectly moved between being the face of the company and Japan against gaijin like Stan Hansen and Terry Gordy to the arrogant Ace role against the younger Japanese talent most notably, Misawa himself.
Jumbo and Misawa would first meet on June 8, 1990 in one of the most legendary matches of all time. If youve ever listened to Observer Radio, youve heard Dave tell the story of being in the building for this match Mitsuharu Misawas first singles match after removing the Tiger Mask, he defeats the Ace in the biggest match of his life and All Japans most iconic star was born. As well as being an iconic match and result, this match is so important as it really begins the era of the Four Pillars.

Even if we only consider two matches vs. Misawa, and vs. Tenryu Jumbo Tsuruta would have one of the most important careers in wrestling. These two matches laid the groundwork for the Kings Road style the style you see in all major wrestling promotions today. Beyond that, these two matches alone show the brilliance of Jumbos character as the Ace. Only a year apart, Jumbo is essentially playing the same character but is the hero in the Tenryu match, and the villain / bully in the Misawa match. Both matches do an amazing job of making you feel like Jumbo is the man, which only makes the result for Misawa that much more impactful.

But he didnt only wrestle two matches! He wrestled over 3000 matches over 26 years, in both the US and Japan. As was the style in All Japan at the time, as well as the legendary Triple Crown matches Jumbo would routinely be involved in tag team matches most famously during the Tsurutagun vs. Super Generation Army, where Jumbo would team with his allies such as Akira Taue and Masanobu Fuchi to take on the next generation of All Japan Misawa, Kobashi and Kawada. This series in particular produces what could be the best 6 man tag of all time with all 6 men selling their place in the story and their hatred for the other team in a way rarely seen through all of wrestling.

The last few years of Jumbos life are a sad story, as is so often the way in wrestling. But for twenty years Tomomi Tsurutas wrestling influenced so many; his wrestling ability, size and presence making him an act that not only drew eyeballs but kept them captivated and enabled the birth of stars all around him. Semi was right watch some fucking Jumbo matches, you nerds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsMQi6B7WuA; Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (June 8, 1990)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaO3Y1RXofo; Jumbo Tsuruta, Masanobu Fuchi & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Toshiaki Kawada (April 20, 1991)

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Maniac64