From the Archives: Flair vs. Tsuruta

Because I'm a huge fan of wrestling history, Youtube and great matches, here's the first in a series of classic matches with some commentary by yours truly after the post. This will be called "From the Archives". Our first match features two veritable legends from two different lands. From the US, it's Ric Flair, arguably the best professional wrestler in history. From Japan, it's Jumbo Tsuruta, one of the most influential men in puroresu history. Here's the match. It took place 6/8/82. I was less than 6 months old at the time :) Let's watch:



The match starts out very slowly with an extended feeling-out process, but once you get into the meat of the story, it's brilliant. Basically, you have Flair, the decorated gaijin from across the ocean, the man who has taken American wrestling by storm and is defending the prestigious NWA World Championship on foreign soil, throwing everything he's got at the hometown hero. He can't seem to finish Jumbo off though, and Tsuruta fires back harder to the utter shock of the Nature Boy.

The finish is a little confusing and somewhat anti-climactic, but in the context of the overall series of matches, it works, I think. Just in case you can't discern from the video or you don't know Japanese, it's a draw. Tsuruta pins Flair, but he also pins himself with his suplex attempt. While the finish is a bit unsatisfying, the way Jumbo carries on at the end of it and Flair's facial expression of relief totally make it worthwhile. Fantastic match.