Bob Orton Jr. vs. Jumbo Tsuruta

[6.0] "This match is an interesting look at Jumbo Tsuruta and Bob Orton Jr. very early in their careers. The beginning is very technical, with Orton controlling much of the early portion using a long headlock and mat work. It's a bit slow at first, but it fits the classic early AJPW style of feeling out your opponent. As the match goes on, the pace gradually increases and the exchanges become more physical. The closing stretch is easily the most exciting part, with both men throwing stronger strikes and bigger moves. One highlight is the monkey flip where Orton takes a really impressive bump and gets great height on it. Overall it's a solid, well structured match with a good finish, even if the early pacing drags a little."

[6.0] "Pretty decent match with the standard mid-card booking for AJPW at the time. Orton does some nice stuff as does Tsuruta, they both move up through the gears near the end. Some decent striking and power moves."

[7.0] "Excellent example of a 15-minute AJ match in this period. Starts all technical with an amateur base, progresses through holds and counters, up through strikes to the big bombs at the end. Good match."

[5.0] "We start with a long headlock by Orton in this one. Apparently, that runs in the family. The sprint at the end of this one was fun as the two are using their best haymakers to win but overall this was still a little boring to me. We'll see better stuff in the near future."

[5.0] "Fine match, but nothing special. Both men are essentially still rookies here but they work together pretty well. Orton works a headlock for a large chunk of the match before Tsuruta gets free leading to a much higher paced second half. They keep it pretty simple and the opening segment of Orton working the headlock is a bit too slow, but the work is good, the selling is good (there's a really nice bump off a monkey flip by Orton) and they accomplish the goal of the match"

[6.0] "They did a good job, both guys were two years into their career. Solid work, fun match. The monkey flip bump was huge !"

[7.0] "It was a really cool match, it's the first time I see a so old match from Tsuruta, he is fantastic, his exchanges with Orton Jr were really cool to see. It contains no botches and the action stills very good, the selling too. ***1/2"

[6.0] "Bob Orton back when he was a young 24 year old looks very different, he doesn't quite have the same build as he did in the 80's and his ring skills aren't quite as sharp yet. Still, this was an interesting curiosity and was a match between two favourites of mine early in their careers. I'd love to have seen what they could have done in the 80's together, but this was still a good little match."

[5.0] "The novelty of the opponent drew me to check it out. I was not expecting Orton to be as lanky as he was. He works a headlock in the early goings, which is very reminiscent of his son in not the best way, but if I'm not going to give Dory crap for doing this to feel out his opponent in the early goings of a match, then it's not fair to grill Orton for the sins of the son. The pace doesn't consistently pick up until towards the end, but that's de rigeur. Jumbo wins when he leapfrogs Orton, gets him as he's coming back with a monkey flip (which Orton, to his credit, gets great air on), and hits the Texas suplex to win. Nothing major, but my rating shouldn't be seen as a pan of the match. **3/4"