[8.0] "Very well-structured and some awesome back-and-forth action that lead to the finish. Skinny Misawa is peak Misawa for me. That first back suplex by Jumbo was fucking awesome"
[9.0] "This match is my first foray into classic puroresu, and I am amazed at how much they accomplished with so little. Tiger was the better wrestler, controlling and outpacing Tsuruta, but Tsuruta's strength eventually proved too much for Tiger and Tsuruta gets the W. Simple story, hot crowd and two great wrestlers is always gonna be money. The first back suplex after spending the first 5 or so minutes in a headlock was great and one of the highlights. (8.75)"
[9.0] "This is an excellent match that deserves a lot more love, especially as a pivotal moment in establishing Misawa as a believable heavyweight. Tiger surprisingly controls the early going, keeping Jumbo contained with a lot of submissions. But of course the superior power of Jumbo would eventually take over, turning the tables in his favor with a jumping knee. Tiger gets Jumbo on the outside and takes to the skies. From here there are a very believable set of near falls that the crowds is absolutely red hot for. They are totally behind Tiger Mask to defeat the ace. Finally Jumbo ends it with a backdrop suplex. If this got a few more minutes it would be a 5 star match in my eyes, both guys are just working so hard to make Tiger Mask look as strong as possible. Jumbo sells generously for him. The crowd is super into it and the action is crisp and free of too many mistakes. This one is a must watch if you want to see the road to Misawa being the GOAT of Japan."
[8.0] "The end of Misawa's Trial Series. This is good. It starts slow, but plausibly - Misawa is trying to keep Jumbo grounded and wear him down, given the strength difference. Jumbo contests all this a bit - he could probably do this more, in fact, given his skillset. Eventually TM2 hits some big flying moves (including the SOMERSAULT INSIDE-OUT SENTON! Also the biggest hardest-hitting plancha I've seen in ages), and it gets moving, with TM2 able to keep control for a bit. However, eventually Jumbo grinds back and murders the upcomer with a few big moves concluding with a Backdrop. It'd be nice, actually, if it could have culminated on the Butterfly that Jumbo uses early in his comeback - this match actually reminded me of how One Fall matches at every tier in AJ quickly devalued the old offensive range. Satisfying match, good character stuff, good respect moment at the end. 4/5"
[8.0] "The first half was very meh, slow and steady stuff, not bad not great. Then the second half was exceptional, Misawa does some fantastic highflying and the crowd are into everything he does, Jumbo hits some nice suplexs and so on but this is very much the Misawa show, he is on fire. One of Misawa's best under the Tiger Mask. Can't compare to their later matches but still really exciting."
[9.0] "A wicked precursor to their classics in 1990-1992. To start the bout, TM2 takes and works a headlock, which will prove to be a classic and tried way to control a better, veteran opponent. From 1980 to 2024. Here, TM2 did just that, escalating with some high risk move before taking it back to that basic hold. Jumbos attempts to escape from this purgatory are met with resistance until Jumbo nails a huge backdrop. From there, the match grew in tempo. TM2 was able to sustain his moment with several incredible dives to the floor which took Jumbo by surprise. The match makes a real attempt at making TM2 seem like the future with how dominant he is at times. Jumbo sells him like an equal which he would end up being in two years. Jumbo hits a brutal hotshot and a backdrop for a strong nearfall. And soon hits another one to finish TM2 off for good in an incredible match. ****1/4"
[8.0] "What a gem this match is. The opening half is a wonderful foundation that they then expand on. Tiger Mask (Misawa) is the younger competitor here, he's tagged with Jumbo before, he clearly holds him in great esteem. Therefore he's very cautious at the start. He doesn't want to make a mistake or give an opening in any way to the seasoned Ace. Thus explains the headlock. But this isn't a rest hold, they work through it. In particular, I love that TM continues to go back to the headlock even when Jumbo slips away once or twice. But you'll notice, his control of the headlock diminishes more and more with each Jumbo escape. The first one is the longest, then he gets it back on for another couple minutes, but the last time is basically a hail mary. TM isn't done though. When he does get an opening to go on the offensive, he goes for it. It's fast, explosive, and he's throwing everything he's got at him. In the end this is his undoing, as his momentum is used against him for a slingshot into the ropes, the wily vet capitalizing on his challenger's youthful inexperience. But they create some genuine drama in the finish here, for a short runtime and very minimalist match. When folks talk about less being more, this match is it. ****1/4"
[8.0] "Really a terrific match, especially the second half which is just excellent. Crowd are great, as are the commentary, and the story these two men tell is really something special. Crazy to think there is more to come!"
[8.0] "March 9th, 1988 - Jumbo Tsuruta, the NWA International Heavyweight Champion, stepping into the ring with a man who had seconded and teamed with him, Tiger Mask II. It clearly isn't the same as their singles matches in the 90's, but it was a lot of fun. Tsuruta treated Tiger with respect through the first half of the match. Misawa recognised that he couldn't overpower or out-strike Jumbo, so tried to exhaust him with prolonged headlocks. In isolation that sounds boring, but some of the brilliant ways they worked around Tsuruta escaping, only for Tiger Mask II to reapply the hold were incredibly entertaining. Eventually, Jumbo decimated Tiger Mask II with a Back Drop for the win. Jumbo shakes Misawa's hand, raises his arms and congratulates the young warrior for his efforts. ****"
[8.0] "While I could see an argument that the all the headlocks in the first half are a bit excessive, personally I really liked that entire sequence. I thought it was really interesting watching them find ways to keep things moving and finding different spots to do with just one hold, and the moment where Jumbo decides he has had enough and just back drops Tiger Mask then spikes him on his head with a piledriver is pretty great. I really enjoyed Tiger Mask's big flurry of offence after this as well. The two wrestle the remainder of the match as if each thing that the other does only causes them to feel increasingly pissed off, and there is a really great feeling of rising intensity that is present in everything that takes place. Your mileage may vary when it comes to the first ten minutes, but I thought this match was pretty great."
[6.0] "A nice little starting point as far as things go. Obviously, it isn't 1990 yet, and that's okay. For what is asked, a decent enough little thing."
"A solid match which showcases the direction the company was headed towards, you can see the structure & offense of the 90s taking shape here. Pretty underrated, like most of Tiger Mask II's work."
[8.0] "A very fun and interesting match smartly build with the first half of the match structured around Tiger mask's headlock, while the second half is intense with Tiger and Tsuruta both delivering exciting moves. You can feel the urge of these 2 men to win. Not on the level of their future match but still a hidden gem."
[8.0] "This was a great match. Tiger Mask Misawa was great in the opening minutes of the match frustrating Jumbo by putting him in the headlock, everytime Jumbo tries to escape, Misawa finds a way to put it back. Jumbo finally had enough and broke the lock by hitting an incredible backdrop. He throwed some good offesne on Misawa but Misawa used his athleticism to counter Jumbo. Misawa's athletic offesne was impressive and the crowd was behind him. They went back and forth for the whole match and it was exciting. Jumbo had a great counter when Misawa tried the hurricanerana pin for the second time by throwing him throat first on the first rope. Great display of experience and ring awareness by Jumbo Tsuruta. Misawa showed some nice resistance in the end but Jumbo had the victory in the bag. A highly entertaining match. 8/10"
[8.0] "Misawa makes effective, albiet less than exciting, use of the headlock in the early going. However, all it takes is one big backdrop for Jumbo to get back into the match. From there, Misawa does everything he can to hang with the legend, but in the end the backdrops put him away. This does a lot to show that Misawa can hang with Jumbo even if he's not ready to beat him. ****1/4"
[7.0] "One of the best matches Misawa had while donning the Tiger Mask II moniker. The first half consists of him relentlessly applying headlocks to ground Tsuruta, a common trait in most of his work at this point. It's still bothersome, although I find the action far more justified when against a larger, more dominant opponent. But once Tsuruta drops him on his head with a sick Backdrop Suplex, it becomes a far more different affair. Misawa is savvy enough to not let Tsuruta gain control back easily, using his kicks, big dives and counters to keep the big man on his toes. Once the crowd rallies behind him, it becomes a lot easier to buy into each rollup before the inevitable kick-out. Jumbo is still the top star however, only taking one more Backdrop Suplex for the victory. ***3/4."
[7.0] "While I do think the headlock spot went a little too long for my liking (10 whole minutes of a single headlock? ) it does make sense from a kayfabe perspective: for one, Misawa during this time of his career wasn't the dynamic and intense hard hitter he would be known for later on, but was still in his Tiger Mask persona, which was a lot more slower and relied more on rest holds (a lot of his matches around this time weren't exactly top quality for this reason as well) and as established in the match, he's not quite on Jumbo's level of strength yet, which means that he'd rather work Jumbo down and drain his momentum rather than go toe for toe with him. However from a viewer's perspective yeah it's quite dull. This match gets Misawa over as well as you really could at this point, being able to give Tsuruta a good bout, but not quite hitting the mark yet, as Jumbo is able to overpower and manhandle him when he's serious. A good start to their feud, but nothing special."
[9.0] "Great friendly match about 2 years before they turn into bitter rivals for the spot of AJPW's Ace. When you know what kind of worker Misawa develops into it's crazy to see him work a style that would make him fit right in with WCW's 90's cruiserweight division. I really dug the headlock strategy Tiger Mask used at the beginning, I'm always a sucker for that. Crowd was really hot too, rooting for the underdog. ****1/4"
[7.0] "Misawa controls the bout's opening half with a listless array of rest holds. The second half picks up with a Tsuruta rebound, really turning things around with his piledriver. The fight amplifies from here delivering some great spots like Misawa flying to the outside. They exchange advantage and pins leading up to the finale. The crowd can feel it as every move gets a big pop here. Tsuruta looks like an absolute brute down the stretch before victory. ***1/2"
[8.0] "Good match, Tiger Mask tries to keep Tsuruta down with headlocks in the first half, and tries everything he can to put him away in the second, including some good high flying and tons of surprise pins. Tsuruta beats the hell out of Tiger Mask and uses everything in his arsenal, and Tiger Mask showed some good fighting spirit to kick out of it. ****."
[8.0] "I gave this match *** 3/4. The first half of this is forgettable as it consists of basically Tsuruta in a headlock for 10 minutes. The last 5-6 minutes are great though. I think if this match was longer I would have given a higher rating"
[9.0] "This was the first encounter between Misawa and Jumbo and it was a great match, my only complaint would be that the first part of the match had too many restholds. For the rest it was great. Around **** stars"
[9.0] "Ein Vorgeschmack auf das was zwei Jahre später zwischen den beiden folgen sollte. Misawa kommt einem Sensationssieg hier unglaublich nahe, und dominiert eine große Portion des Matches. Erst mit einer Zermürbungstaktik via Headlock bei der er viele Versuche Jumbos die Kontrolle zu bekommen im Keim erstickt, und später - nachdem Jumbo ihm durch einen saftigen Backdrop die gefährliche Schwachstelle der Headlock-Strategie offenbart - mit Schnelligkeit und High Flying. Als es immer offensichtlicher wird, dass Jumbo noch genug Reserven hat um ständig mit harten Aktionen zu kontern, versucht Misawa es schließlich mit Einrollern um seinen Gegner zu überrumpeln. Am Schluss jedoch gewinnt Jumbo mit einem weiteren Backdrop. Misawa kontrollierte zwar das Match und zeigte viel mehr Aktionen, doch Jumbos wenige Aktionen verursachten einfach mehr Schaden, während er selbst noch ziemlich fit war. Misawa war also vom Standpunkt der Zähigkeit und Angriffskraft noch nicht auf Jumbos Level, konnte aber zeigen, dass er ihm was die Fähigkeiten im Ring angeht bereits gefährlich werden konnte. Es war also nur noch eine Frage der Zeit bis er bereit sein würde Jumbo um die Vorherrschaft in All Japan herauszufordern. Daher 9 Punkte für ein tolles Match mit großartiger Action, einer tollen Matchstory die Vorfreude auf zukünftige Matches machte (selbst die lange Headlock-phase war dadurch interessant), und eine spannende Endphase, die zum Standart in AJPW werden sollte."
[9.0] "The first half of the match is forgettable, but the second one is insane. Misawa delivers big after big move and is this close to beating Tsuruta. This match might have too many kick-outs for some people, but I was always entertained."
