Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu

[9.0] "The opening stretch was far more explosive than the 1/28 match, but the mid-section of the match felt lesser, hence I ended up with a ****1/2 after a fun finish to the match. Which should be a 9 on cagematch, not a 10."

[8.0] "fast paced, well wrestled and fun. This match has some pretty good spots and whilst all four men do a good job, Choshu and Yatsu are awesome here and look amazing."

[10.0] "These four had quite a few matches during this period, and while I wouldn't say this is the very best of them there's no doubt that it's a great match. You can see many elements that would lay the foundation for the Four Pillars in the next decade, already being executed to perfection here by masters. Jumbo and Tenryu especially stood out to me as usual, you really cannot understate their contributions to wrestling in general. A wild and chaotic fight with a lot of intensity, this was very fun. EDIT: Liked this even more on the rewatch. Still not even their best together but damn great."

[4.0] "This is a worse match than their previous bout a week before. Too long and plodding for my liking and Tsuruta running after Choshu who's outside the ring instead of breaking the pin at the end was a bit silly."

[8.0] "I like this match more than the prior "5-Star" match. The intensity was great out the gate, the psychology and history between Tsuruta and Choshu is there. I don't like Choshu's lack of selling and there is a portion of the match from about 75-90 percent through the match that drags, but the ending is fantastic and the only reason that portion drags is because so much happens at the start. Really great time."

[7.0] "Its not that this is a bad match by any means, I was just never a big fan of any of these guys (even though I absolutely respect Tsuruta and Tenryu as the legends they were in Japan at the time. I understand they had a lot of high quality matches, they just werent on the same level as some of the guys that would come shortly after this time period."

[8.0] "'86 All Japan is still pretty rough around the edges & this match is all over the place, veering wildly from measured workover segments to riotous slap-fighting. The finish is excellent ****1/4"

"Better match than the one before but still I can't see what's special. They are angry with each other & the targeting of Choshu's ribs is a good angle to play with. The finishing stretch is also pretty good."

[9.0] "A great tag match that has to follow one of the best tag matches of all time that took place a week earlier. In a lot of ways, it feels like a continuation of the first match and plays off it quite well. Essential viewing if you liked the 1/28 tag."

[9.0] "This match does not quite reach the heights of drama and brutality found in these two teams' clash a week earlier (one of the best tag team matches of all time), but there is a similar level of intensity and animosity that makes it great as well."

[9.0] "Excellent match. I think I'm beginning to understand why in Japan they call it a "tug of war". The match was still built around the injured Choshu and the overall conflict between Chou and the rest is centered. I think it's because Choshu is very impulsive, as is Tsuruta. The match is full of epic and the ending is something. Tsuruta made the mistake of attacking Choshu, who was cheating, instead of helping Tenryu. Excellent moment, epitomizing just how susceptible Ace is to emotion. It was a fatal mistake. ****1/2"

[10.0] "One week after their previous challenge Choshu and Yatsu get another shot at Jumbo and Tenryu's (AJPW) NWA International Tag Team titles. I don't think this is quite as good as that match (a frontrunner for the AJPW tag team MOTD), but don't misunderstand me; this is still a classic. Ishingun get one up on Jumbo at the start, working him over in a great way to make the start of this match stand out. The work throughout is excellent and proves that, after several 1985 tags between these teams which were very good but never fulfilled their potential, the 1/28 match, while special, wasn't a fluke. Everyone plays their roles well, with Choshu especially standing out in the finishing stretch. When the underdogs do go over, it's every bit as shocking and well-executed as you could want. After a year that showed a lot of changes but was often frustrating in its unwillingness to commit to the sea change, the pair of matches 1/28 and this constitute really make one hopeful for 1986. ****1/2"

[9.0] "This time, Ishin Gundan realized their mistakes and worked differently, which paid off. At the very beginning, they tricked Tsuruta and beat him for several minutes, creating self-hatred, which was reinforced by the active support of the Japan Pro public, which made Jumbo and Genichiro work even more aggressively, because they were not the main characters. The men were working hard with each other again, and you could always see the hatred in their eyes. The final part was powerful and I am truly impressed by the depth of the work of Japan Pro. They provoked Jumbo to a fatal outburst of impulsiveness and due to two of his mistakes in a row, Tenryu was defeated; Choshu and Yatsu celebrated their victory. Great match (****1/2)."