History Wrestling / JumboTsuruta

As usual, you can find the basics at [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumbo_Tsuruta The Other Wiki]].

* GenderBlenderName: Tomomi is a unisex name, but it has a noted proximity to the feminine Tomoko. According to legend,[[note]]In a 2020 biography his brother disputes this, which implies that this was part of his kayfabe backstory[[/note]] he was even given the name because of how small he was at birth. Tsuruta would be consistently teased for his name int1o adulthood, hence why the fan contest to rename him for the ring eventually happened.

* TagTeam: With multiple partners throughout his career. These can roughly be divided into four eras, though they overlap slightly. From 1973-1984, he teamed regularly with Giant Baba. Genichiro Tenryu finally transitioned into being his primary partner afterward, and this lasted until spring 1987. After a transitional period throughout the rest of the year, Jumbo then teamed up with former tag rival Yoshiaki Yatsu, becoming the Olympians (Yatsu had competed in Montreal in 1976). After Yatsu left the company as part of the SWS exodus in 1990, Jumbo would strike an alliance with his last partner, Akira Taue. (As Taue was an {{Expy}} of Baba, as well as an ex-sumo like Tenryu, one could say that Jumbo came full circle in this regard.)

* DemotedToExtra: With the exception of a three-month run after his first leave of absence, where he had clearly declined but was still a main-eventer (albeit protected in tag matches), Jumbo's entire career once his hepatitis struck saw him reduced to low-stakes comedic tag matches. Justified in that his doctor's orders - tag matches only, no work to the point of exhaustion, no stiff strikes (for risk of liver or spleen rupture) - compromised him to the point that a serious match wasn't really feasible.

* GenderBlenderName: Tomomi is a unisex name, but it has a noted proximity to the feminine Tomoko. He was even given the name because of how small he was at birth. Tsuruta would be consistently teased for his name into adulthood, hence why the fan contest to rename him for the ring eventually happened.

* DemotedToExtra: With the exception of a three-month run after his first leave of absence, where he had clearly declined but was still a main-eventer (albeit protected in tag matches), Jumbo's entire career once his hepatitis struck saw him reduced to low-stakes comedic tag matches.

* {{Expy}}: Stylistically in the 1970s he was, babyface fire and jumping knee notwithstanding, a Japanese version of his trainer Wrestling/DoryFunkJr, with perhaps some Jack Brisco sprinkled in. Dory himself later commented that Jumbo was the only man outside his family to ever truly master the Funks' signature spinning toe hold.

** This didn't sustain through his entire career, as there is tape of numerous American matches in the 1980s where the crowd is clearly against Jumbo. This is most notable in his AWA title run, but there's also a 1982 [[Wrestling/{{WCW}} Mid-Atlantic]] match against Tommy Rich where one can see this.

How did he fare? Well, it was complicated. On one hand, Jumbo was one of the most prodigious talents in pro wrestling history. He was such a natural that trainer and then-NWA champion Wrestling/DoryFunkJr gave him a shot at his title ''eight weeks'' after his debut match. Jumbo was instantly made AJPW's #2 wrestler upon his return, a position which he would hold for nearly a decade. On the other hand, though, there eventually came a point where Jumbo's reputation began to suffer for this. Jumbo was consistently given shots at an NWA title he would never be politically favored enough to receive; one could say that, after the exceptionalist narratives that Wrestling/{{Rikidozan}}, Giant Baba, and Wrestling/AntonioInoki had upheld, Jumbo was the first Japanese wrestler whose image [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption became tied to his failure]]. While he would finally be allowed to close this arc of his career by winning the [[Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation AWA]] title in 1984, this was partially responsible for how slow the transition from Baba to Jumbo as company ace wound up being. However, due to a pair of upheavals in the mid-to-late 1980s, Jumbo would radically reinvent himself, and create perhaps his true legend in the process.

[[caption-width-right:350:''The Rolling Dreamer.'']]

Tomomi Tsuruta (March 25, 1951 – May 13, 2000) was a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{professional wrestl|ing}}er who competed from 1973-1998 (retiring in 1999) as '''Jumbo Tsuruta.''' The first son of Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling, he was among the most popular and remains among the most respected members of the third generation of puroresu.

Tomomi Tsuruta (March 25, 1951 – May 13, 2000) was a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er who competed from 1973-1998 (retiring in 1999) as '''Jumbo Tsuruta.''' The first son of Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling, he was among the most popular and remains among the most respected members of the third generation of puroresu.

* {{Determinator}}: Tsuruta had actually gone to university as a basketball player, but he realized that his dream to compete in the UsefulNotes/OlympicGames weren't realistic in that sport due to the high chance that the Japanese team would not reach the Olympics proper. He decided to pursue amateur wrestling, since he surmised that there would be far steeper native competition were he to enter UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}. However, the Chuo University wrestling team, led by the future [[Wrestling/{{FMW}} Mr. Pogo]], laughed him out of the room, ridiculing his lanky frame and his feminine-sounding name. Undeterred, Tsuruta took up wrestling with the club at the Japan Self Defense Force through their physical training school, and despite not being part of the Force proper eventually earned the respect and advice of the coach there (an Olympian himself). Through six hours of daily practice and bodybuilding sessions three times a week, Tsuruta remodeled his physique for wrestling, and the Chuo University team changed their tune when, entering as independent from any team, Tsuruta won bronze at nationals in November 1970.

* IWasQuiteALooker: He was quite handsome in the 70s and early 80s.

Tomomi Tsuruta (March 25, 1951 – May 13, 2000) was a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er who competed from 1973-1999 as '''Jumbo Tsuruta.''' The first son of Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling, he was among the most popular and remains among the most respected members of the third generation of puroresu.

Among his in-ring achievements, Jumbo was the inaugural and 3x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/alljapan/tc-h.html All Japan Pro Wrestling Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion]], a 7x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/alljapan/aj-t.html All Japan Pro Wrestling World Tag Team Champion]], and a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/awa/awa-h.html AWA World Heavyweight Champion]]. He also won AJPW's [[TournamentArc Champion Carnival]] twice, and the Real World Tag League five times, the latter a record only since matched by Kobashi. He was inducted into the ''[[Wrestling/TheWrestlingObserverNewsletter Wrestling Observer Newsletter]]'' Hall of Fame in 1996.

Among his in-ring achievements, Jumbo was the inaugural and 3x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/alljapan/tc-h.html All Japan Pro Wrestling Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion]], a 7x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/alljapan/aj-t.html All Japan Pro Wrestling World Tag Team Champion]], and a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/awa/awa-h.html AWA World Heavyweight Champion]]. He was inducted into the ''[[Wrestling/TheWrestlingObserverNewsletter Wrestling Observer Newsletter]]'' Hall of Fame in 1996.

* DemotedToExtra: With the exception of a three-month run after his first leave of abscence, where he had clearly declined but was still a main-eventer (albeit protected in tag matches), Jumbo's entire career once his hepatitis struck saw him reduced to low-stakes comedic tag matches.

* {{Face}}: He was among the first Japanese wrestlers to get over as a good guy in the United States after World War II. While Wrestling/{{Rikidozan}} had technically preceded him by two decades, he had only been booked as a true babyface in the San Francisco area, which had a significant Japanese immigrant population.
** However, this didn't sustain through his entire career, as there is tape of numerous American matches in the 1980s where the crowd is clearly against Jumbo. (Most notably his AWA title run, but there's also a 1982 [[Wrestling/{{WCW}} Mid-Atlantic]] match against Tommy Rich where one can see this.)

How did he fare? Well, it was complicated. On one hand, Jumbo was one of the most prodigious talents in pro wrestling history. He was such a natural that trainer and then-NWA champion Wrestling/DoryFunkJr gave him a shot at his title ''eight weeks'' after his debut match. Jumbo was instantly made AJPW's #2 wrestler upon his return, a position which he would hold for nearly a decade. On the other hand, though, there eventually came a point where Jumbo's reputation began to suffer for this. Jumbo was consistently given shots at an NWA title he would never be politically favored enough to receive; one could say that, after the exceptionalist narratives that Wrestling/{{Rikidozan}}, Giant Baba, and Wrestling/AntonioInoki had upheld, Jumbo was the first Japanese wrestler whose image became tied to his failure. While he would finally be allowed to close this arc of his career by winning the [[Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation AWA]] title in 1984, this was partially responsible for how slow the transition from Baba to Jumbo as company ace wound up being. However, due to a pair of upheavals in the mid-to-late 1980s, Jumbo would radically reinvent himself, and create perhaps his true legend in the process.

Tomomi Tsuruta (March 25, 1951 – May 13, 2000) was a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er who competed from 1973-1999 as '''Jumbo Tsuruta.''' The first son of Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling, he was among the most popular and respected members of the third generation of puroresu.

Tomomi was inspired as a teenager by the [[UsefulNotes/OlympicGames Tokyo Olympics]], and made it his life's goal to compete in the Games through any sport he could. A star athlete in high school, he entered college with the intent to play basketball before realizing that Japan's chances of reaching the Olympics in that sport were fairly slim. So he pulled a complete 180 and pursued amateur wrestling. After remolding his body to that of a wrestler, and undergoing a rigorous training regimen, Tsuruta dominated the national collegiate wrestling circuit in 1971 before qualifying for the Olympics. While he didn't win a single match, Tomomi had realized his dream. Encouraged by to go professional in order to promote amateur wrestling by association, and spurred by the death of his father, Tomomi began the next chapter of his life.

Tomomi Tsuruta (March 25, 1951 – May 13, 2000) was a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er who competed from 1973-1999 as '''Jumbo Tsuruta.'''

Tomomi was inspired as a teenager by the Tokyo Olympics, and made it his life's goal to compete in the Games through any sport he could. A star athlete in high school, he entered college with the intent to play basketball before realizing that Japan's chances of reaching the Olympics in that sport were fairly slim. So he pulled a complete 180 and pursued amateur wrestling. After remolding his body to that of a wrestler, and undergoing a rigorous training regimen, Tsuruta dominated the national collegiate wrestling circuit in 1971 before qualifying for the Olympics. While he didn't win a single match, Tomomi had realized his dream. Encouraged by to go professional in order to promote amateur wrestling by association, and spurred by the death of his father, Tomomi began the next chapter of his life.

* {{Expy}}: Stylistically in the 1970s he was, babyface fire and jumping knee notwithstanding, a Japanese version of his trainer Wrestling/DoryFunkJr, with perhaps some Jack Brisco sprinkled in.

* FarmBoy: Jumbo was the son of grape farmers, and credited his participation in these duties with his childhood athletic prowess. His brother would inherit the property and still sells grapes there, while having also turned the house into a museum dedicated to Jumbo.

The son of a grape farmer, Tomomi was inspired as a teenager by the Tokyo Olympics, and made it his life's goal to compete in the Games through any sport he could. A star athlete in high school, he entered college with the intent to play basketball before realizing that Japan's chances of reaching the Olympics in that sport were fairly slim. So he pulled a complete 180 and pursued amateur wrestling. After remolding his body to that of a wrestler, and undergoing a rigorous training regimen, Tsuruta dominated the national collegiate wrestling circuit in 1971 before qualifying for the Olympics. While he didn't win a single match, Tomomi had realized his dream. Encouraged by to go professional in order to promote amateur wrestling by association, and spurred by the death of his father, Tomomi began the next chapter of his life.

* GameBreakingInjury: When Hepatitis B struck in 1992 (although he had been identified as a carrier of the virus back in 1985). This led to him being DemotedToExtra, mostly working comedy matches.