(Almost) 5-Star Match Reviews: A Collection of STAN HANSEN Matches

Few wrestlers embody the notion of viciousness and danger more than Stan Hansen. For decades he exuded an aura of danger and unpredictability that, more often than not, was completely justified. From injuring Bruno Sammartino in 1976 to his work to his reputation for wrestling while “almost blind”, Hansen was a fabled wrestler who knew how to hit hard in safe places. His reputation as a reckless wrestler was largely fabricated or misinterpreted, especially when you watch his matches. The way he hits punches, kicks, elbows, knees, and his fabled Western Lariat, all carry a sense of reckless intent behind them. Yet this was what he was paid to do and, based on the fact that he was able to spend most of his career in Japan instead of selling out the biggest venues in America, he was fantastic at his job.

Hansen has been part of some truly great matches over the decades. Among his greatest are two singles bouts with Kenta Kobashi in 1991 and 1993, a match with Toshiaki Kawada in 1993, and a tag bout alongside Terry Gordy against Kawada and Genichiro Tenryu in 1988. Unfortunately, some of Hansen’s other matches don’t hold up as well, either due to a lack of chemistry, questionable booking or, as we will see, the consequences of an inconclusive in-house style that served as his framework for many years.

Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship Match: Toshiaki Kawada [c] vs. Stan Hansen – AJPW, March 4, 1995

The Story: Kawada was fresh off a 60-minute draw with Kobashi which, despite being an outstanding match, didn’t do Kawada any favors booking-wise. Perception and match results mattered a lot in straightforward All Japan so Kawada being unable to put away his underclassman in an hour didn’t sell him as a credible champion to more casual viewers. Now he was going into a defense against his aging senior and, needless to say, there wasn’t as much optimism towards Kawada’s chances.

The Match: Hansen overpowers Kawada early, dropkicks him to the floor, and lands a suicide dive to the outside. After showing Kawada how it’s done with soccer kicks to the spine the wrestlers trade standing strikes until Kawada hits neck chops and a leg lariat. Then Kawada kicks Hansen’s spine, angering the ornery Texan. We get more stiff strike exchanges until Hansen double-legs Kawada and begins working the leg. Kawada escapes with stiff kicks to the face but Hansen answers with a barrage of full-contact strikes of his own. Kawada takes Hansen down and they fight to the floor. Back in the ring, Kawada works Hansen’s leg and lands some strike combos to keep him from attacking. He fails to an extent as Hansen escapes with a punch to the eye. Hansen follows with three snap suplexes and an elbow drop for two. Several collisions take place ringside. Kawada appears to try DDT’ing Hansen onto the barricade but Hansen overpowers him and throws more hands. Hansen suplexes Kawada into the ring for two and lands two powerbombs for another two-count as well. Kawada resists a third and hits two Gamengiris. Hansen staggers but still teases the Western Lariat. Kawada hits a third before that feared attack can land and covers for two.

Kawada maintains pressure with more high kicks. Hansen escapes a powerbomb so Kawada hits an enzui lariat/Gamengiri combo for two. Hansen blocks a Backdrop, eats many slaps, blocks a leg lariat, and hits another big right hand. A DDT/back suplex combo gets Hansen a two-count. Kawada blocks one Western Lariat and kicks the arm to stop another. Then Kawada kicks the arm so hard he hurts himself. Kawada follows with over-the-shoulder armbreakers and when Hansen blocks a suplex Kawada turns that into a Fujiwara armbar. Hansen escapes a Cross Armbreaker and a Stretch Plum. He appears to go for the Western Lariat but stops and hits a forearm club instead. Another strike battle ends with a Kawada abisengiri. Kawada applies a Stretch Plum but exhausts himself trying to powerbomb the challenger. Hansen continues resisting Kawada’s attacks and throws. He lands a shoulderblock and a dropkick but then Kawada lands a lariat. A scoop slam/diving kneedrop combo gets Kawada a near-fall. Hansen blocks two more Gamengiris with his lariat arm and then appears to hit the Western Lariat but he barely touches Kawada so the spot lacks virtually all impact. Hansen covers but Kawada gets his foot on the ropes. Hansen teases another Lariat. Kawada resists initially but then Hansen lands it. Thirty seconds go by but Hansen crawls over from across the ring and covers for the three-count to win the title.

Winner and NEW AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship after 31:26: Stan Hansen

You can watch the full match here.

Review: That was an enormous disappointment and quite possibly the worst Kawada main-event singles match I’ve ever seen. They never left second gear and had way too many moments of miscommunication, especially with Hansen’s lariats. They didn’t click on this night with lots of disjointed action and lack of clear flow from one sequence to another. Then there’s the finish: while it made some sense having Kawada lose the title without losing to Misawa the overall execution of the match gave it a similar vibe as Triple H/Booker T at WrestleMania XIX. It was also a poor showing for Kawada as champion as well: he spent most of the match struggling to connect with anything while Hansen was the man to beat. But most importantly, this went WAY too long. They could’ve easily shaved off ten minutes and this would’ve been significantly better. But because of that bloated length it was as if they were trying to stretch things out which worsened an already subdued affair. Compared to their February 1993 match, which is a GOAT-tier classic, this one doesn’t even come close. I read somewhere that Kawada consider this one of his biggest career accomplishments; if so then I can’t help but wonder if that was the genesis of his reputation as a yuckster.

Final Rating: **1/4

Stan Hansen vs. Terry Gordy – AJPW, September 11, 1986

The Story: Hansen and Gordy were once partners but there were plans to push Gordy higher up the card. That put him in Hansen’s crosshairs as he was already established while Gordy was nipping at his heels. Thus they entered a violent, bloody feud over who’d become the next big foreign star in All Japan.

The Match: Gordy rushes Hansen before introductions and a good sixty seconds’ worth of intense brawling and launching around the ring occurs before the bell rings. They trade chops and elbows and neither man budges on a shoulderblock. Gordy reverses a corner whip with a second-rope crossbody for a one-count. Gordy attempts a piledriver but Hansen escapes using the ropes and both men tumble to ringside. They brawl briefly and Hansen hits knees after removing his pad. Gordy’s bleeding so Hansen attacks the wound. A back elbow sends Gordy back to ringside. Hansen teases the Western Lariat but Gordy dodges so Hansen lariats the ringpost instead. Gordy smashes the arm onto the barricade and the post. In the ring he lands an over-the-shoulder armbreaker as he dons a literal crimson mask. Gordy attacks the lariat arm further as the blue half of the canvas starts looking like a Jackson Pollock painting. Gordy hits a lariat of his own for two and reattacks the arm. Hansen dodges a crossbody press and hits a piledriver and a back suplex for two. Hansen teases the Western Lariat when Killer Khan interferes and chairs Hansen and the ref calls for the bell. BOO!

Winner via disqualification after 9:44: Stan Hansen

You can watch the full match here.

Review: That started off great but was badly weakened by a bullshit finish. All the right elements of a great encounter were there: intense exchanges, blood, limb targeting, and a constant sense of evenness between both sides. But then the interference ruined things. And worst of all, the post-match beatdown was short and inconsequential as Hansen overcame them both and was the last man standing tall in the end. If that was always the end result, wouldn’t it have been better for the match to end with a clean finish? No wonder Baba would make such a pronounced about-face the following decade.

Final Rating: **3/4

Winner-Take-All Champion vs. Champion Match for the PWF Heavyweight Championship and the NWA United National Championship: Stan Hansen [PWF] vs. Genichiro Tenryu [UN] – AJPW, March 9, 1988

The Story: Back in 1988 AJPW had three top singles titles, which would later be merged to create the Triple Crown. Before that, though, AJPW wanted to push different wrestlers by presenting them with different titles. Here, Hansen and Baba’s most important native star Tenryu clashed in a champion versus champion bout to see who would carry both belts going forward.

The Match: Tenryu throws his bouquet at Hansen while Hansen almost hits him with his bull rope before the bell. Hansen rushes Tenryu after his name is called and the brawl is on. Tenryu lands a big kick and Hansen answers with a tackle. They fight to the floor and Hansen throws Tenryu onto a table. In the ring he applies a head-and-leg stretch and chairs him on the apron. Tenryu survives a Boston crab so Hansen lands a scoop slam/soccer kick combo for two. A gutwrench suplex likewise gets two, as does a volley of forearms and elbows. Tenryu endures a chinlock so Hansen attacks his back more and more. A football tackle sends Tenryu back outside but when Hansen tries slamming Tenryu back into the ring Tenryu counters it with a cradle for two. He hits a lariat but Hansen retaliates with forearms to the back. He works the ribs some more but Tenryu answers with kicks. Hansen hits back for a two-count but Tenryu blocks a back body drop and lands an enzuigiri. Hansen turns a DDT into an overhead suplex and lands a slam but misses an elbow drop. Tenryu hits a top-rope crossbody for two, reverses a corner whip, and lands another lariat. He misses a second but dodges a second-rope kneedrop. Tenryu lands a Russian leg sweep for two and attempts a slam but Hansen collapses on top of him in a cover for two. Hansen unloads a barrage of strikes and drops a knee onto Tenryu’s head for another near-fall. Tenryu ducks an elbow and attempts a Fisherman Suplex. Hansen resists so Tenryu attempts a deadlift German. Hansen blocks and goes for a back body drop. Tenryu counters with a small package that gets three! Just like that Tenryu’s a dual champion!

Winner after 14:40: Genichiro Tenryu

You can watch the full match here.

Post-match, Hansen attacks everyone in sight with his bull rope, including the referee, various seconds, officials and, of course, Tenryu. Fans part like the Red Sea as Hansen disappears backstage. Meanwhile, Tenryu doesn’t really get to celebrate as he gets busted open by the bull rope and takes his frustrations out on some well-meaning seconds.

Review: A typical 1980s fast-paced brawl with the heel dominating most of the action until the babyface finds a sudden crack in his armor. Hansen beat the crap out of Tenryu and looked like he’d win easily but he made a simple mistake and that was enough for him to lose. It was somewhat underwhelming and judging by the crowd’s relatively subdued reaction they thought so as well. That led to another post-match brawl meant to protect the losing champion necessitating a rematch. It made sense to a degree but, compared to 1990s All Japan which had refreshing conclusive finishes, this felt like a cop-out.

Final Rating: **3/4

Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship Match: Stan Hansen [c] vs. Mitsuharu Misawa – AJPW, August 22, 1992

The Story: Misawa’s war with Jumbo Tsuruta ended about two months earlier when Tsuruta wrestled his last match as a headliner before being sidelined with Hepatitis. With him gone, Gordy weakened due to substance issues, and Tenryu having left to SWS, Hansen was the only top star from the previous generation that could reliably function as the mountain for Misawa and his generation to overcome. To that end, Hansen carried the Triple Crown and defeated all comers until it was time for Misawa to ascend the throne. But just because it was time to pass the torch doesn’t mean Hansen would make things easy.

The Match: Hansen powers Misawa to the topes and hits the first shot but Misawa retaliates with an elbow. Hansen overpowers Misawa with armlocks and works the left arm thoroughly until Misawa frees himself thanks to more elbows. Misawa works a deep headlock until Hansen gets to the ropes. Hansen stiffs his way out but Misawa answers with more elbows and a Sleeper Hold. Hansen briefly escapes but gets caught in another headlock until a ropebreaks opens the door for him to attack. He works the left arm some more until Misawa attacks Hansen’s arm with, you guessed it, elbows. Misawa applies some grounded joint locks but Hansen escapes and attacks Misawa’s eye through the ropes. It’s back to the left arm with a standing shoulderbreaker onto the barricade. Hansen charges as Misawa tries re-entering the ring which leads to some ground-and-pound attacks. Misawa hits back with knees, tanks some stiff kicks to the gut, and lands a springboard splash. Misawa attacks the Lariat arm with over-the-shoulder armbreakers but Hansen answers with a slam and elbow drops for two. Misawa counters back with kicks and arm attacks. Both men trade Irish whip momentum until Hansen stiffs him again.

Hansen lands some basic kicks and tackles to keep Misawa from gaining momentum and DDTs him for two. Misawa creates separation and attempts a German but Hansen resists so he forearms Hansen’s neck for a near-fall. He follows with a snap suplex and a diving elbow smash for two. Hansen escapes one Facelock and uses the ropes to escape another. A third one gets him another near-fall. He lands a standing senton but misses a frog splash. Hansen out-stiffs him for a two-count. Misawa escapes one powerbomb but not a second. Hansen slams Misawa and drops his exposed knee onto Misawa’s face for two. Hansen teases the Western Lariat. Misawa avoids it and attempts a crucifix pin. Hansen counters with a slam. Misawa stays on the mat on the next “sequence”, his left arm still bothering him. Hansen capitalizes on this with knees to the arm, a standing shoulderbreaker, and a Cross Armbreaker. Misawa gets a ropebreak and then, when Hansen tries another arm attack, he lands another elbow. Hansen blocks a charge with a boot – and Misawa DRILLS him with an elbow smash. Hansen goes down like a sack of bricks. Both men go down. But despite twenty seconds going by Misawa covers Hansen one…two…THREE! Misawa beats Hansen and wins the Triple Crown for the first time!

Winner and NEW AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion after 24:04: Mitsuharu Misawa

You can watch the full match here.

Review: That was much better than I expected. I went into the match with reduced expectations given Misawa and Hansen’s questionable chemistry together. Yet they worked incredibly well here with Hansen playing the mountain to overcome perfectly. He didn’t have to do much to stop Misawa’s advances at every turn: basic slams, kicks, and forearms that looked at times almost lackadaisical were enough because Hansen backed them up with immense power. Not only that, Hansen applied a strategy here by attacking Misawa’s arm so thoroughly that he could’ve made Misawa pass out from the pain. Because Misawa was in such dire straits from the start and couldn’t reply on his regular arsenal of throws and suplexes, he had to make every elbow smash count. Like Hansen with his arm attacks, Misawa’s right elbow was his difference-maker and propelled him to victory. Misawa played the valiant challenger perfectly and Hansen lived up to his reputation as a true monster challenge. While it lacked the intensity, worry, and overwhelming sense of mayhem typical in Hansen’s other singles matches, this was still very fun while also being an historic match in the AJPW canon.

Final Rating: ****1/4

Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi – AJPW Champion Carnival 1994

The Story: This is the eleventh singles match between these two. Up to this point time Kobashi had never managed to beat him. This lit a fire under him and made it so that with each passing match he’d get a little bit closer. The heat of their rivalry peaked almost a year earlier in July 1993 when they had an undeniable classic of a singles match that everyone should watch at least once. As an unofficial observation, however, All Japan’s Champion Carnival wasn’t the same breeding ground for absolute in-ring classics as New Japan (unless your name is Akira Taue in 1995) with better matches happening in title bouts and outside that tournament setting.

The Match: Intense lock-up to start. Hansen takes the arm but Kobashi gets a break. Kobashi does his long headlock spot and refuses to go down on a shoulderblock. He lands a few kicks but Hansen drops him with a single forearm. Kobashi hits back and they brawl to ringside. They trade chops and kicks until Hansen catches on and blocks Kobashi’s chops. Hansen applies a camel clutch and hits a second-rope ax handle for two. In between he lands some kicks and stomps that look almost petty or spiteful. Kobashi fights out of a headlock and lands machine gun chops. He follows with a corner tackle and a snapmare/chinlock combo. Hansen escapes, tanks a few more shots, and dumps Kobashi to the floor. They brawl ringside and against the ropes, with Hansen attacking Kobashi when he’s between ropes. Kobashi answers with palm strikes. Hansen answers with head-butts and other strikes that are starting to look more malicious. Kobashi creates separation with a spinkick and lands leg drops for two. Hansen endures another chinlock and another leg drop and then hits a sudden shoulder tackle. Kobashi answers with an enzuigiri and an apron rope-assisted leg drop…which doesn’t even get a one-count. Hansen tanks more chops and drops Kobashi with a back elbow. Hansen follows with another volley so nasty he turns a turnbuckle smash into something lethal-looking. At ringside Hansen cracks Kobashi with a chair and uses a Japanese table as a weapon. Then, just to be more of a mean bastard, he throws said table onto Kobashi’s head from above. Man just doesn’t give a FUCK. Still not done, Hansen removes the ringside padding and powerbombs Kobashi onto the floor. He’s too impatient to wait for Kobashi to get up so he punts his back. But when he goes for an attack off the apron Kobashi dodges, causing Hansen to hit the barricade lariat arm-first.

Kobashi recovers and lands body shots as Hansen struggles against the ropes. He suplexes Hansen into the ring but misses a follow-up diving splash. Kobashi resists being suplexed with kidney shots and lands his own suplex for two. Another volley of chops and a lariat drop Hansen. Kobashi follows with corner shoulder thrusts and a DDT for another two-count. Hansen escapes a Sleeper so Kobashi applies a Boston crab until Hansen gets a ropebreak. Hansen reverses a sudden corner whip and lands a back suplex for two of his own. Hansen teases the Western Lariat. Kobashi ducks. Hansen uses the momentum to land another back suplex for two. Kobashi resists a powerbomb but Hansen drops him with an elbow for a near-fall. Hansen’s next powerbomb lands but he only gets a two-count. He attempts a diving splash but Kobashi gets his knees up. Kobashi staggers over to capitalize – and eats a Western Lariat. Kobashi shakes the cobwebs from his head and charges into a corner but Hansen blocks. He lands another flurry of shoulders to the gut and scoop slams his opponent. Moonsault connects. Two-count. Then Kobashi lands another. And he gets the three-count. Kobashi pins Hansen for the first time in his career.

Winner after 26:55: Kenta Kobashi

You can watch the full match here.

Review: While not as good as their matches in July 1993 or September 1991, this was an awesome match. These two have excellent chemistry together with Kobashi being a world-class FIP and Hansen shining as the remorseless killer who threw literally everything he could get his hands on at his smaller opponent. Given Kobashi had to fight from underneath he zeroed in on Hansen’s ribs and gut to take the wind out of him. It was a brilliant strategy given Hansen’s power and weight advantages made getting in close and lifting him risky and his conditioning made wearing him down difficult. While Kobashi was a bit uncompelling during his early moments of control he made up for those shortcomings by selling his sense of struggle like a genuine master. He took an absolute beating, survived by the skin of his teeth, and won by taking the greatest risks only once Hansen’s midsection was as thoroughly weakened as it possibly could be. These two were tremendous together and this match is further proof of that.

Final Rating: ****1/2

As always, thanks for reading.