Talk about it here.

Hansen wins the Triple Crown! Very good match, and I love Jumbo's multiple cutoffs to the lariat toward the end of it. For most of the match, Hansen is working on Jumbo's knee and Jumbo is trying to come back. Jumbo's selling is what puts this over the top.

First time seeing this and its a great match. Love Hansen doing all he can to put Jumbo away at the end.

As good as Jumbo's selling was, Hansen selling the arm that Jumbo was attacking wasn't bad either. Great match. Was that Scott Armstrong in the back celebrating with Stan? Had no idea he worked All Japan?

Yup, Scott was on that tour. No others, based on Kobashi's career results.

Jumping Knee / Jumping Knee Attack when it just in the ring. Diving Knee / Diving Knee Attack when it's off the top.

 

John

It wasn't the match I was expecting and didn't think it was as good as you guys did. I did like Hansen viciously attacking Jumbo's knee repeatedly. Both guys sold well and the finishing sequence was well done.

Two of the best in the world of the 1980's show that they've still got it. The limb work and subsequent selling was great, especially Hansen's arm. I loved the finish with Jumbo blocking the lariat with the jumping knee, and then getting blasted by a standing lariat.

The end of an era with Jumbo's final TC bout. A veterans match between 2 longtime rivals. Both men worked on body parts and the construction was straightforward. Solid fare, though nothing to set the world alight.

I'd completely forgotten this was a title change and thus popped pretty big for the finish. It may not be at the level of TC matches that would follow during Misawa's reign, but this was still Jumbo & Hansen doing their thing and that is always good. Hansen sold Jumbo's work on the lariat arm very well while withstanding all of Jumbo's textbook offense. Jumbo gets to kick out of one lariat before the second puts him away.

 

***3/4

Pretty good match, but still not as good as one would expect considering the caliber of workers. Not as heated, either. That was just the nature of this match-up. The psych is good and Jumbo's selling is top-notch, but there was always something missing that puts this over the top. Jumbo kicks out of a Lariat (!) but quickly gets hit by another one to net Hansen the Triple Crown.

The story of the match for me was Stan destroying Jumbo's knee. He's not one to do much limbwork normally, and I never expected him to stay with it. But he did, and he did it without having to become another worker; in other words, he worked on Jumbo's knee the way you'd expect Stan Hansen to. His slams on the railing and table outside were vicious, and I particularly liked when he simply ground his knuckles into the back of Jumbo's leg. The net effect was to put Jumbo totally behind the eight-ball, unable to use the Jumbo Driver to put Stan away and forcing him to hope that the rest of his offense would be enough. In the end, of course, it wasn't, though he showed tremendous heart in kicking out of one lariat before the second knocked him out.

 

Jumbo's work on Stan's arm didn't end up as compelling under the circumstances, but he still did it well, and we were left to wonder whether Stan would be able to use the lariat at all. Jumbo's standing over-the-shoulder arm stretcher looked brutal, and I liked him hammerlocking Stan's arm and ramming it into the post. It's nothing we haven't seen before, but Jumbo wasn't normally that aggressive except against Misawa and friends.

 

Jumbo's last championship match, huh? I guess the end for him is coming quicker than I thought. I better enjoy him while he's here!

 

I liked Hansen's brief English promo at the end. It sounded suitably respectful while at the same time taking a shot at Jumbo for defending the Triple Crown so seldom. Of course, in Japanese it could have been translated "I'll kill every baby in Tokyo!" or "Chicken nuggets are really made of squirrel meat!" for all we know.

One of the better Jumbo/Hansen matches I've seen. It follows the same basic formula as most, Jumbo works the lariat arm, but Hansen's work on Jumbo's leg and Jumbo selling the leg put it over the top. Good, hot finish to boot.