November 29, 201212 yr comment_5521190 Did you guys edit this down to the finish? I can't remember if there's a full version out there, but it was hard to tell how good it was from the clip here. Gordy did seem to show more intensity in dropping the belt than he had in winning it.
December 5, 201212 yr Author comment_5521632 No editing from us, I don't think. It was just what was shown if I recall correctly. Not sure what the point was of giving Gordy such a brief run, unless it was just that Jumbo couldn't be holding the title at Budokan, because it wasn't time for Misawa to get the win yet. Did I just answer my own question? Yeah, it's hard to really tell a lot about the match from watching this, but Gordy was indeed more inspired than he was in the Jumbo match.
December 10, 201212 yr comment_5522106 Not sure what the point was of giving Gordy such a brief run, unless it was just that Jumbo couldn't be holding the title at Budokan, because it wasn't time for Misawa to get the win yet. Did I just answer my own question? Yeah, it's hard to really tell a lot about the match from watching this, but Gordy was indeed more inspired than he was in the Jumbo match. The complication with that is that in Misawa's obit, Meltzer reported that Baba supposedly called an audible on the Jumbo/Misawa finish upon seeing/hearing the "MI-SA-WA" chants from fans filing into the arena that night and seeing the business that Misawa gear was doing at the merch table. Anyway, a good clip job can make almost any match look like a classic but this nonetheless looked way better than the first title change, though an absolutely jacked crowd didn't hurt either. We pick up with a rare Hansen Lariat that doesn't directly result in the finish as Gordy manages to roll outside the ring. Gordy turns things around with the DDT that won him the Triple Crown but it's only a hot near-fall here. We trade some shit back and forth that still looks way more organic than the near-fall-fest in the Jumbo match before Hansen gets in another Lariat and collapses onto Gordy for the victory. Hansen's desperation roll-up attempt right before that was an awesome little spot. Gordy's legacy as the Tommy Rich of All-Japan is cemented.
December 24, 201212 yr comment_5523770 Good looking action and I loved how the lariet ended with Hansen just collapsing on Gordy for the victory. WOuld have loved to have been in the crowd for this show.
January 3, 201312 yr comment_5525804 This seems pretty awesome in clip form. It looks like we are only missing about 5 minutes.
January 25, 201312 yr comment_5530353 Match clipped after ring introductions. Hansen hits the lariat but Gordy is able to roll out of the ring. Gordy hits the DDT for a close two count only. Terry repeatedly attacks Hansen who is in the ropes. Probably the biggest cheers from fans are when wrestlers avoid count outs. Gordy was pushing it there trying to get the Irish whip and Hansen reverses and hits the Lariat. Short title reign for Gordy. Williams attacks Hansen after the match. Gordy helps out.
December 23, 201311 yr comment_5577124 Would have loved to have seen this in full. I suspect the only thing keeping Stan Hansen from being one of my five favorite wrestlers of all time is not having seen enough Stan Hansen matches, which I really ought to correct. Post match is fun too, with Hansen brawling with the other gaijin.
July 17, 201411 yr comment_5613199 I loved Stan Hansen here. His selling was awesome. Hansen's close to putting away Gordy before he falls prey to a DDT. After kicking out Hansen won't leave the ropes and won't go toe-to-toe with Gordy, really putting over how close he is to being finished off. Every second he has to recover matters and Hansen expresses that perfectly. With his desperation roll-up and lariat he still never stops selling. I would love to see the whole match.
January 21, 201510 yr comment_5650376 We see another side of Hansen here, as he does a tremendous job selling exhaustion and desperation. He must have taken one hellacious beating from Bamm Bamm in the part of this match we didn't see. In the end, though, he perseveres through all of the attempts his former partner makes to put him away and hits a desperation lariat to win the Triple Crown. He gets doubleteamed by the future Miracle Violence Connection after the bout, which actually does a great job of setting up the next match I'm going to check out: Hansen/Doc from three days earlier. He does pretty well in fighting off Williams and Gordy's attack, which either makes him almost superhuman or makes Doc and Bamm Bamm look undeservedly weak, I haven't figured out which. Like a lot of others above me, I'm looking forward to a full match between these two at some point.
October 7, 20159 yr comment_5702700 Hansen's backdrop roll into a pin attempt was perfect. He wanted that belt. Then you got Hansen fighting off Gordy & Williams, and whoever else comes close to him at the end.
November 5, 20159 yr comment_5708624 I've been reading for so long now how Hansen is one of the greatest of all time and if you only think of him as a big messy brawler, you haven't seen enough Hansen. Yet prior to watching this match that was exactly what I saw: a big messy brawler who admittedly showed incredible fighting spirit. He may lose on occasion, but he always goes out in a blaze of glory. This is the match I've been waiting for, but honestly, wasn't sure existed: a match where Hansen the man shows immense vulnerability. His selling down the stretch here was no Hansen I've ever seen before. He was out of it, just clinging to whatever thread of survival he could find from the moment Gordy hit the DDT until the end.I have almost zero historical understanding of AJPW going forward and have only been working my way sporadically through the 80's to get a feel for Jumbo and Misawa/Tiger Mask (and a little of Kobashi and Kawada) so that I could hit the ground running with 1990 and beyond. So I had no idea that Hansen was winning the Triple Crown here. It was completely unexpected because I had just watched Gordy win it a few days earlier (for me) and it certainly didn't feel like another change was imminent. With the way the match progressed - Hansen being down and out - I was totally surprised by the ending. When he hit the lariat I had a genuine moment of "WTF?!".The match isn't great (the clipping holds some secrets), but it's certainly memorable for me because it showed me a side to Hansen I wasn't convinced existed and managed to surprise me with a finish a good 25 years after it occured. I love when wrestling does that.
May 5, 20169 yr comment_5751485 The big thing here is Hansen's selling. A master at selling exhaustion and slow delayed beatings. His offense reflected it great, wild flailing around and barely managing a cover. An example of awesome performance more than an awesome match.
February 25, 20178 yr comment_5789627 We only get the last couple minutes of what looks like a really good match that plays off of previous matches, starting with two move that ended previous matches in a flash. Common, this is for the belts! How can you JIP this? Gordy really lays into Hansen with some shots. Hansen selling and working underneath here was really great. Loved his desperation rollup and the sick collapsing spot where he gets squished underneath Gordy. Plus, Hansen nearly takes Gordy's head off with the lariat.
July 16, 20178 yr comment_5807401 All Japan Triple Crown Champion Terry Gordy vs Stan Hansen -6/8/90 Masterful performance from Hansen here. JIP to Hansen hitting a Lariat to Gordy's face but Gordy has the presence of mind to roll out. From there, Gordy hits a DDT and Hansen calls a great match. He has Gordy cover him again. Then spends so much time clinging to the ropes to avoid demise and letting Gordy get that pinfall. There is a great failed hope spot where he goes to back drop Gordy out of a piledriver, but collapses so basically takes a Pedigree. Someone should steal that spot. The rollup out of the corner where he has entire body splayed over Gordy is a great hope spot. Gordy tries for against for a bomb for the win, but Hansen RIPS HIS HEAD OFF WITH A LARIAT!!! WOW! That was an awesome finish. Not a great match because Gordy was not up to the task, but Hansen was money in this.
March 20, 20205 yr comment_5912716 Just watched this match today for the first time. It felt so unreal to me to see Stan Hansen showing that much vulnerability in a match when I've been so used to see him beat up and bully his opponent around. Certainly took me by surprise but the way it progressed made it even better for me.
April 24, 20205 yr comment_5915520 What the hell...we only get 7:20 out of 21:33?? I hate incomplete matches!!!
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