Stan Hansen v. Carlos Colon - 1987

I am sticking with this feud because it has only done me right so far. This one starts off like the last one, a total war with both guys going right at each other and Colon taking over by beating Stan with his own rope and smashing his face onto the wooden platform holding up the ring while he's still walking around in his straps. They brawl out into the crowd/field and Hansen is knocking shit over while Colon throws him into anything he can. Hansen tries to fight back, but Colon has this look on his face that is just great as he is registering the blows but also feeding off the crowd and comes right back at him. Colon goes for his roundoff/Hulk up bit but Hansen hits him with a deep slam which only buys him a few seconds before he's back on the defensive. A few seconds later he is finally able to gain some real momentum with a double leg and low blow, which allows him to take over and get his chaps off. A seriously great opening to this.

Hansen takes over and it's like he knows it's not his night as he immediately starts going for big shots on Colon to keep him down. You could argue that Colon's first hope spot is too soon, but it's a minor complaint and Stan puts him right back on his ass. Colon keeps trying to counter by going to the leg which is awesome because the figure-four is his big move. Stan cuts him down to size and knees the fuck out of him but goes to the well once to often which opens up more leg work.

Colon takes a lot of this and I could see that being a complaint from some, but he comes across as the best possible Bruno here, an ethnic hero, up against a tough challenger that knows he's on foreign turf. For his part Hansen keeps coming forward and making runs, but keeps making mistakes that get his leg in trouble. He is great selling the shit out of this and Colon is great making him pay. I really loved the spot with Hansen going to the floor thinking it would give him an advantage and Carlos still going to work on his leg even out there. This leads to an awesome moment as Hansen fights through and just heaves a chair at Carlos head in desperation.

The final bit of this is somewhat disappointing. I had hoped they were leading up to Hansen stealing a win. Instead they do a bit where Hansen is in the figure-four forever and tries everything to escape before grabbing a hold of a crutch and cracking Colon with it for the DQ. The struggle in the figure-four is actually really good with Hansen trying all sort of things to break free, but the finish is still unsatisfying. Still this was a very good match, that brushed up closely to greatness at times and might have gotten there with a more compelling finish.

Stan Hansen v. Carlos Colon - 1987

This was a totally different match than the previous two but I think that's a good thing and shows dynamics in the feud. It starts like the others with both guys going at war around the ring. Colon has control for most of these exchanges but Hansen gets in some tremendously violent chops. Colon then starts to set up for the figure four and Hansen realizes he could be in for trouble so he just starts throwing bombs and trying to get out of there unscathed. Colon takes Hansen's onslaught and keeps finding ways to attack Hansen's leg. The crowd gradually gets more excited as Colon slowly starts to edge closer in putting in the figure four. The crowd seems to be going with the flow of the match. They seem to be in tune with what Colon is doing and that is really something unique. Hansen still is able to get in some quick strikes and a few escapes but they are all for not. Colon finally gets in the hold but Hansen reaches out to the ropes. Colon goes straight to the figure four again and Hansen continues to desperately find ways to escape. He claws at Colon's free ankle, twists and turns as much as possible, and yet still can't seem to get himself free. They end up on the floor one last time after Hansen gets in a hard fought escape. I really loved Hansen just wildly flinging a chair at Colon's back when he found just enough space to get something in. That's all he had. It was like a fling of frustration and desperation. Colon is only slightly phased though and they return back to the ring where Colon once again gets Hansen set up for the figure four. Eventually, it's reapplied and Hansen is just gasping for breath and pretty much done. Then, Hansen out of sheer instinct grabs a crutch and whacks Colon to escape the match for a DQ. That finish is weird because I can see how it was a last attempt for Hansen to survive but it should have had Hansen winning in a more meaningful way. Maybe it would have been better if he had thrown some wild lariat while in the figure four that ended up giving him the win. I didn't find the finish to be as disappointing as Dylan did but I can see why there are complaints and that there definitely was a better way to end it. However, this was a really interesting match to watch and was completely different than the first two matches. It's a revenge match for Colon and shows how well Hansen can be in sort of a sympathetic heel role. It's certainly something worth checking out and might be best if watched following those first two matches to better understand it in context.

I think this match is from 2/28/87, It looks like it's the same card as a Brody vs. Abdullah match that's dated from the same day.

Universal Heavyweight Title: Carlos Colon © vs. Stan "The Lariat" Hansen (2/28/87)

 

Colon is a fucking madman here just beating the fuck out of Hansen on the outside of the ring at the stadium. The fans are apeshit here as he pounds on Hansen all the way to the stands before Hansen tries to fight back but Colon is fucking Superman and keeps teeing off on the big Texan. Colon draws blood and becomes a vampire working the cut. Hansen is a tough fucker and comes back hitting a big piledriver for a nearfall then hits a desperation backdrop suplex as Colon started another flurry. Hansen would miss a kneedrop which woke up Colon and he started working over the left knee getting ready for the figure-four but he would hit him in the balls a couple of times first for good measure. Colon just kept working over the knee but couldn't get the hold as Hansen found a way to keep Colon from locking it on. The battle would go to the floor and Colon tried to lock the figure-four on the floor but Hansen would throw a chair like a rocket bouncing right off Colon's head. Colon again is Superman and gets Hansen back in the ring where he finally gets the figure-four with Hansen selling like crazy before getting the ropes. Colon keeps working over the knee before coming off the top rope with a jumping headbutt which prompted the 2nd figure-four of the match. Hansen is in the middle of the ring and selling like crazy and they battle in the hold for a nice little bit until Colon has to get the ropes to keep the hold on before Hansen grabs a crutch from someone at ringside and jabs Colon in the ribs for the DQ. Hansen tries to hit Colon but falls down because of his knee so Colon gets the crutch and hits him with it instead. This was an awesome damn match and the ending didn't bother me because Colon was trying to break Hansen's leg and was using the ropes so Hansen had to go with desperate tactics to keep his leg from being broken. Slam dunk nomination.