This was just a sprint brawl. A super spirited battle. Hansen is such an ass kicker. My knock was Backlund needed to sell a lot more. He would just shrug off the damage and regain the advantage.

Here is the show if anyone wants to watch it on youtube

 

 

I liked this OK, had a lot of energy, and Hansen is a guy who is always worth watching, had some problems with Backlund here, as he just looked awkward at points, he badly blows a piledriver and there are moments where his punches look awful, I also saw some of the selling issues Shoe did. Happy I watched it, but I think it needed some more standout moments or a better Hansen dance partner.

BOB BACKLUND vs STAN HANSEN (03/16/1981; WWF MSG; New York, NY; 00:17:54) 3*
-    Bob and Hansen just start beating each other. Crowd is wild. Bob just steps and twists on Stan’s head. Ouch. Hansen takes over but Bob fights back with some headbutts. Hansen’s bearhug and Bob’s piledriver are bowling shoe ugly. A punch from Bob and Stan is taking a break. At one point, Stan just hammers Bob on the top of the head and Bob’s head bounces. You could tell the crowd is excited about this match. Stan keeps going outside to regroup but this time Bob follows and it was a mistake. Hansen lariat on the apron sends Bob outside and he gets counted out. This felt wild and it was a really great crowd. The attack by Bob after the match adds to the atmosphere. This wasn’t a classic but it was fun as hell. MIDDLE TO SOLID NOMINATION.