[1990-07-14-NWA-World Championship Wrestling] Stan Hansen vs Tommy Rich

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Childs]

Really good match that had a chance to be great if they didn't go for the quick DQ finish. They established a nice little story, with a fired-up Rich trying to brawl with Hansen early but struggling to find success until he adopted a more stick-and-move approach. Hansen didn't unveil his full All-Japan arsenal, but the basic stuff he did looked nasty. And he really sold for Rich. I understand why they had Hansen toss Rich over the top and then lariat the ref; they wanted to establish him as an out-of-control force. I just wish they had given them five more minutes to cement it as a top-notch TV match.

[Loss]

Solid match that stays pretty basic, but everything looks really good. I agree that this was building to something really excellent if it had gone just a few minutes longer. Hansen slugs the referee too. This leads to Hansen getting suspended from the NWA.

 

In hindsight, they should have headlined Havoc with Sting vs Hansen and let Sid challenge Luger for the U.S. title second from the top. They should have been lining up great workers for Sting so his matches didn't seem like a disappointment after what WCW fans were used to on top with Flair. I don't know that it means Hansen would have had an All Japan quality main event in WCW, but I do think he and Sting would have worked well together.

[PeteF3]

This is a surprisingly intense brawl that was really getting going until a cheap over-the-top-rope DQ. Caudle even acknowledges that Hansen & Rich were partners at one point, which is a nice nod to history. I groaned at the finish at first, then Hansen nails Pee Wee Anderson with a lariat and throws a tantrum in the ring before leveling Rich with the cowbell, and it hits me that he must have an All-Japan tour lined up.

 

Nick Patrick announces that Hansen has been suspended for 30 days and fined $5,000. Hansen goes nuts and runs both Ross and Patrick off before taking his frustrations out on the interview set. NOBODY POTATOES SUSPENDS ME!

[soup23]

I like the prospect of building Hansen for Havoc. Good match that did a good job of pushing Hansen's current persona over as out of control. He did give a lot to Rich in this match also. Fun nugget in the yearbook setting.

[shoe]

This was a good brawl. They had a good chemistry together I guess stemming from their GCW. The finish also set up Hansen for another Japan tour.

[Kevin Ridge]

Tommy tries to brawl early but Hansen is too much. Rich keeps fighting though. What’s up with guys having trouble getting Irish whipped off the ropes. Hansen had a stutter here. Hansen really drives those elbow drops. Cheap DQ and Hansen clothesline the ref for it. Rich looked good in the match and I liked where they were going with this.

 

Missy looking really hot.

 

Nick Patrick, who seems to have this authority, suspends Hansen for 30 days and fines him too.

[Cox]

In hindsight, they should have headlined Havoc with Sting vs Hansen and let Sid challenge Luger for the U.S. title second from the top. They should have been lining up great workers for Sting so his matches didn't seem like a disappointment after what WCW fans were used to on top with Flair. I don't know that it means Hansen would have had an All Japan quality main event in WCW, but I do think he and Sting would have worked well together.

The problem with that is, Hansen isn't going to put over Sting no matter what, so what good would it have done WCW to have Sting doing these matches with Hansen where he sells for 70% of the match and then doesn't win in the end? At best, they would have had to do a DQ finish at Havoc, and the same Texas Lariat finish at Starrcade, but I still don't think that result helps Sting that much in the end. WCW made a lot of mistakes with how they handled Sting during that first title reign, but I'm not sure this was one of them.

[garretta]

For what was basically a throwaway match to set up Hansen's suspension and return to Japan, this was very good. I liked how Tommy wasn't intimidated by his former partner (nice catch, Bob!) and tried to fight him straight up before he realized that that strategy was liable to get him killed.

 

JR no-sells the former partnership of Rich and Hansen, which is a bit disappointing, but really plays up Stan's out-of-control nature, which sets up the angle we're about to see perfectly. Caudle's a great partner for him; JR paints the big picture, while Bob provides the detail work. As good as Corny can be at the right moments, I don't think he would have done very well here.

 

I know that Tommy's supposed to be back in shape compared to where he was, but he's no 214 here, not by a longshot. 230 is more like it. Still, he's not looking fat like he has at times since the end of his big run in Georgia, so that's something.

 

I'd rather see Nick Patrick hand down a suspension than Jim Herd, especially since it involved referee abuse. The WWF could have used one of its referees on camera occasionally, but the Hebners had thick southern accents, Danny Davis was Boston from head to toe, and Joey Marella probably talked like Philly/South Jersey. Who else was there? Maybe Tim White?

[PeteF3]

White's New England accent was even thicker than Davis'.

[garretta]

Interesting. Maybe the lack of a "neutral" (in terms of geography and speech patterns) referee on the roster is why Vince never had a supervisor of officials. Or maybe Jack Tunney secretly loved being on camera!

[drew wardlaw]

This match is a good example of Hansen making his opponent work hard in order for him to sell. But in this case, it isn't just hitting harder or moving faster, it's that Rich has to work smarter and show heart in order for Hansen to sell. Regular toe to toe offense isn't working, so Rich has to change up his strategy. Too bad about the finish, but oh well. This was really heating up, but it's still good.

[dawho5]

Really good little brawl and then we set up Hansen returning to Japan. This was a lot of fun and I'm glad I watched it.

[Richeyedwards]

Hansen Vs rich wcw

 

This was a match given to be my beat to review and it was a very enjoyable experience.

 

It went pretty much as you would expect with Hansen mauling rich at the start before rich fight back showing that fire of his from the early 80s is most certainly still there. He does a little work on the lariat arm but gets nothing more than a start before Hansen fights back and hits a few nasty elbow drops before throwing rich to the floor for a dq.***

 

This match was enjoyable and a good little TV match clocking in around 7-8 mins but to me the real manic was post match. Here Hansen attacks the ref Pee-wee lariating him and hiting him with the cow bell. He gets suspended by Patrick before threatening him and Ross.

 

Hansen is just so good as he is a big sloppy looking bastard but at the same time he does not need to have perfect crisp movements as he just has an aura of fear around him.

 

Thank you very much beast for this recommendation I think I shall be adding some Hansen in wcw Tommy watch list, I have already watched his ppv matches with lugar but I think this is the first bit of his TV work I have seen.