[1980-02-08-NJPW] Antonio Inoki vs Stan Hansen

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Superstar Sleeze]

NWF Heavyweight Champion Antonio Inoki vs Stan Hansen - 2/8/80

 

Stan Hansen wrestles very un-Stan Hansen-like in this match. He is a more traditional hell, bumping and selling to shine up the babyface early. Could be him going up against the promoter or maybe how he worked in 1980? Basically Hansen is a very good heel in this match, but if he wrestled like this he would be a wrestler fondly remembered like 40-60 in the GWE poll. It is Bull in the China Shop that is special and that's not what we get. Inoki is fine. He definitely has a connection to the crowd, but he does have any moves early that really pop the crowd. He bests Hansen early on the mat. He even slaps him, but Hansen tags him back. Overall, Inoki outwrestles Hansen early and uses a lot of holds. Hansen starts clobbering, which gets him an advantage. Inoki begins his comeback with a dropkick and then Hansen hits his lariat out of nowhere. Inoki KICKS OUT! I bit on that. Then they go out on the floor and I totally bit on the double countout finish. Inoki brings him back in and nails a back drop driver, bit on that finish. Hansen decks him on the apron with a lariat to win the match via countout and apparently the championship.

 

The finish run got this to be a pretty entertaining match. It was a strong over babyface versus rugged heel that is willing to sell. So it was very good and the finish run which had be biting three times on false finishes was pretty exciting and the real finish was badass. Totally makes up for Inoki kicking out of the Lariat. ***

[SAMS]

1980-02-08
NJPW
Antonio Inoki (c) vs. Stan Hansen
NWF World Heavyweight Title Match
Card
★★★

I can’t get over how Inoki just looks like a cartoon character come to life. He has this massive head, including perhaps the most glorious chin in the history of wrestling, then he slims a bit with a smaller but still stocky torso, then his body mass seemingly disappears with his super slender legs and ankles. Honestly don’t think he would look out of place appearing on Cartoon Network on a Saturday morning.
Inoki’s strategy was to wear the big monster down and then keep him grounded and controlled. He threw out some left handed jabs to daze Hansen then the subsequent series of Indian Deathlocks and headlocks kept him subdued. When Hansen had his opportunities on offense he was far less controlled and opted to go for more high risk manoeuvres. These missed more often than they hit and allowed Inoki to maintain control. 
Hansen wasn’t necessarily working basic, but he had a certain simplicity to his approach, but the key with Hansen is his presence, which I think comes from his ability to move and work in a way most heavy/super heavyweights just can’t. Also, to state the obvious, his obvious carries “weight”; any clubbing blow, elbow shot and of course the lariat, come with extreme kinetic value. Inoki embodies his own kind of aura, and while that means I don’t find him as boring as some, I have to admit that how he works on offense is less than interesting, especially in comparison.
It was Hansen’s lariat that provided the victory, albeit from a countout. Inoki was hanging out on the apron and Hansen just crushed him with it. Somehow this countout victory warranted a title change which I thought was highly unorthodox but it importantly established Hansen as the immovable object, the great obstacle for Inoki to overcome.

[tcg91]

This was simple and easy for them, yet still good and what you would expect from these two in just 15 minutes of action. Inoki tries to ground the gaijin, who bumps around for the Ace and can't wait to beat the crap out of the champion as soon as he has a chance to do it. You can tell that they have more matches ahead of them, as the finishing stretch leaves space to future opportunities (the lariat kickout and the double count-out these being two features that they will probably revisit later). Inoki gets protected because the lariat only beats him by count-out, even though this causes a title change anyway. Not a bad finish.
***1/4